Page 14 of Wicked Knight 2

“We have everything you need.” He said matter of fact, then pointed at Anatoli. “Bring the lady doctor anything she wants.”

“I need better lighting. I’ll need to anesthetize him. He’s out now, but he’ll wake up as soon as I make the first incision. He’s also lost a lot of blood.”

“I’ll take care of it.” Anatoli rushed out of the room.

I took my time to look at my patient now. Maxim lay on the bed that was barely big enough for him in his bloody boxer briefs. Anatoli had taken the time to cut him out of his clothes but didn’t bother with a gown. I examined the sleeve of tattoos that wrapped around his arm and wide chest. The ink on his body was both a work of art and a love letter to Russia. Even in this state, the man looked formidable.

“Is there a place where I can wash up?”

“You have until morning,” Papa spoke again. “If he dies, you die with him.”

I opened my mouth to tell him that he was the one killing his son by keeping him here, but thought better of it. I didn’t want to make my situation worse. For as long as I could, I had to keep up the appearance that Maxim had a chance. If we were in a hospital, things would be different. But here? He’d lost so much blood. I would be surprised if he made it through the night.

“I will do my best.”

“Make sure you do.” He turned to leave, then stopped to glare at Ivan. “You did good. You saved the mission.”

Ivan nodded once. After Papa left the room and the tension in the air dropped a few notches, Ivan ushered me to the bathroom, where they had a fresh change of clothes for me. When I came out ready to do the impossible, Anatoli was already setting up the equipment he brought in with him.

“You know the chances of this working are not good, right?” I whispered while I set up the instruments on a small metal table. “They should’ve taken him to the hospital as soon as it happened.” I sounded like a broken record. Anatoli looked like a smart man. Maybe he could help me get his boss and me out of here.

“I can’t help you.” He lifted his gaze up at me. “I mean, I can help you with the surgery. But I can’t help you escape.”

“I get it. It’s my neck on the line. Not yours.”

With the limited resources I had, the surgery took almost two hours. The bullets on his flank hadn’t ruptured anything. So really, it was all just a matter of cleaning the debris out and stitching up the wounds. The bullet in his shoulder took the longest to remove because of how close it lay to a nerve root. Messing with it was risky, but it had to be done.

After I finished, Anatoli helped me clean up and get Maxim into a gown. When it was over and done, I rushed to the bathroom and shut the door behind me. I couldn’t keep pretending that this situation didn’t scare the shit out of me. Sure, Maxim would be okay in two or three weeks. But then what? Would they send me home now that Papa’s favorite son was out of immediate danger?

I sat on the cold floor and dropped my head in my hands. I thought of Papa’s words to Ivan. “You did good. You saved the mission.” The Brotherhood kidnapped me for a reason that had nothing to do with Maxim’s injury. Ivan went to the hospital to kidnap me, Donata Salvatore, not Dr. Salvatore.

What did the Russians want with me?

“It’s late. You should go to bed.” Anatoli spoke softly.

“Please don’t send me back to the cell.” I glanced up at him with tears in my eyes. Since I was little, I’d been afraid of the dark. That place was straight out of my nightmares. “I’ll be able to take care of Maxim better if I stay in the room with him.”

“Papa said to give you anything you need. I guess this counts as that. You can sleep in Maxim’s bed.” He offered me his hand.

“Thank you.” Tears streamed down my cheeks. “I need a shower.”

“Oh, sure. I brought toiletries and stuff for you. Um yeah.” He hesitated for a moment then darted out of the bathroom.

I locked the door then quickly removed the bloody scrubs. As soon as the warm water hit my back, my full body relaxed. Maybe Ivan and his guys initially treated me like a prisoner to make me more compliant. If they wanted money, my family would pay without hesitation. I just had to stay alive and not lose my shit.

With a sigh, I reached for the body wash. The label read for hair, body and face. Right. I pumped some into my washcloth, worked it into a lather, then rubbed it all over me. The sandalwood smell reminded me of Luca. I brought it up to my face and inhaled deeply.

“Luca. I need you.” I leaned on the tiled wall and let the tears come again.

Tomorrow, I would come up with a plan to escape. For now, I was too tired to think. Maybe Maxim would be grateful I saved his life and choose to let me go.

“Donata.” Ivan’s voice filtered through the door.

“I’m here. I haven’t climbed out the window.” I shut the water off and grabbed a clean towel off the rack. “Just another minute.”

I looked around for something to wear. In the end, I decided to wear the sort of clean scrubs I had on when they grabbed me. Another knock made me move a little faster. I took two deep breaths, then opened the door.

“I was covered in blood. I needed to clean up.”

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