Chapter 36
Hellbringer
Dina
Waking up from being drugged feels like swimming in mud.
If my head wasn’t hurting before, a headache pounds in my temples now, making my entire scalp contract.
I feel like I’ve been hit by a ton of bricks.
Given the fact that the ceiling and the walls of my hair salon collapsed on me, the saying isn’t too far from reality.
I lick my dry lips and rub my eyes.
Something scratches my cheek. It’s the IV port they moved from the crease of my elbow to the top of my arm. Thankfully. Now I can move my hand better.
“Hey,” Sergei says.
Unease that he’s at my bedside tickles at the center of my chest. Anxiety.
I recall what happened before the nurse put me out like a stray cat who tried to claw its way out of a box.
Sergei is still here because the chief of police asked him to babysit me.
I’m sure he’s annoyed that he’s having to babysit me, and I worry he’ll actually follow through on the threat he made.
I remember he said he’d suffocate me with a pillow.
Sergei has places to be and people to see. Also, he’s a smoker, and I bet the nicotine deprivation is making him antsy. He’s been sitting here for a while.
I hope he got a puff or two in while I slept, but I doubt it since I assume the police are stationed at my door to ensure I stay inside and also to make sure he’s complying with the chief’s request.
“What time is it?” I ask.
He tells me the time.
“You’ve been here all day,” I say.
He grunts.
“We haven’t spent this much time together in…maybe never.”
“Thank God,” he says.
I smile. “I’m not going anywhere, Sergei.” Go grab a cup of coffee and a cigarette.
He shows me his teeth. “That’s up to me.”
“What do you mean?” I look more closely at him. Strands of hair stick out every which way. It tells me he’s run his hand through his hair multiple times.
He puts his phone away, and we look at each other. Really look at each other. Is this the guy I spent half my life with? What the hell was wrong with me? Is whatever was wrong with me still wrong with me?
“You could join the departed any time you fall asleep. Nobody would know.”
“My nurse would.”
“She’ll be next.”
“You’re a bad man.”
“You were married to me for nearly two decades. What’s that say about you?”
“Touché.”
He wins all our arguments. I guess that’s why he’s a lawyer and I’m not. “How is that gambling addiction going for you?” I press my lips together. What the heck is wrong with me? I’m not suicidal, so why would I push the man to kill me when I know (I fucking know) Sergei doesn’t make empty threats.
The question earns me a death stare.
I keep going. I don’t know why. Maybe the ton of bricks that fell on my head made me more daring.
Crazy. Bold. I mean, if he’s going to take me out, why not go out in style?
I’m no pushover. I want no pity. I want to walk into heaven like a bad bitch.
“You sitting there planning to kill your wife so you can make a grab for our insurance money?”
Sergei lunges out of the chair and cages me with his hands on each side of my body. He leans in, and I turn my face away from him. Cold lips touch my cheek, and he whispers, “You always knew me best.”
A knock on the door makes him back off and answer the door as if he’s at home.
“It’s you again,” he says to whoever wants in.
“Me again,” the nurse says. “I need to check my patient’s vitals.”
“She’s fine.”
“Come in, Nurse.” I still don’t know her name. Her badge is always flipped and facing inside. Maybe it’s for the best that she leaves it that way, so Sergei can’t look her up as easily.
The nurse enters the room, and I hear Sergei’s footsteps before the door closes. She’s wearing purple scrubs, and her hair is partially wet, so she’s showered somewhere. Her eyes look puffy as if she just woke up, and maybe she has.
When Sergei doesn’t follow behind her, I sit up. “Is he gone?”
She nods. “How are you feeling?”
“I’ve got a headache.” I accept the meds she’s giving me only because I recognize the pills. Pain meds. “Why did you put me under?”
“There’s an order for you to be medicated if you become hostile or struggle. They’re saying you’re not able to make decisions.”
“Do you think that’s true?”
She shakes her head. “Listen, I don’t know what’s going on, but I know I need to stay out of it. I have a baby to think about.”
“I completely understand. Sergei knocked me up and then left the country. I delivered Christina…we call her Chi-chi, and took care of her on my own until he returned and we got married. Marrying him was the biggest mistake of my life. Don’t marry the baby daddy if you don’t love him, if he’s not providing for you, or willing to provide for you, and if he’s not trying hard, and I mean hard, to make you happy. ”
“Thanks for the advice.”
“Welcome.”
“I left him.” She licks her lips. “I took this job and left.” She picks up the tablet hanging by a string from her neck and logs in my vitals. “Your vitals are good.”
“I get to go home?”
