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I pushed the image away as I headed for the boat.
Nora was still chanting Celia’s name as if she believed that if she just kept calling her, she would return to her. Katya came running to help get Nora onboard just as Vladislav rode up with reinforcements.
I pointed to the hospital. “Clear this place out and look after the victims,” I called to him.
He saluted me and I nodded to Katya to take off.
Her face paled as she stared at Celia, lying dead in my arms. I remembered that she’d told me they used to be lovers. I shook my head at her, letting my eyes speak my sorrow as we returned to the mainland, Nora still clinging to her sister’s body and whimpering.
I didn’t know what to do for her.
Katya and I exchanged helpless glances. I could see in her eyes that our father had also come to her mind. I killed Valya Levin in a fit of rage because I was tired of him abusing our mother. Katya had not been present for it, but she came in to find my mother keening over his body. She knew about the cover up. He was her father too, but somehow, she forgave me.
I realized that all this was bringing his death to the forefront of both our minds. We’d been so focused on carrying on, with putting up a strong united front, and dealing with my mother being exiled off to Russia for killing him, that we never really dealt with the loss at all.
He was an abusive asshole, but he was also the man who brought us pizza every time he had a late meeting. He wasotets.
I could see the tears on Katya’s face as she drove us to the docks. Transferring Nora and her sister’s body to the car was a feat, as Nora kept trying to shake her, trying to wake her up. I called Jodie Hunt from the car, and she was waiting for us at side entrance of the hospital, a gurney at the ready. She produced a body bag for Celia’s body, and Katya had to hold Nora back while Jodie and I stuffed her in it. At some point, Nora collapsed. Katya, almost stumbling, held her up.
“She blacked out,” she whispered to me.
I turned to Jodie. “You got this? I think I gotta get Nora home.”
She nodded. “Are you sure she shouldn’t be admitted as well? She could be hurt?”
“You think so?”
Jodie shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“I’ll take her to my clinic and have our medic look at her.”
“Yeah, okay. Would you mind letting me know how she’s doing?”
“Of course. You know what to do with the body?”
“Yes. I suppose you don’t need her in the system.”
“Not the way she was brought in. If you could fudge the details, that’d be great.”
Jodie bit her lip. “If Nora doesn’t mind, I can say she ODed.”
“Yeah, that’d probably fit. I’ll talk to her.”
Jodie nodded, casting a worried glance at Nora before wheeling Celia away. With a sigh, I got in the driver’s seat and drove to the compound. Nora lay with her head in Katya’s lap. We exchanged glances in the mirror.
“Now what?” she asked me.
I sighed. “We have lots to do.”
“Yeah, I suppose.” She looked down, stroking Nora’s hair. “Poor girl. She’s been through a lot.”
I looked back out front. “Yeah. We all have.”
Doctor Ross treated Nora for shock. “She’s a bit out of it now, but you can take her home,” he said.
“I can’t take her home. I don’t even know where she lives.” I laughed softly, shaking my head.
“I do.” Katya stepped forward. “But she lives with her grandmother. She’s probably not in the right state to see her right now. Maybe we can take her to your place, and she can spend the night.”
