18. Emilio
“What the hell?” I murmur as my phone goes off, sending rapid pings, one after the other.
I pull away from resting against Benjamin, as I try to keep track of the group chat my fellow Council members and the Voices have.
With a grunt, I leverage myself off the bed and rummage for an extra pair of clothes.
The hospital room doesn’t exactly have a lot of space, but I’m in Roman’s room so much that it made sense to throw some emergency outfits in here.
And it seems like I need something far more professional than I’m currently wearing.
“Everything okay?” Benjamin asks groggily.
I wince, knowing my phone woke him and he really needed sleep. “I’m not quite sure. But it seems the Council is meeting someone. Granted, I don’t exactly know who, it’s just a ‘SOS, get here now’ type of message.”
“Hmph.” Benjamin slides off the bed, grabbing one of the combs on the rolling table before practically attacking my hair as soon as I finish changing clothes. Finally, he steps back with a satisfied nod. “There. That looks better. Well, whatever it is, I hope everything goes well.”
“I’m sure it will, but I hope they have coffee,” I grumble, tired and slightly cranky from the small nap. I have a feeling I’m going to need the caffeine to deal with whatever I’m walking into.
“Do you want me to bring you some?” Benjamin asks as he stands awkwardly, seemingly unsure of what to do.
Smiling at him, I shake my head. “No, I’m good. I’ll check in with you later, though. I’m really glad we got to talk. And you know…”
With a wry laugh, he finishes, “Talk about feels? The thing you hate.”
“Yes! That. Thanks.” I take a deep breath, glad that we’re finding our footing again, but fuck, I’m never going to be the feels whisperer. That’s Daddy’s job. As the next round of notifications roll in, I groan. “Alright, I have to go. But let’s make time later, okay?”
I dash off without waiting for a response.
I’m still feeling too raw about everything, and am trying to process it all.
I definitely need to talk to Ian, because I want to know more about Middles.
If I can help my friend, I will. I know Daddy will fix everything, but I can at least try to help—as long as it’s not about feels.
I hit the main hall to the conference room just as Roman does, and judging by his appearance… “Soooo, good time?”
Roman gives me a look that has me suppressing giggles.
By the time we make it to what I’m going to start calling the Council Room, we’re both struggling not to laugh.
At least, until Carter clears his throat.
At which point, we pick up the mood in the room, and well, it looks like the day’s going to shit.
“How bad?” I ask as I take a seat next to Roman, who sits beside his father.
Given the way Keegan automatically reaches over to grip Carter’s shoulder, I have my answer. Shit is an understatement. Fuck.
“What’s going on?” Roman asks warily when his dad doesn’t say anything.
It’s Jude who breaks the silence. “David is on his way, on behalf of his father.”
“Oh, fuck,” Roman breathes.
My brow furrows as I try to make sense of it, but I can’t place who David is right now. Keegan taps out a message on his phone, and with a grunt, shows it to Carter, who visibly relaxes. I clench my teeth, wanting to demand answers, but forcing myself to remain silent.
“Do you think we should have Soren or the trips come up?” Jude asks, and that’s when it clicks in my mind. David. Bratva. Oh shit.
“Nah, I pulled out the big guns. I went with Sarah,” Keegan states calmly, even as the tic in his jaw belies it.
Before I can question why he’d go with Sarah, the furious sounds of men stomping towards us fills the room.
Carter pales, even though he sits up straighter, his face giving nothing away.
While I don’t know David, I take my cue from Roman’s dad.
The Martellis never had a reason to work with the Bratva, so this is likely going to be an experience.
Although, Soren is nice, so hopefully, David isn’t that bad.
The man that enters the room first has such a commanding presence that I almost drop my jaw. Fucking hell. Antonio would be jealous of his suit, but I’m automatically captured by those blue eyes. They’re practically snapping with energy, and his scowl? Fuck. I almost need to rearrange myself.
I blink, suddenly aware that several other men have entered the room, putting Jude and Keegan on edge. Roman and I exchange a worrying glance, but Carter steps in smoothly.
“David, is there a reason we have the pleasure of your company? Especially without proper notification?”
I’m in awe of how mild-mannered he seems, as if nothing is amiss, even though it’s obvious by the tightly coiled muscles on David’s face that he’s about ready to snap. Part of me wants to see it happen. The other part recognizes that would be exceptionally dangerous.
David’s lips twist into a half-sneer before he noisily pulls out a chair and drops into it, waving away the guards trying to crowd him. “It appears being allies with you is becoming dangerous.”
“Being allies is always dangerous. It goes both ways,” Carter volleys back smoothly.
