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“She looks like she is in pain. Why? Was she hurt?”
Jo frowned. “I’m not sure. I didn’t really get a lot of information about what happened after Sean found her. I know her asshole ex attacked Sean, but that’s about it.”
Viktor looked worried, and when I started gasping both from the pain and because it was hard to breathe through the sobs, he shook his head.
“I am on my way.”
Jo made an irritated noise, while Gabi protested. He looked like he was going to ignore them until Jo shouted to catch his attention.
“Viktor! Stop! Look, I know this sucks. We’re still figuring out what the plan is to get you two back together. But if you come here now, you’re putting her in more danger than she already is. You’ll draw that Koslov guy here. And then Liam will have to kill you. Just calm down for a second.” Her arm came around my shoulder, and she squeezed lightly, rubbing my shoulder. “I’ve got her. I won’t leave her side tonight. And once Liam gets back–”
“Back? Where is he? Why is he not there? How is she safe if he is not there?” he demanded.
Jo rolled her eyes. “I swear to god, the machoism is not your best attribute. Can you sit down and shut up for a second? I’m not explaining shit while you’ve got one foot out the door.”
It took Gabi’s urging to get Viktor to sit down again. He glared at Jo, and Gabi had to take the phone away for fear that Viktor would break it in his tight grip. Once they were both settled next to each other, Jo took a deep breath.
“Okay. So here’s what I know. Sean and Liam went back to the hospital. If I was a betting woman, which I know you know I’m excellent at, I would say Sean was headed back there to get things to help Rosie. Yes, she’s in pain, so he probably went back for meds and things like that. They were in kind of a rush to get out, so I doubt he stopped to grab stuff on their way here. Liam went with him, hoping to catch this guy. I know you don’t have a problem with that. There’s lots of security still here and you know I’m not a chump when it comes to self defense. We’re good here.”
His eyes narrowed. “You are armed?”
When Jo shot him a dry look, he scowled at her. “I have not seen her in three weeks and the first I heard of her, she was in the hospital. You are armed, yes?”
Jo let out a heavy sigh before depositing the laptop in my lap. She leaned over, opening one of the guest room nightstands. When she pulled out a gun, my eyes widened.
“D-Did you put that in here when they told you we were coming?”
Jo snorted. “No. Liam is cautious. There’s something in every room if I ever needed to defend myself. He’s the one who taught me to shoot. He knows I can handle it.”
When she shifted back to my side, I willed myself not to lean away. Jo wasn’t going to hurt me. I knew that. Guns freaked me out a little, though. Especially when she started playing with it, showing the different pieces to Viktor on the screen.
“Look. Fully loaded. Like I said, we’re good here. And once Liam gets back, I’ll talk to him about what happens next. Just be patient.”
He shot her a dirty look. “If someone asked you to stay away from Liam after you heard he was injured, what would be your response?”
She pursed her lips with a frown. “Touche. I’d shoot people. Alright, fine. How about this? I can leave the laptop plugged in. That way, you can see and hear her all night and know that she’s okay. I don’t need it right now anyway.”
I heard Gabi snicker. “That’s because you mostly use it to binge watch Bridgerton.”
Jo grinned. “Says the woman who yells at me if I watch an episode without her.”
Viktor made an irritated sound. “Enough. Your plan works if you call my phone instead. Dmitriy will be angry if Gabriella doesn’t have her phone on her.”
Jo nodded. “Deal. Send me your number and we’ll do the whole switcheroo.”
Their banter helped settle me a little, as did Jo’s presence. During the few minutes they had to hang up so we could call Viktor’s phone instead, Jo rubbed my arm and reassured me that everything was going to be alright. It was harder than I wanted to admit believing her, but I really wanted to. I wanted things to get better.
After setting Viktor up on the video call, Jo noticed my stomach rumbling. She poked her head into the hallway to talk to the older man from before, giving me and Viktor a moment of privacy.
“?????… I am sorry I cannot be there tonight.”
I shook my head quickly. “It’s okay. I’m just glad I get to talk to you. I… I’m sorry, Viktor. He would’ve hurt Gabi and Britney if I didn't go with him. I didn’t have a choice.”
A muscle in his jaw twitched, but he didn’t get angry with me like I expected. “I believe you, ?????. I am sorry I was not there to protect you. Where are you hurt? I thought you would be healed by now.”
I grimaced. “I was getting better, but… the only way we could think of getting me out of that psych facility was for me to be hurt enough that Sean could call an ambulance. I threw myself against the bed railing to try and re-break my ribs so I could escape.”
His eyes widened and even Jo looked stunned as she came back into the room. “Shit. You had to hurt yourself to escape?”
