Page 81 of Morally Corrupt

"Harsh, little goddess, harsh!" He shakes his heads and barks some commands in Russian to Maxim.

He notes my almost catatonic state and takes me into his arms to bring me to the car. Meanwhile, Maxim collects the corpse, placing it in the trunk of the vehicle.

"I'm sorry," I whisper, and he sighs.

"Don't worry about it now."

That's the last thing I hear before everything goes black.

* * *

When I come to, it's to find an unknown man tending to the wounds on my hands. I struggle to snatch my hand away and get out of bed, but the man just gives me a strained smile.

"Yeshyeo net." Not yet.

"Pochemu?" I croak, asking him why.

"Est eta." He gets a pouch and rummages in it for what looks like some pills. I shake my head. I don't think I need anything else.

"Est!" he commands me to take the pill.

"Shto eta?" I ask as he peels off the foil and hands me a glass of water.

"Za galavi i protiv infektsi" His voice is matter of fact, and I don't protest anymore. I take the pills, and that's when Vlad comes into the room.

"Sposiba Sasha. Idti." He nods to the man, Sasha, and comes to stand next to my bed.

"You fucked up, malyshka."

I hitch my knees up and rest my back against the headboard of the bed.

"Theo knows… everything." I sigh, realizing this is still the reality I find myself in. I keep hoping it was just a bad dream.

"How did he take it?"

"He kicked me out. Said he never wants to see me again."

"Will he go to the police?"

"I… I didn't even think about that…" I mutter. "I don't think so…"

"This isn't you malyshka," Vlad says, his tone full of disappointment.

"I… I need help, Vlad."

Vlad purses his lips and regards me skeptically.

"Help?"

"I need to detox. I need to show him…" I say, my voice trembling a little. "I can't give up on him. I won't."

"Don't you think the ship's already sailed?"

"No… no." I shake my head furiously. "I can't let him go…"

Vlad sighs aloud and gets up.

"If that's what you want, I'll help you."

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