Chapter Forty-seven
Rodion
I registered a beeping sound before I could feel the dull ache in my lower right abdomen.
The pain only meant they had gone ahead with the transplant.
My muscles ached, my brain was foggy. I let out a slow sigh and turned to where I last left Alessia seated.
She wasn’t in the chair, and the chair itself had been moved from the bedside.
“Boss,” Dorothy’s voice cut through the haze.
I turned to where she stood, her tight smile in place as she stepped closer. “The surgery was successful.”
I tried to sit, and she rushed to stop me. I lifted a hand, stopping her. The pain gnawed but stayed within limits I could endure. An IV line ran into my right arm, tubes buried in my skin, claiming control that should have been mine.
She spoke carefully. “You need to rest for a while before you move.”
“What’s the status?”
She reached for the clipboard on the table. “The blood pressure is stable. But the vitals are still fluctuating, so we’re monitoring closely. You’ll keep the catheter for two to three days. Everything else is okay.”
I peeled the sticker from my hand where the injection had been, the sting fading to a dull soreness. “We can handle the rest back at the clinic. Where is Alessia?”
Dorothy shifted back, fingers tightening on the clipboard. “Sir, you might get dizzy if you move. You need to stay here for a week or two.”
I let the silence stretch, my gaze fixed on her until she looked away. “I asked a question.”
She busied herself with the drip, fixing it back where it had been. “She’s not here at the moment. I’ll inform Matvet and Madam Regina that you’re awake.”
Her words settled in. Grandmother? What the fuck was she doing here, and how did she know?
Dorothy walked out, closing the door behind her. The anesthesia still clung to my head, fogging my thoughts, but I scanned the bedside table for my phone. It wasn’t there. I pulled open the drawer, reached inside, and found it. But the screen stayed black.
Pavel should have called. The New York shipment should’ve been sorted by now.
The door opened, and for a second, I expected Alessia. Matvet appeared instead, dragging himself with a walking stick.
“Boss, welcome back.”
“I see you can walk now.”
He chuckled. “It called for it. Shouldn’t you be lying down?”
I glared, scanning the door, then back at him. “Where is she?”
“She’s probably preparing to run more tests. You’ll need to be monitored—”
“Where is Alessia?”
His eyes flicked away, something I had noticed with Dorothy. He was hiding something. I knew him well enough to read the most minor signs. This one spelled trouble.
“Matvet.”
He met my gaze. “The donor we had was murdered, and you could have slipped into a coma.” I let the words sink. “But we got another donor.”
“Where is my gun?”
“Sorry?”
I lunged for the drawer, shoving my hand inside to grab the gun. One bullet could remind him how to get straight to the point.
“Boss, I tried to stop her, but she took matters into her own hands,” Matvet said, urgency slicing through his words. “I had some men go after her and keep an eye on her while I figure out a way.”
Took matters into her own hands? I froze, my chest tightening. It better not be what I was thinking. “Where is Alessia?”
He exhaled. “She went to Italy with Leonid.”
My eyes narrowed, my mind racing to catch up. Leonid? Italy?
“I sent three men—”
“When?”
Silence. “Three days ago,” he said.
Yanking the IV from my arm, the pain stabbed beneath the skin. But it was nothing compared to the fire climbing my chest. Anger, frustration, and betrayal tangled together.
“Sir, I couldn’t stop her,” Matvet said, voice tight.
I looked up and scoffed. He was a joke, weak and pathetic. I threw the sheets aside and slid from the bed, every movement deliberate.
“Boss, I think—”
“You think nothing,” I snapped. “One more word and I will kill you.” My vision blurred as I crossed to the closet. The doctor was right, I needed rest, but Alessia mattered more than pain. I had promised her there would be no more Leonid. She had been hurt and terrified then, and now this?
My steps trembled as I reached the closet. I gripped the handle and shut my eyes. I could not picture her face. The anesthesia had dulled everything to a fog. Fuck. I needed her.
The door opened, and someone walked in. “Why is he out of bed?” Grandmother’s voice only fueled the storm inside me.
I forced myself upright, though every muscle begged me to lie back down. That was the part that clawed at me the most. I had to stay in bed doing nothing while Alessia was away. What the hell did Matvet mean by saying she took matters into her own hands? She hated it.
And Leonid? That bastard only dug his own grave. What agreement did he think he had with me? The deal was over.
A hand pressed against my shoulder. I turned to Grandmother, her worried face out of place. “You shouldn’t be out of bed. It hasn’t even been a week, and you’re moving.”
What I needed was my phone to be charged before dealing with anyone. I went straight to the bed, grabbed the useless thing, and tossed it onto the mattress. I turned to Matvet, still standing in the room. “Get me a fucking charger.”
He limped out as Grandmother sank into the chair Alessia should have been in. Was she all right? God help me if anything were to happen to her.
Dorothy came back, adjusting the IV and sliding the needle under my skin. I let her. What mattered now was strength. The sooner I got out of this bed, the sooner I could find her. But first, I needed eyes on her. Every move Leonid made, every step he took. I needed updates.
I faced Dorothy. “What else should I know?” Her hands trembled around the blood pressure cuff. “Didn’t we agree on the donor and the deal?”
“Boss, I just did what I was ordered to do.”
“Who gave you the orders?” My voice cut through the room. “Who is the boss here?”
Grandmother cut in. “Get well and go yell at Dmitri.”
My blood boiled as I turned to her. “Dmitri?”
She sighed and waved Dorothy out. “Give us the room for a second.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Dorothy stammered and slipped out.
