Page 35 of Lines Drawn
“We’re fine,” I tell her, motioning to David and myself. “Besides, David isn’t staying.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” she says as she begins her examination of Dominic.
Doc ushers David and I out of the room, and I can hear Dr. Ranlen lecturing Donovan and Dmitri about staying with Dominic.
Doc examines David first, and then me. His cognac eyes darken as he cleans the cuts on my arms and face. “Assure your father you're safe here, David. I can get your guards cleared by Allesandro, but I highly doubt he'll welcome the Pakhan here, allied with Cristian or not.”
I focus on my cousin's quiet phone conversation with his father, rather than the stinging, tugging sensation of Doc removing shards of glass from my back and legs.
“He wants to send an escort for me,” David says.
Doc sighs and moves away from me. I assume he takes the phone from David, as I hear him start talking to my uncle in his blunt, no-nonsense doctor voice.
After some back and forth, he finally says, “Yes, sir. My personal bodyguard will keep him safe, and escort him home in the morning. Understood… Yes, you too.”
A few minutes later—after some rapid-fire Russian from David—he must hang up the phone, as he says, “You sure I can't kidnap you, Doc? I don't know anyone who can make my father back down.”
“I'm taken. Go back to poaching Dr. Ranlen.”
David laughs. “I will.”
“James will escort you to somewhere you can sleep for the night, and he will be at your beck and call until you’re back where you belong.”
“Thank you.” David moves so I can see him. “You good, Sory?”
“Peachy. Go get some rest, Davidik.”
David leaves, and it's just Doc and me. He finishes with my wounds, but doesn't move for a long time. I give him a few moments before shuffling on the examination table, turning to face him.
“Come here, Baby,” I say quietly.
He crumbles, his amber eyes bright as tears fall down his cheeks. “Daddy…”
I open my arms, working hard not to wince as the movements stretch the cuts and grazes on my back.
He falls into me, but gently, careful not to hurt me. I hold him tightly as he sobs into my bare chest, letting my own pain and fear finally manifest, now it's just the two of us.
“I've never been so scared in my fucking life,” he says in a tear-filled voice. “First, Ten and Cristian try to take some years off me, and now, you…”
“What? What happened to Cristian?”
He pulls away. “After you left, Cristian and Benjamin…had words, and Benjamin stabbed Cris. It's nothing serious, just his shoulder, but it went pretty deep, so he'll need PT—which was probably Benjamin's plan all along.
“Anyway…everything is so fucked up, Daddy. I don't know what the hell is going on, but I talked to Cristian after patching him up, and that isnotCristian. At least, not the one who saved me and earned my loyalty.”
Fucking hell.I wasn't gonethatlong. I only traded places with Kail after helping Doc and Dr. Ranlen in surgery. Though, now I'm glad Doc didn't come home with me, despite my insistence. Tennant getting stabbed was a good thing from that perspective.
“Shhh,” I soothe. “It's okay. We'll figure it out. It's wouldn’t unusual considering the circumstances for him to have some bouts of anger, and to do things out of character; he went through a traumatic event, then had more shit piled on himsince being rescued. My guess is he has a lot of shit going on in his head right now that’s muddling everything currently happening. We'll help him.”
“Promise?”
“I promise, Baby.” He lays his head on my shoulder, and I hold him close once more. “I love you.”
“Love you too, Daddy. Don't scare me like that again.”
“I'll try not to, Baby.”
I can feel tears on my skin as he cries more, and it's all I can do to hold him as tightly as possible, while letting my own tears fall, as once more, I assure myself that my heart, my boy, my everything, is safe in my arms.
