Page 73 of Always Salty

I hopped up from my chair and went into the bathroom where I kept my meds bag.

Even though I hated being a nurse, I did always come prepared.

I had Zofran always on hand, just in case.

There was no worse feeling than being sick and not being able to control it.

I pulled the meds out of my bag and said, “This dissolves under the tongue.”

“It’s safe for kids?” he asked.

“More than,” I said. “My good stuff that you would rub on the belly is at home. I’d suggest that over this, but it’ll still work in a pinch as long as you can get them to hold their liquid down long enough.”

He took the tablet from me and fisted it into his hand.

When I expected him to say thank you, he surprised me by going off on a tangent.

“I know that you’re a good person,” Shasha said quietly. “But Dima is broken, Keely. Don’t hurt him.”

I blinked, surprised by the words. “Like you just said, I’m a good person.”

“Good people can still do bad things to people that aren’t expecting it,” Shasha pointed out. He looked beyond me to the women in the kitchen laughing at something. “I had to pull all kinds of strings to get him out of the military and back here in one piece.”

My brows rose.

“He was one job away from losing himself,” he said honestly. “I’d like to say that he was going to be able to pull himself free, but I don’t think that’s the case. I think that he would’ve given and given until he had nothing left, then gone and died quietly by himself with none of us the wiser.”

My heart seized inside of my chest.

“I won’t hurt him, Shasha,” I promised him. “I won’t.”

Shasha turned back to me and said, “You better hope not.”

As Shasha walked away, I knew that I’d met the pakhan of the Russian Bratva right then, and not Dima’s brother.

Shasha would keep his promises, even if that meant heartache for his brother later on down the road.

But I promised myself right then that no matter what, I would not be the one to hurt Dima.

I didn’t care what I had to do to make that a reality, but I’d do it if it meant that Dima would never have to feel a void ever again.

I’d also point out Shasha’s hypocrisy next time I saw him.

If he wanted Dima to be able to live with himself, maybe he should stop sending him out on jobs he could be doing himself…

Cockwomble — noun — A male directed insult. A completely useless person that spouts constant bullshit.

—Dima to Shasha

DIMA

I was on my belly, eye to my scope, scope aimed at my target—or Shasha’s target—and there was a kitten on my back.

One that was wearing a jingling collar that was driving me insane.

The worst part was, if this was a fuckin’ pet, whomever owned the pet was allowing the cat to be really far off from anyone’s home.

I was in the middle of a field, on the edge of a city, about to take a shot that most snipers couldn’t take.

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