“Hyper critical?” she scoffed. “Did you see the wallpaper they tried to pass off for the kitchen? I told them right up front I don’t do flowers. What they suggested was atrocious. Like sunflowers on steroids. They had little faces from the Alien movie, for God’s sake.”
“But you always did like horror flicks.” I could barely contain my laughter.
The agitated look she threw my way could ignite a fire under anyone. That included me, but the rush of heat was all about the woman sitting in the passenger seat next to me. I pulled to a stop in front of our rental home. Both of us were eager to move into the new house. Construction had taken longer than expected but getting it perfect was worth the time taken and the money spent.
Plus, she was worth it. Our little family was growing.
“I’m just saying you need to take it easy.” There’d been a few complications early on, including with her blood pressure.
“Worry wort. I’m fine. You can make dinner. How about that?”
Oh, the things her wicked smile did to me. “If you’re a good girl.”
“You know what? Later, I might show you a few tricks that I learned from binge-watching a few shows over the weekend.” Selena laughed maniacally as she climbed out. But not before giving me the same admonishing glare she did when she was challenging my overwrought concern.
I remained where I was for a few seconds, shaking my head and laughing. She had a way of making me feel like an idiot and the luckiest man alive all at the same time. Okay, maybe I was a little over the top with my concern about her welfare. She was almost six months pregnant, for God’s sake.
As a first-time father, I had every right to be concerned. Try telling a stubborn woman that more than once.
Just as I grabbed the keys from the ignition, she danced around to my side, pushing my buttons on purpose.
I growled loudly enough for her to hear me just as…
What the fuck was that?
The loud popping sound came out of nowhere. Suddenly, Selena’s body was pitched forward against the window, her face only separated by a few millimeters from mine.
“Selena.”
She pressed her hand on the surface, gasping for air, but I could hear her words as she slid. “I… love… you.”
“Mr. Dmitriyev.” The man’s raspy voice caught my attention.
Jerking up, I rushed forward, nearly strangling the surgeon. “How is my wife? What’s happening?”
“Calm down, son,” my dad told me.
“I’m not going to be calm, for fuck’s sake. That’s my wife past those doors.”
The surgeon shifted his concerned gaze from my father to my brother and finally to the other members of the Dmitriyev family. Of course we were intimidating. We had every right to be. My wife had just been shot in cold blood.
“I’m afraid your wife suffered a massive stroke after the attack. She was oxygen deprived for almost twelve minutes.”
“And? You’ve taken care of everything. Right? You just operated on her, for fuck’s sake. You have her blood all over you.”
“Sasha,” Mikhail tried to comfort me. No one could at this point.
The goddamn bullet had been meant for me.
“Fuck off. I just need to see my wife.” I tried to barrel my way past the surgeon when he took a giant step in front of me, throwing out his hands.
“You need to listen to me, Mr. Dmitriyev. Please.”
“Fuckin’ listen to him, Sash,” Vissarian huffed.
I snarled at anyone and everyone. “Fine. What?”
“While your wife is alive, she’s on life support.” The surgeon darted another look toward my family.