I did not need her to explain. I already knew whose blood I would spill. If Dmitri had taken her to Leonid, I would gut him myself.
Grandmother’s voice cut through my rage. “Alessia called Dmitri and begged him to do her a favour.” Damn Alessia. “And Dmitri agreed.”
I let out a low scoff. Where the fuck was that charger?
She leaned forward. “They faked a contract. Dmitri dragged her, or pretended to, so Leonid would think you allowed it. You know Leonid. He does clean business with Konstantinov.”
My hands itched to move, to strike, to fix what I let slip. Every detail raced through my mind. She was out there, and it was my fault. I could feel the pressure behind my eyes, the tension coiling in my chest. I needed her back.
The door opened, and Matvet stepped in, carrying a charger. He took my phone and plugged it in.
“Bring me my laptop,” I said. “And get me every damn piece of information on why they moved to Italy and exactly where in Italy they are. If you come back empty, you will be insulting me.”
“Yes, boss.”
****
A week passed, and the healing was coming along. But the fact that Alessia was still in someone’s hands was the thorn I couldn’t tear out.
I left the hospital and returned to the territory.
The first thing that greeted me in my room was Alessia’s phone and a note.
They sat on the bedside table, mocking me.
I moved closer and touched the phone; she had left it, and that was why I couldn’t reach her.
Taking the note, I unfolded it, and her words only twisted the knife in my chest.
I scoffed, letting my eyes drag over the words again.
Trust and love were supposed to come with honesty.
Why would she think throwing herself into danger was the only way?
I wasn’t angry with her. No. The anger sat with me, for being sick and useless when all she needed was happiness.
How could she love a man like me, a man who left her to fight her own battles while I lay in a hospital bed?
Love. The word looked foreign in her handwriting. Still, as I read it, a heat cracked through the ice around my chest. Would my heart even beat the same if I saw her lips form those words?
Her voice lingered in my mind. I could almost see her smile flicker at the corner of my vision, feel the stubborn flare of her temper nudging at the edges of my patience.
My eyes drifted to the vase on the table.
The flowers she left drooped, heads bowing like they knew she wasn’t there.
That morning, she had slept like an angel.
If I had stayed, we could have woken up together.
But I left. I missed the dinner she had carefully prepared.
The one thing she asked, and I failed to do.
Did I worry her? Of course. Her messages from that night still weighed on me, each one a reminder that I missed the date. She had called so many times, and I never answered.
I would fix it. I would buy her flowers in the morning and wait for her that evening, sitting in the restaurant until she arrived.
How was she dressed that night? I picked up the phone to call Pavel. He was already in Italy, but I needed the CCTV footage from that night.
“Boss.”
“I didn’t get any updates.”
“It should be in your email in a minute. Alonzo also found a lady who can work as a maid. I’m working on getting her inside Leonid’s house.”
Oh yes, I’d already talked to Alonzo and got him involved.
He was a police officer in Rome, someone who could make a few things move.
“Good. Be discreet.” I rubbed my brow and sank onto the bed.
Pavel could be my eyes. He never left his hidden spot because he worked with screens, but this situation demanded it.
I trusted him, as I trusted Matvet. I just needed Matvet here on other business. “How is she?
“Physically, she’s okay.”
I stared down at the letter she left. “Alright. Don’t mess up. I also need CCTV footage from a restaurant. I’ll send the address and date. How long will it take to pull it from there?”
“That might take a while, but you’ll have it.”
“Alright.” I hung up and immediately sent him the address and the date.
An hour passed before Pavel sent me the clip.
I opened it, and there she was. The camera caught her from the front, though her face was barely visible.
I could see her outfit. The neckline dipped low, thin straps resting on her shoulders like a silent invitation.
Her hair fell in soft waves, brushing her collarbone.
A slow smile tugged at my lips as I watched her shift her gaze from the window, then back to her phone. She waited.
A waiter approached. They exchanged a few words. He left. She waited.
I sat there, watching every minute she waited. The seconds stretched into an hour, then two, and I wished she had given up and left. She fidgeted with her phone, pressed it to her ear, then lowered it again. Another waiter approached, but she waved him off.
She waited, believing I would walk in. I didn’t.
It gutted me. Watching her sit there, clinging to a hope I had already shattered. I failed her that night, and I was failing her now.
If I could talk to her, I would tell her about the date I ruined.
I would say to her, I hated that she was hurt and that I would make it right.
That she was insane for saying she loved me.
Then I would ask what she expected in return, because words were never my way.
But I could make her feel it. Make her know I felt the same.
I was lost watching the footage when a knock cut across my thoughts. I paused the clip and looked up. “Come in,” I said.
The door swung open, and before Matvet even stepped inside, a dog bolted through first. My dog.
Artur. I set the laptop aside, confused, as he jumped at me.
His weight pressed into my chest while his tail thrashed with excitement.
My hand slid over his back, but my eyes were already on Matvet, who lingered at the door.
“What is this? A way to apologise?”
He chuckled. “No, boss, Alessia asked me to do her this favor. She said you would want him home when you returned.”
Alessia moved pieces without asking, and still made it feel like she knew exactly what I needed. I didn’t let it show, but it burned low inside me.
“What’s his medical report?”
“All clear.”
Artur dropped to the floor and ran around the room, like he was trying to memorize the corners he already knew. He dragged me to the memory of Alessia calling me Artur. Back then, she was clueless and na?ve. Now she was making choices of her own. What the hell did I turn her into?