Bella opened her eyes and looked up at Victoria. She could see the emotional distress that Victoria was battling as tears streamed down her face. It was obvious that she had been severely scarred.
“Vic—”
“Wait, Bella. I-I am so sorry,” Victoria apologized, sobbing. “Ihadto fight for my own survival, my family, and my unborn—”
Victoria’s head fell. She cried openly, clinging to the bed sheet as if she were holding on for dear life. Even though Bella had seen the video, she’d never allowed herself to imagine what the ordeal must have been like for Victoria. But, once she did, her own tears threatened to fall. She placed her hand over Victoria’s and pried it from the bed sheet. Bella held her hand and whispered, “I know.”
Victoria sat in the chair that she had dragged over to the bed. She rested her head on the bedrail and attempted to compose herself. Bella allowed her to grieve in silence. She held her hand, hoping to bring her some sort of comfort.
After a minute or two, Victoria wiped the tears from her cheek and looked at Bella. “I need to thank you,” Victoria told her.
Bella swiped at her own tears and frowned.
“Thank me?” Bella was confused. “For what?”
“All along, I knew the Russians couldn’t run an operation like that in the U.S. without help from someone within the U.S., but I was never able to find the connection. What happened to me and Robert was a devastating taste of hell.Everyoneneeded to be held accountable.” Victoria paused and blew out a cleansing breath. She squeezed Bella’s hand and looked her in the eye. With noticeable sincerity, she said, “Thank you for being a good detective.”
Grateful for the compliment, Bella smiled up at Victoria. She accepted her apology for killing her cousin as if Victoria had been given a choice in the matter. “Vic, you’ve been through hell and back. We’re good.”
Victoria raised a brow at Bella. “Shi-id! I ain’t ever been shot, bitch,” she snorted. “How are you feeling?”
Bella rolled her eyes and snatched her hand away from Victoria. “I feel like I’ve been shot, stupid.”
Victoria stood and dragged the chair into a corner. Branding a mischievous grin, she turned back to Bella. “By the way, your sister is here,” Victoria informed with a raised eyebrow. “She’s lookingrealgood.”
“Look, bitch, you done fucked my sister and killed my cousin. How ‘bout you just stay away from my family so that I don’t have to fuck you up?”
Victoria laughed and held her hands up in surrender. “Fair enough,” she acquiesced.
“Good. Now, get out and send somebody in here that I like.”
Victoria walked over to the door and opened it. “Your wish is my command,” she said before she slipped out of Bella’s room.
Bella was feeling groggy, no doubt from painkillers. She was having trouble keeping her eyes open. So, she gave in to her body’s demands and allowed her eyes to close. Bella figured that if she took a short nap, she would have more strength and energy when Lucas came out of surgery. She wanted to be there for him when he woke up.
Bella slept until a light, glowing through her closed lids, disturbed her rest. Her eyes fluttered open. So much for a quick nap.
“Hey, Belly.”
Bella blinked up at her twin sister. She was almost unrecognizable. They were as different as night and day. Whereas Bella wore her hair long and straight in a more traditional native style, Donna was rocking a short, edgy pixie cut. Donatella had at least seven tattoos, and Bella had none. If they didn’t share the same face, one wouldn’t dream that they were twin sisters.
“Hey, Telly,” Bella rasped. Bella cleared her throat. She winced, not expecting the action to be so painful. “I wanted to get a little nap so I can be up when Lucas gets out of surgery.”
Donatella frowned and tilted her head. She was looking at Bella like she’d lost her mind, and Bella wanted to know why.
“What? Why are you lookin’ at me like that?”
“A little nap? Girl, Lucas got out of surgerylast night. He’s been parked over there ever since.”
Donatella pointed across the room. Bella turned her head and slowly shifted her body so she could see the other side of the room. The sight of Lucas asleep in a hospital bed with an IV taped to his wrist made her heart skip a beat.
“How long have I been out?” Bella asked.
“Um…for at least twelve hours.”
Bella was amazed. It truly felt as if she’d just closed her eyes. “How is he?”
“High,” Donatella mused. “Every now and then, he’ll jerk awake and hurt himself and then call out your name. With wild-eyed craziness, he looks around the room. And, when he looks at you and realizes you’re okay, he goes back to sleep.”
