Dark Chase (The Gunrunner Series) (18 page)

Dmitri lifted her chin, assessing her. “Are you all right?”

“Yes,” she answered, meeting his gaze.

“Are you really all right, my dearest Sophia? It is most understandable if you are not.” He gently stroked her face with his thumb.

“I am,” she said.

He covered her lips with his, a sweet, quick kiss. He pulled away, running his fingers through her hair. “Gram needs us.”

Dmitri quickly put on his clothes and shoes. Sophia waited, praying for Gram. Praying for his life. Praying that whatever Naomi did could be undone. They drove to the hospital in silence, hands entwined.

Dmitri rubbed his jaw, the only outward sign of his distress, as they met with the doctors. Sophia cried openly.

Gram had seizures and was on benzodiazepines to stop them. He was on a ventilator and his GI system was being flushed to rid his system of any toxins. They wouldn’t know the specific toxin until they received the test results.

The doctors let Dmitri back to see him while Sophia waited in the cramped, dingy hallways. She could see through the window into his small, shared room. She watched Dmitri pull up a chair next to his brother. He put his face in his hands, rocking slowly back and forth.

She wanted to run to him, to comfort him, to whisper in his ear that Gram would be fine, but she didn’t know if he would.

Gram was so pale in the bed, his chest rising and falling only with the machine that was keeping him alive.

Gram couldn’t die. He couldn’t go out like this: betrayed by a woman he loved and then left for dead.

Her fingers clenched, and she had a brazen feeling. She fought it at first but then let it wash over her. She was glad Naomi was dead. She was glad she was the one who’d done it. Dmitri should never be saddled with killing his brother’s treacherous lover.

Dmitri stayed by Gram’s side, resting his head on the hospital bed. Sophia curled herself up on a bench in the hallway, using her purse as a pillow. Dmitri wouldn’t leave Gram’s side, and she wouldn’t leave Dmitri.

Her eyes drifted closed, somehow sleep finding her despite the bright, fluorescent lights, antiseptic smells, and announcements over the intercom.

***

“Sophia?” a male voice intruded on her sleep. The hardness of the bench pressed into her body, and she remembered where she was. She shot to a sitting position. “Yes?”

Zeek handed her a steaming cup of coffee. “You all right, miss?”

“Yes.” After she smoothed out her hair, she accepted the coffee. In the bright, artificial light of the hospital, it was impossible to tell what time of day it was. “Is it morning?”

“Yes,” Zeek said. He sat next to her.

“Gram?”

He pushed his lips together. “No change.”

She slowly unfolded herself from the bench. “You’ve been here all night?” she asked.

“Yes.” He took a sip of his own coffee.

She moved towards the glass window on the door to Gram’s room and peered inside. Dmitri was asleep, leaned back in a small blue chair right next to Gram’s bed. Gram looked better, she thought. He was still on a ventilator, but she detected a bit of color in his face that wasn’t there before. He looked like he was stepping away from death’s door.

“You should rest. I’ll be here with him until my replacement comes,” Zeek said.

She put her hand on the window, staring at her man. “No. I’m staying here. If you could please have someone bring me a change of clothes when they come in, I’d appreciate it.”

He cleared his throat. “There will be no need for that. Dmitri contacted her while you were sleeping.”

Sophia followed his gaze. Tatiana was rushing down the hallway, duffel bag in hand, hair still wet.

“Are you hurt?” She pulled Sophia into a hug.

“No.” Sophia gave her a quick squeeze.

Tatiana pulled back and peered through the glass at Gram. She quickly turned away. Her hand floated up to her mouth. “Oh, no. Is he…will he…”

“We don’t know yet. She poisoned him.” Sophia pressed her lips together to keep from crying again.

“What an evil cunt.” Tatiana frowned. “That is very fucking cold—to make a man think she loved him, then do this.”

“Yes, it is.” Sophia turned away from the window too, wanting to give Gram and Dmitri some privacy. “She fooled me. I should have seen it sooner. If I hadn’t left—”

“Stop that.” Tatiana pulled her arm, forcing her to sit down next to her. “She fooled everyone. Do not think in this way.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder, sending little drips everywhere. “Dmitri called and explained what happened. I promised him I would take care of you.”

