I believed her. But if this is my sister’s last days on earth, then I won’t leave her side.
“My young man?”
She blushed. “The handsome, dark-haired one, who brings you clothes and hovers around like a mother hen?”
I frowned so deeply that a line appeared between my eyebrows. Had Alexei been here and I hadn’t noticed? That’s when it hit me. I let out a breath. “Oh, Micah. He’s not my man.” I shook my head with a rueful smile. “He’s my driver. And guard and—” I gave a shrug. “Maybe, partly a spy for my husband.”
“Your husband? I am so sorry. I just thought because Micah was here so often that, well. It’s none of my business. I shouldn’t pry.”
“Pry all you like. It’s not much of a story. My husband has better things to do than sit around in a hospital.” She blinked rapidly, and I could see she was struggling to find something to say. “It’s complicated,” I said and went back to staring at my sister.
Two seconds later, my phone rang, filling the room with its shrill, insistent noise. I threw them an apologetic look and hurried out of the room.
“Hello?”
I didn’t recognize the number.
“Amy?” a female voice asked.
“Talia?” Talia was one of the care assistants I worked with. But we weren’t overly close. It wasn’t like I had time to socialize since I had started working there. She let out a rattling sigh of relief. “Oh, thank God. I’ve been trying everyone we can think of.”
My heart sank. “What’s wrong?”
“Can you come in?”
“I can’t, my sister is sick.” I glanced at her frail form through the open door. “Plus, I don’t work there anymore. I’m sorry, but you will have to call someone else.”
She cut me off. “It’s Nikolai.”
I stopped breathing. “Is he?” I couldn’t finish the sentence.
“He’s not doing so well mentally.”
I sighed. ”Have you tried his grandson?”
“Several times. He hasn’t had a visitor in some time, and well,” she gave a small chuckle, “He’s asking for you.”
Several thoughts went through my head all at once. I wasn’t surprised he was asking for me. The old Russian mobster had a soft spot for me, and I had one for him. The thing that shocked me the most was that Alexei hadn’t gone to visit him.
Probably too busy playing happy families with his first love, I thought bitterly and instantly pushed the thought away. I wouldn’t give them any space in my head.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” I said softly and hung up.
Like magic, Micah appeared at the end of the hallway, his hands full of take-out coffee. He lifted his eyebrows in shock when I walked towards him and took it from him.
“Are we going somewhere, Mrs. Petrovov?”
“How did you know?”
He shrugged. “I don’t usually find you out of her room, and I have to force you to take food and drink. So?”
“I’m going to see Nikolai,” I said firmly. “No one has been for a while.”
“Nikolai Petrovov,are you making a nuisance of yourself?” I asked in my most strict schoolmistress voice from his open doorway.
From his bed, his head snapped around with so much force that I winced back. For a split second, his face was a mask of fury, and then he spotted me, and his whole face softened, and his eyes lit up.
“Amy.” Holding out his hands, I rushed to take them and let him pull me closer. “My favorite daughter.”
