I watch Maddie as she stops and sniffs every flower that catches her eye, which is most of them, already making plans to have a garden put in for her at the house.
“Do you like growing flowers?”
“I love it,” she says, smelling a big group of daisies.
Change of plans. No gardener, just supplies.
“How do these look?” Sibyl calls from the other room.
We walk back in, and Maddie claps her hands and gives Sibyl a huge smile. “These are so beautiful.”
She’s right. The three bouquets are lush and vibrant, and I’m happy to see she made the one for Maddie’s mom bigger than the others.
“These are perfect,” I tell her, handing over my card to pay for everything. I leave her a big tip, confident that I’ll be back soon because I like seeing Maddie’s grey eyes light up. She’s fun to spoil.
We tell her goodbye and drive over to the hospital with Maddie’s arms wrapped around the three large bouquets so they don’t get squished. Vasily texted me the hospital room earlier, so we bypass the woman at the front desk and go to the elevators. She tries to hand me the flowers for the guys, but I don’t take them.
“They’re from you,” I tell her.
“But I don’t know them. They have no idea who I am.”
“You’re with me,kiska.”
She studies me until the doors give a soft ding and open up. Stepping into the hall, she says, “This has more meaning than just me handing them flowers, doesn’t it?”
“It does.” When she seems okay with that idea, I gently lead her to a quiet corner and tell her more. “The Bratva is a family, and loyalty is above all things the most important. Two of my men were hurt very badly, so it’s my duty to be here and make sure they’re okay, that bills are taken care of, and to let them know I appreciate their sacrifice. Having you by my side when I do it is sending a very clear message to them.”
She licks her lips and whispers. “And what message would that be?”
I lean down and suck that plump lip of hers between mine, giving it a hard enough bite to make her moan. “That I’ve claimed you as mine,kiska. I’m telling them that you are at my side, and that’s exactly where I always want you to be.”
“Did you just propose?”
I laugh and give her a kiss. “It’s a done deal as far as I’m concerned, but when I do officially propose, it’s not going to be in a hospital while you’re holding flowers meant for someone else.”
She smiles and blushes, and when I wrap my arm around her, she leans into me as we walk to the room the guys are in. Oleg and Roman are sharing a room, and when they see us, they try like hell to hide the shock of seeing me with a woman in broad daylight that I’m openly showing affection to.
“Don’t try and sit up,” I tell Roman, who’s wincing and trying to lift himself up a bit. Both men are connected to IVs and bandaged up, but Roman looks far worse than Oleg, who seems okay aside from some slight bruising to his face and a bandaged side. Roman’s face is almost completely black and blue. His nose is broken, along with a few fingers, and his entire chest is bandaged up.
I tell him in Russian that he looks like shit. He laughs and then winces again. Pointing at him, I tell Maddie, “This is Roman, and that’s Oleg.”
“Hi,” Maddie says, handing Roman one of the bouquets. “I’m Maddie.” She’s blushing and not quite sure what to do so she keeps rambling. “I’m really sorry you’re hurt. It looks very painful.”
“It’s not too bad,” Roman says, taking the flowers and giving them a sniff. I know he doesn’t really give a shit about the flowers. That’s not what this visit is about.
Maddie steps over to Oleg and hands him the other bunch of flowers. Both men stare at her with open curiosity, but they’re very careful to not let it go beyond that.
“Thank you,” Oleg says, running a hand through is white-blond hair, no doubt wishing he was outside scaling something. He’s the antsiest person I’ve ever met. The only time he’s calm is when he’s climbing something or breaking into something. By the way he’s looking out the window, I’ve no doubt that he’s already come up with several escape routes should the need arise.
Switching to Russian, I sit down in the chair that’s set out for visitors and pull Maddie into my lap, telling the guys, “We got the fuckers who jumped you. Marcus won’t be bothering us again.”
Roman laughs. “I heard Vasily put his fucking head on a spike.”
“He did,” I say, smiling at the memory.
While we talk work, I keep a tight grip on Maddie’s waist, letting my thumb slide under her shirt and graze along her soft skin. She wraps an arm around my shoulders and rests against me, still holding the flowers for her mom. When I’ve got the guys all caught up on everything that’s going on with Scott and our deal with Adam, we get up and start to say our goodbyes.
“Just focus on getting better,” I tell them when they start asking about future assignments. “I’ll handle the hospital bills, and some of the guys will pick you up when you’re cleared to leave.”