She smiles because clearly, I’m joking. “Nobody is going anywhere, Dina. I took a nap and a shower while you were out. In the meantime, they admitted the man you were with, and the whole city rose up. There are riots and fires, and people are talking about outlaw groups entering the city to reclaim lost territory. It’s a damn war zone out there. ”
“They what?! Go back. Did they admit the man I was with? They dug him up?” I insisted that they rescue Connor, and they refused. She injected me with downers because I protested, so how come they changed their mind?
“Yes, he’s alive. Sedated.”
“Like me? You have orders to sedate him?”
She nods. “I shouldn’t be telling you this.” She bites her lip.
“I won’t tell anybody. Where is the man now?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
When she tries to leave, I say, “I have thirty-five thousand dollars hidden in my apartment. You can have every penny of it. The man they admitted is important. It is very important that he lives. You don’t know the history of this city, but I grew up here, so here’s quick context.
The man they found is Selnoa’s prince, and his twin, his twin…
” I start choking up and crying. “Oh my God, I’m a mess. ”
The nurse hands me a tissue. “I’m sorry.”
I dab my eyes. “Don’t be sorry. You didn’t do anything.”
“But if I hadn’t pulled away and made space for you in the parking lot, you wouldn’t have wanted to get your hair done at that salon.”
“Oh, honey, I own the salon.”
“Oh no.” Her shoulders slump. “You lost your business.”
“See why I’m crying?” I chuckle while tears run down my cheeks.
“But never mind the few bricks. We can build more salons. The man’s twin is out there somewhere, and he’ll come for his brother.
He’s going to rescue him, and we need to prepare.
” I look around the room, even though I’ve got no idea what to do.
I need to get to Connor. Maybe try to wheel him out. Can I stand on my feet and walk?
“The staff is upset that they won’t let us leave the hospital. We’re sleeping in our lounges. Normally, we’d sleep in the empty rooms, but we can’t since the injured people from the riots and territorial wars keep coming in.”
“What room is he in?” I try again.
She turns away. “I have to go.”
“Please stay with me. If you need sleep, I’ll scoot over. I’ll go sit and give you the bed, but don’t leave me with Sergei.”
“I can’t stay with your husband in the room. I’m scared he’ll hurt my baby.”
I curse. “You’re right.”
She bites her lip again. “Before I sedated…him, he asked about you. I told him you were okay.”
“Thank you.”
“He also said to open the blinds.”
I look at the blinds. That’s weird. “Why would he say that?”
The nurse shrugs. “Do you want me to open them?”
I nod. “Sure. I mean, why not? If that’s what he said.”
The nurse pulls the blinds open, revealing the city. Since I’m on the tenth floor, I have a clear view of our city’s historic landmark. Two fires burn near it.
The nurse stands by the window. “A beautiful city with some really messed-up people running it.”
“Yeah. Those fires are too close to Rount Maletia. Have you been there yet?”
“Not yet. I’m thinking about bailing out of here. This job isn’t worth the money.”
“I don’t blame you. If you do decide to bail, you could use the thirty-five thousand I’m offering you.”
“I can’t get involved in this mess.”
“I should probably tell you where I hid it anyway. I don’t think I’ll be getting out of this room alive.”
“Don’t say that.”
Tears run down my cheeks. “Actually, do you have a pen and paper? I’ll write down my address and where you can find the money.” When she hesitates, I extend a hand. “Come on. We don’t have all day. My ex could walk back in here any minute.”
The nurse digs for the pen and some paper, and her badge flips toward me. I read her name. “Ekatia. That’s a very nice Selnoan name.” She’s not from around here but her parents might be or they could’ve visited and liked this name.
She unlatches the badge and shoves it into her pocket. “Thanks.” She folds the note and drops it into her pocket with the badge. “Do you need to use the bathroom?”
“No, but a glass of cranberry juice would be nice.” I write down what I need to and hand her the paper.
The door opens, and Sergei walks in carrying a Styrofoam cup. He opens his mouth to say something, but a bullet pierces the window and hits the middle of his forehead.
Sergei’s brain splatters all over the white wall. The cup drops from his hand, spilling coffee on the tile. Sergei collapses.
The nurse screams at the top of her lungs.
I join her in screaming and jump out of bed. My IV rips from my arm, and blood gushes out of my vein. I press my hand on my arm to stop the bleeding and try to rush out of the room, but men in suits, along with uniformed cops, push inside. They’re dead on arrival. Taken down like bowling pins.
A pile of men blocks my path. Even if I could move (which I can’t because I’m frozen in terror), they’re in my way. Trapped, I simply stand there, whimpering.
A sniper is targeting the people in the room. A professional sniper. A man who would know how to use the rifle I got busted with. I shouldn’t be afraid because I know he won’t hurt me, but to witness Declan Crossbow’s work makes me want to release my bladder down my legs.
On the floor, by the window, my nurse is curled up in a ball. My brain kicks in. I have to get us to a safe place so Declan can do what Crossbows do best: destroy their enemy.