Sophia took another sip of her coffee, feeling a ray of joy in her heart amongst all the sadness and grief for Gram. He’d thought of her, even in this dark hour. “He is very thoughtful.”

Tatiana shrugged. “He is growing on me,” she said flatly. “Maybe a little bit, at least.” She smiled. “I knew you would not leave his side, so I brought you some clothes and perfumes and other nice things.” She shoved the duffel bag in Sophia’s direction. “You should change. I will find some place to smoke where I won’t get a damn government fine.”

Sophia slipped into the bathroom and changed into the clean clothes and underwear Tatiana had brought. She’d grabbed a fuzzy blue sweater and jeans: nice, comfy clothes that would keep her warm in a hospital. She freshened up her deodorant and brushed her teeth.

When she came out, Dmitri was waiting outside the door, leaning against the wall of the hallway.

“My love,” he whispered. He held out his hands to her. She walked into him, pressing herself against his broad chest.

“How is he?” she said.

“Same,” he answered, pulling her closer. She gripped him tight, wanting to be everything he needed. “You should go. Stay with Tatiana. Get some rest.”

She rubbed his back. “No. I want to stay with you.”

He rocked back and forth with her. “Thank you.”

He pulled away. “I am going to get food. Will you sit with him?”

“Of course,” she said.

She slipped into Gram’s room while Dmitri walked away, Zeek in tow. Tatiana had returned from her smoke and settled herself on the hard bench Sophia had slept on.

Sophia sat down next to Gram. The room was small and dingy, but clean. The bed sheets fresh. Everything looked clean and modern, and for that she was grateful.

His long hair spilled around his shoulders, his features relaxed. At some angles she could clearly see the resemblance to Dmitri, at others, not at all.

The silence was oppressive. It made her think. It forced her to internalize. It made her relive the horrors and pleasures she’d been through in recent days. She was lost in her thoughts when he jerked in his bed, his eyelids fluttering open.

“Gram?” She leaned forward.

His eyes darted around the room, panic setting in as he took in his surrounding and the ventilator in his mouth. He started struggling against the bed and IVs. “Nurse!” she yelled.

Sophia ran to the door, throwing it open. “Get a nurse! I need a nurse!”

Tatiana jumped from the bench she was sitting on and sprinted down the hallway towards the nurses’ station.

Sophia ran back to Gram’s side, placing a hand on his forehead. “Calm down, Gram. Everything is fine. You are fine. Please.”

He stopped thrashing, relaxing in her arms. He moved his lips, trying to speak but he couldn’t because of the ventilator. She understood, though.

“Dmitri is fine. He stepped out. He’ll be right back. He’s been at your side this whole time.”

Gram nodded, relaxing further into the bed.

The nurses rushed in, pushing Sophia out of the way. She backed away to give them space while they checked his vitals. His eyes frantically darted around the room. She waved her hands over her head. “I’m still here, Gram!”

Dmitri rushed into the room, straining to see over the nurses. “What is happening?”

“He’s awake.”

Dmitri pushed past the nurses. Gram saw Dmitri and held out his hand, Dmitri grasped it, and the brothers were reunited.

Tears filled Sophia’s eyes, spilling down her face, dripping on her clothes.

Chapter 23

Sophia stared out the window of the bedroom. From her view on the third floor, she could see into the frozen trees. She could see snow-covered peaks of triangle roofs peeking out from nearby dachas and estates.

She shivered and pulled her ivory-colored robe closer around her. The marble floor was so damn cold she could still feel it invading her hard-earned warmth through the slippers she wore on her feet.

She heard movement in the house and knew Dmitri and Gram were probably up. Gram had required a long hospital stay to get the hemlock out of his system and had needed rehab.

But his mind was sharp, and he had made great progress over the past few months, almost returning to his normal, pre-Naomi self.

In the ultimate, cosmic joke, Dmitri had bought the ridiculous estate they were all living in now. He said to never let a memory dictate where you live or go, because memories are in your mind not in a physical place, otherwise the whole globe would be haunted for him.

It made sense.

She’d killed a woman in this very room and faced it every day. On some days, she felt strange and twisted inside, her mind’s eye recalling the crumpled, bloodied body on the floor. Other days she felt a pang of pride, that she’d killed someone who had threatened her new family. She didn’t know which feeling was right or wrong. She didn’t try to judge it any more. She was past that.

