Sapphire had an astonished look on her face. “Munchkin! It’s not polite.”
Kristina widened her arms. “How so? Daddy said I could ask Uncle Dom about anything!”
Her mother glared at Damian. “Stop spoiling her.”
“How the fu— hell is this spoiling? She barely sees him. In my opinion, let him play uncle since we are here.” She slapped his chest, but he brought her closer, gave her a long kiss, and murmured into her ear, and she melted into him.
Newlyweds.
Dominic shifted me slightly, lay next to me, and then made me lean back so that his arms wrapped around me, and I could bask in his warmth and smell forever. This was my favorite part of the day; nothing calmed my anxiety like my sexy pakhan.
“Michael,” Dom called, and in a second, he walked in with bags full of sweets, fruit, and my favorite drinks and placed it on the table while saluting me in the process. Vitya followed him with the flat screen TV and put it on the cupboard right in front of my bed. He adjusted the wires quickly and then threw Dom the remote, which he caught easily. “Now you can’t complain about being bored.”
I opened my mouth to give him a piece of my mind, because in no way did I hint that my stay here would be longer if he added some entertainment, but Dr. Ruslan entered the room and exhaled heavily.
“A crowd as usual. She needs to rest.”
“Come on, Doc! Let me go already. Look.” My finger pointed at the TV. “This calls for fast action. It brightened my day.”
He shook his head, scanned the papers in his hands, and answered regretfully, “No, it’s safe to say you’ll have to stay for two weeks more.”
Say what? Another two weeks with everyone worrying about me and those injections and IV drips? Hospitals were fine and dandy, as long as I was the one treating the patients, not the other way around! “Doc—”
He cut me off, “Rosa, you had two re-broken ribs, internal bleeding from the knife wound, a broken leg, not to mention other bruises. With your history of injuries….” I winced, cursing at Dom inwardly for giving him my health information. “We need to monitor you and make sure everything heals properly. So rest for two weeks and don’t overdo it.” Dom squeezed my shoulders and I sagged, because what other choice did I have?
“I’m sorry, Dr. Ruslan.” An apology was long overdue. My attitude probably grated on his nerves. “I’m just allergic to hospitals. The worldwide medical association should give me a huge discount, seriously, if it existed. I end up in them in every single country I’ve visited or lived. Nothing personal.” His stare softened as he patted my cast, aware of Dom’s low growl.
Ruslan was well into his fifties with a wife and five kids, not to mention being part of the Bratva and was the private doctor for Vasya. Rolling my eyes, I admonished Dom. “Stop.” He shrugged, not caring in the least, while Ruslan just shook head. “On that note, I’ll leave. By the way, the TV stays in my office after she is discharged.”
With that, he left as Kristina clasped her hands together, batting her eyelashes at Vitya. “Do you have rubles?” He nodded. She squealed, and then asked, “Pretty please! Could you get me a candy in the machine?”
“For God’s sake, Damian, buy our daughter a candy!”
“I will do no such thing,” he replied stubbornly, while Michael picked her up from behind.
“Come on, princess, let’s get you some.”
Once they were out of earshot, I found the courage to question them about the subject that really interested me, but none of them had wanted to discuss for the last week. This conversation was long overdue. “How is Ciara?”
They huffed, annoyed. Damian sat on the chair and brought Sapphire to his lap, while Vitya occupied the small wooden chair next to a similar table.
“Go ahead,” Dom said tiredly, most likely fed up with the subject.
Vitya cleared his throat, and said, “After the attack, Damian and Dom… didn’t have the heart to end her life.” A sigh of relief left me. As much as her revenge plan played a big role in my life and made me suffer unbearable pain, she didn't deserve to die. Not after what she went through. “Vito butted in and took her under his wing. He said he’d deal with her.”
Sitting up swiftly, I cried out, “What?” As much as Vito acted as the sweetest damn uncle on the planet, he had a thing for Ciara. What were they thinking leaving her in her mental state with a mafia boss, when all she needed was medical treatment and therapy?
“He promised to help her, and well…” Damian rubbed his neck. “Vito claimed her, Rosa. We couldn't do anything in this situation, nor did we want to.” His words surprised me, and he elaborated, “Yes, the fucker who did this to her deserved it. But she had a choice of not harming you, but she didn't care. It was generous of us to let her go.”
“But—”
“No,krasavica.” Dom nuzzled my neck. “He is right. Listen to him.” I guess I shouldn't expect less of them since she harmed me, but somehow their attitude disappointed me. Shouldn't they have more compassion for the girl who experienced what they did? “Leave.” Damian, Sapphire, and Vitya rose at once and disappeared, closing the door behind them while my heart ached for Ciara, because for a year of my life, she was my sister and the closest thing to me. On some level, I believed she even softened toward me and the bond formed between us.
I thought Dom wanted to continue reasoning with me without the audience, but instead, he lifted my left hand up and slid a platinum band with a perfect seven-carat princess-cut emerald ring on my finger. “Marry me next month?” Blinking rapidly, I wiggled my fingers so the bright sunshine reflected the beauty of the stone, deliberately staying silent. He shook me a little, and a giggle escaped me. “Rosa.”
Turning around as much as our position allowed us, I laced my hand into his hair and brought his lips closer. “Yes, I will, although it wasn't really a marriage proposal.”
He grinned. “No, just a question regarding the date. But if I had to propose….” He trailed off and my ears perked up.
