“Vasya,” Alek whispered, horrified to see the acceptance in his uncle’s eyes. “You’re not going anywhere. Not you, too.” He received another squeeze.
Vasily’s eyes went to Gabriel “Where is Eva?”
Gabriel did nothing to hide the fear he was feeling. “With Caleb and the boys. She’s on her way. You’ll see her as soon as Yuri does his magic. Don’t you fucking do this,” he ground out. “You fight like a fucker. For her. Because she needs you more than you know. We all do.”
Throats were cleared as hands reached out to touch the man who was the glue that held together this thing they called a family. Those intelligent blue eyes briefly settled on each person surrounding him. “Take care of each other,” he said just before his face screwed up in a wince. He moaned, and Yuri apologized quietly as he dropped a scalpel and inserted what looked to be a straw in the incision he’d just made between Vasily’s ribs. A gurgle sounded, and then blood poured from the tube to spill onto the dirty floor.
As medical talk abounded—lungs filling with blood…shock…major blood vessel—Yuri grasped Vasily’s chin and flashed a penlight into his eyes. “You better start calling in those favors, my brother,” he muttered to the Pakhan who ruled close to a thousand men. After listening to his heart, or lungs, for a moment, he swiftly filled a syringe. “Like you always tell your boys…” He flicked the vein in the crook of Vasily’s elbow before he injected him with the substance. “Despite who we are, he’s listening.”
Yuri motioned behind Alek, and Dmitri and Jak brought over the stretcher Alek recognized from the infirmary. As Yuri went back to working on the drain sight while Micha repeatedly performed an ABCs check, the boys lifted and placed Vasily on the cushioned plank. He lost consciousness as they rushed him to the back of the house.
By the time everyone converged in the small waiting area outside the room Lekzi had been treated in less than a week ago, the bright light above the door was glowing like the sun, signifying someone was fighting for their life.
For the first time, that someone was the leader of the organization.
With his nerves shot, and his anger raging that his uncle would do this for him, Alek wheeled around when he felt a touch on his shoulder.
His life stood there. Safe. Both of them in pristine condition. One tormented, the other innocently smiling. He walked into the arm Sacha held up and embraced his future while he waited to see if they would be forced to live it without the man Alek had worshiped his entire life.
Thirty minutes in and all heads came up when sneakers squeaked, signifying someone light was running down the hallway. Surprise swept the room when Tegan blew by, her expression anxious but resolute. They’d seen her at Markus’s funeral, but she hadn’t said more than a quiet, subdued hello. Though Alek had watched with a heavy heart when Maks had found her in a corner; the two had hugged it out for about five minutes.
She didn’t say a word as she darted through the infirmary door, already ripping off her coat to reveal scrubs.
Alek was pretty sure he wasn’t the only one suddenly struggling with an overload of emotion as they settled in to wait.
♦ ♦ ♦
Two hours and no news later, Alek could hear the crack of wood and hammering. He was pretty sure it wasn’t his breaking heart, but the crew Vincente had called in to take care of the hole in the front of the house.
To try to keep his mind busy, he’d been thinking on what they were going to do when Vasily woke from his surgery. Naturally, they’d have to stay at the other house with the boys. His uncle would just have to put up with the circus. And when this place was repaired, Alek would bring his family back here to live permanently. He wanted to share in the raising of his daughter, and aside from her mother, what better person was there to do that with than Vasily?
Keeping a lid on his panic, he saw Sacha across the way, covering Lekzi, who’d fallen asleep in her bassinet. If he had a family to bring back. Which he would. It just couldn’t happen any other way. There would be no point to any of this if they weren’t with him.
But, after this latest debacle, why would she stay?
He cast his gaze around, unable to deal with that right now. The atmosphere was black, as it should be because this moment was their darkest yet. He was never more thankful to have everyone in the same room. The girls had arrived some time ago and were now silent support. Eva was a controlled mess where she paced in front of a brooding Gabriel.
Alek slowly turned back to peer out the wide window next to the exit that showcased the back driveway where their private ambulance was parked. He and Maks had been standing side-by-side for the past thirty minutes. “This is the second man to go down because of me, Maks,” he said quietly, unable to keep from voicing what he imagined everyone was thinking. “Two in one week.”