David slams his hands down onto the conference table, and I automatically reach to where my knife is kept. Now that I’m no longer on suicide watch, I’m allowed my knife. And if this fucker doesn’t calm down, he’s going to get a taste of it.
“I had five of my best men picked up by the police, a warehouse burned down, and another two men I cared about are dead. With a message written in their fucking blood saying that is what we get for being close to the Council,” David snarls.
“Now, I have the Pakhan asking questions that I don’t have answers to, so I expect you to give them to me.
What the fuck are you doing to fix your shit? ”
It takes me a moment to parse out the words, his accent deepening too much for me to follow quickly.
When I hear the familiar tap-tap of heels, I cringe.
There’s no way I want Sarah anywhere near this asshole.
Granted, she can handle herself, but as long as I’m around, she doesn’t need to, because I’ll always protect her.
I try to catch Keegan’s eye, but he’s watching the door with an amused expression.
Sarah enters the conference room like a fucking avenging angel, scowling as she stomps right up to David.
I tense, and so do David’s bodyguards. She leans into his space and starts rattling off something in Russian so damn fast that my jaw drops.
I knew she spoke it, as I’d heard her with the trips occasionally, but fuck, there’s a difference between occasional banter and whatever the hell she’s doing now.
None of the bodyguards seem happy, and when they look ready to move in, David holds up a hand to stall them, while, I’m assuming, he argues back with her.
Eventually, he throws his hands up in the air.
I almost want to laugh because that’s how any argument goes with Sarah—it’s best to just accept she’s going to win.
If she wasn’t such a phenomenal doctor, I’d suggest she look into the legal field.
“Fine,” David snaps as he transitions back to English. “But I want you to come home now, instead of staying any longer. It’s too dangerous here. If they’re attacking allies like this… I don’t want my doctor in danger.”
A chill suddenly overtakes me as I process the words. I jolt to my feet, leaning over the table—the fucker is lucky there’s a table between us right now—and growl, “What are you talking about? Sarah is ours.”
Sarah immediately pales before blushing. She averts her eyes as I vibrate in place, and despite Roman placing a hand on my hip, it does nothing to calm me. David’s eyes light up at the challenge, and he folds his arms, smiling cockily.
“Actually, she’s joining us. I offered her a job. She agreed. That makes her mine.”
For a moment, I think I may faint. Sarah…the only doctor I trust…one of the few people I have ever counted as a friend…is leaving? And didn’t tell me? My heart shatters at the loss, but just as quickly, crimson overtakes my vision, and I need to punish this asshole who dares to steal from us.
There’s no thought to it. One moment I’m standing there with my heart broken, and the next, David yelps as my knife embeds itself in his upper arm, which really isn’t even a serious injury. The guards all go for their weapons, but a quick command from David stops them.
With a slow smile, even as blood drips down his expensive suit, David nods to me. “Well done, Kotenok. That’s how I’d react as well. I’ll trust you to watch over her then.”
Sarah sighs, and immediately starts to assess David. I know it won’t be long before she takes him for treatment. Given the way Sarah glares at me, I probably won’t be seeing that knife again. I open my mouth, unsure of what to say, but before I can, Keegan yanks me out of the room.
He doesn’t say anything, but from the waves of fury rolling off him, I can imagine I’m in hot water. Fuck. I’m going to have to apologize to everyone. Except David. Fuck him. Taking my Sarah…
The world starts to spin faster around me, even as Keegan forces me to keep up with him.
I stumble, my eyes refusing to settle on anything as my stomach starts to revolt.
I swallow down the bile, shivering, and something must finally clue Keegan in, because he comes to a hard stop and glances over at me.
“Fuck,” he mutters, “This is not what we need.”
“I’m sorry,” I whimper, my throat so tight and raw from the tears I’m holding back.
His noisy exhale doesn’t do anything to soothe me, but he stops pulling me along so hard. Instead, he simply nudges me to follow him, and I do it blindly. At this point, I don’t have the energy to fight.
When he enters the library, I look around in confusion, unsure what’s going on.
At least, until I see Master there amongst the books.
A familiar place for him—for us both. That’s when I collapse into tears.
I barely notice Keegan leaving as Master scoops me into his arms easily and carries me over to the chair.
The relief of being in his arms is heady, but my heart still hurts. I can’t believe she is leaving. What is it about me that makes people leave? She was my friend. At least…I thought she was.
I want her to be happy, but how can I ensure she’s safe if she’s with that ass?
Fuck, dizziness eats away at my mind as I breathe too fast. Master holds me tighter, letting me feel his strength, and I realize that I have the safety I need to break—and so that’s exactly what I do.
I let myself shatter—for her and for the past. Because, right now, I know my Master has me, and that’s enough. I’m safe in his arms. Finally.