Dmitri told her the first one was always the hardest and the one you remembered the most. He said it got easier for him, so easy he barely flinched. She’d shuddered at his coldness when he’d said that, and she shuddered now just thinking about it.

She made her way downstairs. She’d left the décor of the master room alone, even though it was atrocious. It was so obnoxious her and Dmitri laughed about it when they laid in bed and gazed out over the black floor and white animal furs that dotted the room. It had become a private joke, of sorts.

The rest of the house she’d changed, making it less oppressive. She’d gotten rid of the tacky, massive chandelier in the entry and replaced it with a smaller antique iron one her and Dmitri had chosen. She’d softened things up, adding overstuffed, comfy furniture to the sitting room and filling it with antiques she’d found in St. Petersburg.

She’d turned one of the offices into Dmitri’s study, getting him hand-carved cigar boxes and stacks of novels she’d picked up at the bookstore. She added small decorative tables around the house and put fresh flowers on them she picked up at the market.

She’d made it into a home.

She followed her nose into the kitchen, where their babushka cook was busying herself with breakfast. She was humming to herself, making
kasha,
a traditional porridge, along with some fried eggs.

She shooed Sophia out with a few grumpy mumblings, telling her that Gram and Dmitri were in the dining room, chiding Sophia for sleeping in so late. Sophia smiled to herself. The woman was a grouch, but very fond of both her and Dmitri.

Sophia poured herself a cup of coffee and walked into the adjacent dining room.

Dmitri was reading a paper and drinking his coffee. His profile was staggeringly handsome against the snow-washed window. He looked her up and down as she walked in. He always looked at her like that, like he wanted to fuck her or eat her or both.

“Lyubov moya,”
he said. He put his paper down and crossed the room, gently cradling her neck as he pulled her in for a kiss. “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” she said when their kiss was broken.

Gram rolled his eyes at their display. He drained his coffee and put it on the table. “I must go or else I will miss my flight.”

“No breakfast?” Sophia asked.

Gram kissed her on the cheek. “I am fine. Do not worry.”

He clapped his hand on Dmitri’s back and then left the room. Sophia watched him go. He was back, moving and talking like he used to, but not all the way back. He was a shell of a man that he used to be; his dark eyes were haunted and his body was gaunt. Naomi had damaged him in more ways than one.

“You are worried,” Dmitri said.

“It’s a long flight,” Sophia said. “And he has a lot to do.”

“Work keeps his mind busy. It is what he wants,” Dmitri said. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “And I do not have to go. I can stay with you.”

“I do worry about him,” Sophia said. “He’s not the same.”

“He will never be the same,” Dmitri said. “This is life. We change constantly. We are never the same.”

“That was deep,” she said.

“Deep?” he echoed, confusion on his face.

She smiled. “An Americanism. I’m making fun of you for making weighty, philosophical statements before breakfast.”

“Speaking of heavy, deep things…” He pulled her close, encircling his arms around her, grinding his hips into hers.

“Please continue,” she whispered.

A cry of rebuke from the cook sent them stepping apart. She’d silently entered the room with their breakfast on a tray. She murmured incessantly about their inappropriateness and lack of marriage while she unloaded the plates on the table.

Dmitri winked at Sophia while she ranted on and on before finally leaving the room. Sophia smiled at his rare display of levity.

They ate breakfast together, staring out at the frozen world.

“We will go to the city today,” Dmitri said.

Sophia took a bite of her
kasha.
“Do we have any meetings today? Can I see Tatiana?”

Dmitri put his hand on hers. “No Tatiana. No meetings. Just us.”

Sophia smiled, lighting up from her toes to her head. He’d been working so hard. Flying in and out of the country. Tending to Gram. Lots of meetings. “I would love that,” she said.

After breakfast, she took a quick shower while he disappeared into his study. She dressed for the cold weather in slim cut wool black pants, Dmitri’s favorite low cut red blouse, and her matching red coat and hat she’d picked up on their most recent trip to Moscow.

Dmitri was waiting at the base of the stairs, his broad shoulders filling out a dark gray sweater perfectly, all he wore against the chill.