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Chapter Twenty-One
The hospital ER was a mess. There were people milling all around, and I swore that I could smell the scent of burning flesh, which made my stomach turn. I didn’t know if it was in my head, or if there had been so much collateral damage from the explosion that other members of the mafia had to be brought to the hospital.
Marco and I didn’t have any more information other than there had been an explosion, and that Dom was in the hospital.
“Excuse me,” Marco said, flagging down a nurse. “I’m looking for…”
The nurse cut him off. “I’ve got an ER full of people who need help. You need to go to the front desk if you are looking for someone.” The response was abrupt, but given the chaos, I couldn’t blame her.
I was starting to freak out. I could feel my heart beating quickly against my rib cage, and I felt short of breath.
Marco turned around, and the look on my face must have made it obvious that I was on the verge of having a breakdown. He reached out and squeezed my shoulder. “I’m going to go and see what I can find out. Wait here for just a moment.”
I couldn’t do anything except nod as he turned around to go search for Dom. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath in through my nose and blew it out through my mouth.
“Out of the way!” a voice yelled, startling me out of my panic. I quickly moved aside as a gurney was pushed down the hallway.
“He’s flatlining,” someone yelled.
I looked over shocked to see a young man on the gurney. For a moment, I thought that the man on the gurney was Dom. He was about the same weight and height, and he was wearing a black suit that reminded me of what Dom had left the house in. I felt the breath leave my body as I heard the heart monitors that they hooked the man up to flatline.
“Start compression,” one of the nurses said.
I clutched my ring as tightly as I could. It was the only thing that I had that reminded me of Dom. Though I quickly realized that this man wasn’t Dom, his hair was blonde, and from the bed, I could tell that he was a few inches shorter than Dom, there was something about him that reminded me of my husband.
“Time of death?”
I released a sob as I watched the medical staff give up on this man.
“Sasha!” Marco’ voice invaded my thoughts. I turned to see him at the end of the hallway. There was a small smile on his face, and I instantly knew that he had news about Dom. “He’s in Room 200.”
I nodded and started walking towards him. Marco didn’t wait for me as he turned to go back to Dom’s room. Knowing that Dom was okay took a weight off my shoulders but after watching that young man die, one who was so much like my husband, I could hardly get over it.
I turned and began walking towards the ER doors. I wasn’t ready to see Dom. Not yet. I wasn’t scared to see him. In fact, I was longing to be by his side. I wanted him to know that no matter what I was there for him. But there was something else I needed to do first.
I had been keeping a secret from Dom, and it was time I figured out what role my family played in all of this.
When I married Dom, I thought that I would always remain a Petrov. I didn’t have any loyalty to the Blanchi family. But now, things are different. I didn’t know what was happening between me and Dom, but I did know that we couldn’t have a real marriage if I was still keeping secrets for my family.
It was time for me to put my family on notice. I was a Blanchi now, and it was time for me to have loyalty to my husband, and not just my family.
* * *
It felt odd coming to my childhood home. It had taken me nearly two hours to make it back after I hailed a cab, but it was worth it. The closer I got to my parents, the more angry I felt. That anger grew inside of me until I felt ready to bust.
“Mama!” I yelled, as I stormed into the foyer. “Papa!”
My mother walked down the staircase as if she was walking down a catwalk. She wore a Chanel suit and tall stilettos. She looked effortlessly put together, and I couldn’t help but wonder how she managed to keep her facade from cracking.
“Why are you screaming?” she asked.
My father walked out into the foyer from his office, a look of urgency on his face. When he saw me, he immediately reached out and wrapped me in his arms. The smell of his aftershave enveloped me, the sandalwood scent reminded me of the way he comforted me in childhood. I felt myself melt a little as I wrapped my arms around him.
“Thank God you are alright,” he breathed out.
“You heard about the explosion?” It was a silly question since I was sure that he’d ordered the warehouse blow to high hell, but it felt like the natural thing to say.
“I was so worried that you might have been caught in the crosshair.”
