Page 100 of Brutal Promise

When I findthe room on the third floor, staff members are lifting my wife onto the hospital bed.

“She should come through any minute,” the attendant states.

“Thank you.”

I rush to Izzy’s side. She’s wearing a hospital gown, and her arm is hooked to intravenous fluids. She has sticky tabs on her chest, and the leads go to a heart monitor.

I grab her hand and sit by the bed. I sink my head into the blankets.

“I’m so sorry I argued with you. I’m sorry I didn’t figure this out early. I should have been by your side when the bomb went off.”

“It’s okay. I was with my dad.”

I jerk my head up, overjoyed. Izzy’s face is pale. Her voice is weak. Her lips look dry. But I’m elated she’s awake and remembers what happened.

“What?” I ask.

“Dad threw his arms around me. He protected me.”

“What did he say?” I stand and lean over the bed so I can hear her.

“He never knew I existed. I think his affair with my much younger mother and the fact her lover was Russian, who was off-limits, riled the Italians. It set into motion a deep-seated hatred by my family. Is he going to be okay? Please tell me he’s going to be okay…” her voice trails as her lips quiver.

I realize how fragile she is and what a tragedy it would be for her to lose her father minutes after finding him.

“I’ll call Nikolay. I’m sure he’s checking on him.”

She nods and drifts back to sleep. I hold my breath, afraid she might be in distress, and call the nurse. A woman in a white uniform comes to the room. Without a word, she checks her vitals and tells me she’s sleeping, and she’ll need a lot of it to recover from all the contusions on her body.

I hear voices in the hallway and the entire family piles in with helium balloons withGet Wellstamped on them.

33

IZZY

My eyes flutter open. White walls. I breathe faster.

Dmitry takes my hand. I search his face, and when he smiles, I know I’m safe.

Alena and Natasha murmur as they sit in chairs against the wall in my room.

“My dad?” I’m afraid to ask as the answer might mean I’ve lost another parent.

“He’s banged up, but he’s expected to pull through,” he replies. “We’ll take you to see him later. How do you feel?”

“Not bad, all things considered.” I grapple with the bed and raise it so I can sit and see everyone. “How long do I have to stay here?”

“You might get out today.”

“Is it safe now?”

“We have everyone rounded up. It appears James figured out whom you belonged to, but he only told a brother in the Irish mafia. However, they wanted to make a deal with the Italians, and…”

“I was the person to make that happen.”

“Yes, as Moretti’s granddaughter, you would make a suitable arranged marriage, which would have alienated the Russians.”

“Wow, but the Russians?”

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