Page 69 of Sins He Taught Me (Bratva Crime Syndicate 3)

“What’s going on?”

“Well, he has a fever, and he doesn’t seem to have much of an appetite. I’ve looked all over the house, but I couldn’t find any medicine that would reduce it. I decided to just wrap a bag of peas up in a towel and use them as an ice pack.”

When I check to see if they’re working, Nikolas shakes his head ‘no’ slowly.

“Where’s Matvei?” Dad asks.

“I’m not sure. Probably out doing business.” Maybe he’s at the club, handling whatever problem he’s got going on right now. I consider telling Dad that he ran out after last night, but I bite my tongue. There are more important things to worry about than that.

“I guess I’m just surprised that you called me,” he says.

I sigh. “Who else would I call?”

“I know, it’s just …”

He doesn’t have to finish the thought because I’m certain we’re thinking the same thing. When I was younger, most of the time, he was chasing the bottom of some bottle, wasted out of his mind. Very rarely was he lucid enough to actually be a parent and take care of me. When he did, however, he was great at it. It was always more proof of the one thing I know to be true of my father: beneath all his demons, he’s a good man.

I wonder if I can say the same thing about Matvei.

“It’s okay, Dad. Is there anything I should do to try and help break this fever? He’s looking really bad, and I’m getting worried.” I lower my voice and turn my head so Nikolas can’t hear me.

“If he’s feeling nauseous, try to give him some medicine to settle his stomach. Aside from that, it sounds like you’re doing all you can. Alternate between a wet rag and the cold peas. See if that helps.”

“Okay,” I say, nodding. I feel a little more confident. If I’m doing everything that Dad did before, then I must be doing something right.

After my call with Dad, I spend some more time with Nikolas, trying to cheer him up. I read his favorite books and try to interest him in some of his action figures, but none of it seems to be working. His fever hasn’t broken, and if anything, he looks worse.

I decide that I can’t sit here and let this continue.

I load Nikolas into the car and pull out of the driveway, sending a quick text to Matvei to know where we are. The last time we did this, he was scared that something bad had happened. If he’s kept up to date, I think he’ll take the bad news better.

At the hospital, the nurses take Nikolas to get examined quickly. The same woman from before sits behind the counter, and I almost laugh at how frequently I’ve seen her. Aside from Nikolas and Matvei, she’s one of the only people I’ve seen this often over the last month. We make eye contact, but she looks away immediately. Like she’s scared Matvei might come for her throat if she looks at me wrong.

I take a seat and fiddle with my phone, trying not to get too jittery. I can’t help it, though. Being in this place brings out the worst parts of me. I think about Dad, and Mom, and even Matvei’s mom, all of them suffering in this very same hospital.

The doors to the waiting room burst open and Matvei steps out. Immediately, I stand and rush towards him. He grabs me by my forearm, but there’s no anger in his touch. He’s worried, and it feels as if he’s reaching out for comfort.

“Where is he?” he asks.

“He’s with the doctors right now. They said it might just be a really bad fever, but they’re giving him a full examination to make sure it’s not something worse.”

Hearing that, he seems to unwind just a bit. But then a dark look crosses his face as he stares behind me. I turn around to see Chris Walter, the doctor that used to work for the Morozov Bratva. Matvei’s hand on my arm tightens.

“It’s okay,” I say, trying to soothe him.

Matvei’s eyes slide from Chris to me. “It’s not.”

“It is,” I insist, reaching for him. “We have to worry about Nikolas.”

“When I told you he was shady, it’s because I caught him stealing, Victoria. Stealing from my family. The only reason I didn’t have him killed is because of who his father is. Judge Jeffrey Walter. He had too much dirt on us to get him back for what he did. So, no, it will never be ‘okay’ between us.”

I glance back to see Chris head off, throwing a knowing smirk back at the two of us. I swear, I could smack that look off his face. He’s practically gloating, pleased with himself that the only reason he’s living is because of what he knows and all the damage it would do if he turned up dead.

The vigilante pops into my mind again. He could very easily be the man behind all of this mess going on with Matvei’s businesses. Bitter anger could drive a person to do the worst of deeds, and if Chris worked for the Bratva, I think it’s safe to say he’s not above killing people.

“Right now, Nikolas needs you,” I say, looking up at Matvei. “We have to focus on him, okay?”

This seems to break through Matvei’s angry trance because he nods slowly. “You’re right. Let’s go.”

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