“Morning,” Nikolai said.
Jane lifted her head, a little taken aback as she wasn’t expecting him to speak.
“Nikolai,” she said, getting to her feet.“What do you need?Do you need me to call a nurse?”
He shook his head.“No nurse.They poke and prod and ask a lot of questions.Also, stop asking me fucking questions.Can you reach that water?”
She grabbed the small cup with a straw inside it and presented it to his lips.
After a few seconds, he let it go and raised his hand.“Please, tell me you’ve brought me some brownies, or something fucking better than hospital food.”
She smiled.“Of course I came bearing gifts.”She moved back to her bag and pulled out the box of sweet treats.“There’s caramel brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and a few cinnamon rolls for you.”
“You’re a star,” he said.
Jane noticed he struggled to take the lid off the box, so she reached out and did it for him.“There you go.”
“Thanks.”
He went for a caramel brownie, and he clicked the button on the bed that helped lift himself up.
“You shouldn’t be overdoing it.”
“I don’t give a fuck what the doctors or nurses say.I want to eat something more than the shit they give me.”He wrinkled his nose.“Besides, I’m fine.”
“Nikolai, you nearly died on the operating table.”
He shrugged.“I’ve nearly died many times in real life as well.Trust me, this is not my first rodeo on the death train.”
She opened her eyes.“Wow, okay.”
He laughed.“You never heard anyone be quite so flippant about dying?”
“Pretty much.Most people are afraid of it.Are you trying to tell me you’re not?”
“It’s not that I’m afraid of dying or not afraid of dying.When my time is up, it’s up.It’s not like any of us are getting out of this world alive, is it?”He winked at her.
Jane thought about it.“I guess you’re right.”
“We all end up dead.”He shrugged.“I just don’t choose to dwell on it.I’ve been gunned down.Stabbed.I’ve even had the crap beaten out of me.”He let out a laugh.“Trust me, there is a high probability I’m going to die.”
Jane took her seat and looked toward him.He wasn’t being philosophical.He was just stating facts, and from the way he talked, he truly didn’t care.
“Dying doesn’t bother you?”
“I don’t think about it,” Nikolai said.“Don’t get me wrong, all of this hurts like a fucking bitch, but I’ll get through it.”He took a bite of a brownie and moaned.“Perfection.”
She smiled, but she couldn’t help thinking about who was responsible for the damage caused.Alexey was going crazy.He came home every night, but there was something different in his eyes.She knew he worried about Nikolai.She had overheard a conversation he was having with the other friends about them being extra cautious, because Vincent was going to attempt to take all of them out.
“This is because of Vincent Morello, isn’t it?It’s because of me.”
Nikolai said, “Do you want me to lie to you?”
“No, I don’t want you to lie.”
He took another bite of brownie and made her wait until he had finished.“Yes, and no, this is about you.Yes, because you did kill his son, and you know, you don’t see any of us mourning that piece of shit.He was going to kill Alexey, you made a good call.Now, even if you had driven away and not killed his son, you’d still be a loose end.The only difference is, we wouldn’t be attempting to keep you alive.We would be opting to kill you as well, for letting our boy die.You didn’t.Vincent Morello is always going to be a problem.That’s not going to change.”
“You got hurt,” she said.
