Page 132 of Voracious

Her skin is already paler, and I kiss her cheek, feeling her temperature. Inessa’s voice gets lower, tears clinging to the sound as she hugs me and pries the gun out of my hand.

“The window is closed, I promise no one will open it. Come on, lapachka, you don’t want Vanya to see you covered in blood when she wakes up.”

“Open your eyes, solnyshkuh, I’ll get you a new papa, just open your eyes and smile at me again.”

My wife takes in a shaky breath and has more strength than I do even though she’s carrying our child.

“Come on, Dima won’t let anyone hurt her.”

She manages to get me to my feet and disgust coats my voice at that motherfucker being anywhere near my daughter.

“No, he doesn’t deserve her. He allowed her to be taken, he’s weak.”

There’s an edge to her voice despite the softness in it as she attempts to correct me.

“Vlad, he loves her. He’s breaking alone and staying out of this room because of you. He doesn’t want to hurt either of you, but he loves her, and he deserves to sit with her.”

I don’t look away from Vanya as I refuse. “I’m not leaving.”

Inessa nods and presses her lips to my jaw. “Okay, he can sit with you too. You can keep each other company until Vanya wakes up.”

FORTY-NINE

Dima

Everyone’s whispering is pissing me off.

“Do you know who her mother is?” Tali asks in the corner of the waiting room.

Val shrugs at his brother’s question and he turns as if that stops anyone from hearing him.

“I don’t even remember him being around anyone when we were kids. I thought he was a virgin when he married Inessa.”

Fucking idiots, both of them are dumb fucks. My shoulder burns as I remove the shitty sling and throw it in the seat beside me. If they hit me in the chest, I would have happily died if she was kept safe.

Inessa walks into the shitty family room and gives me the weakest smile in existence. She keeps her voice low as though disturbing the air can tip the scales of fate.

“You can go in. I took the gun off him, but I don’t know if he has another one.”

Dumb and dumber stop their whispering and I stand like a robot, forcing my feet to move slowly rather than the run they want to. The warning was necessary because Vlad already has a weapon pointed at me as he sits by my hellion’s side with hischin by her ear. He’s taken the only seat, but I need to stand to feel less useless.

He doesn’t shoot me as he continues staring at her, and his voice is low, yet holding the same violence.

“You don’t love her. If you did nothing would have stopped you from sitting with her. You’re weak and you stayed away.”

The first person that hears those words from me is laying in the bed, it’s not going to be said to him to try and prove myself when his opinion doesn’t mean shit to me. I still dispel any notion that I would ever leave my hellion in case she can hear me.

“No, I didn’t come in because she doesn’t deserve to be around anything negative. Also, if you shoot, what do you think happens to the oxygen tank beside you?”

He doesn’t move back as he remains unblinking, staring at her eyes.

“This is the last time you’ll be around her,” he says as though anyone gives a fuck about what he has to say.

“Not happening. It’s her decision not yours.”

My refusal seems to get his attention and he smugly sits back as he keeps his gun on his knee.

“I knew you didn’t love her. You’d leave her either way when she deserves the best. Not someone who wouldn’t fight for her or can’t even fucking protect her.”

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