Page 88 of Savage Truce

“How did everyone know to come to the hospital?” I muse more to myself than anyone else.

“Rosie told us,” Atanas answers.

Damn, Rosie is badass.

Looking at Rodian, I notice how pale his skin tone is. Spotting a vending machine, I leave his side to get a Coke, hoping the sugar will help.

When I turn away from the machine, Rodian’s eyes are on me, not leaving me as I cross the room toward him.

“Have some.” I hand the can to him and watch as he pulls the tab off and drinks half before giving me the rest.

The instant Sergei comes back with the phone and car keys, Rodian takes them and orders, “Stay here with Anastasia and call me if you get any news on Andrei’s condition.”

My eyebrow lifts as I ask, “Where are you going?”

“To work. Waiting here will drive me insane.”

To work, aka to kill those responsible.

“Please be careful,” I plead with him, lifting on my toes when he bends down to give me a quick kiss. Then, thinking of something, I mention, “We’re not related to Andrei. The staff won’t tell us anything.”

Rodian shakes his head. “Sergei, Andrei, and I are all emergency contacts for each other, so don’t worry.”

He gives me another quick kiss before leaving with Atanas and the others.

“Katya is coming,” Sergei mentions. “I thought you could use a friend right now.”

Giving him a thankful nod, I stare out the windows until I lose sight of Rodian.

“How are you holding up after everything?” Sergei asks.

I lower my eyes to the gleaming floor, and my shoulders sag. “I don’t even know where to start processing today.” My chin quivers as I’m bombarded with flashes of Andrei being tortured. “What they did to him...” I glance up at my guard. “Why did it happen?”

“Revenge for Sokolov. The bastards don’t know you’re the most important person to Rodian, as everyone is under the impression it was just an arranged marriage, so they went after Andrei.”

I let out a worried sigh as I glance at the reception area. “Do you think it would be too soon to ask how he’s doing?”

“Yes. With all the injuries, he’ll be in surgery for a while. I’m sure they’ll give us an update as soon as they can.”

Please let Andrei survive this.

Rodian

The second my phone vibrates, I stop to check it, and seeing a message from Rosie, I quickly open it.

One after the other, names and photos and last known whereabouts appear, and I tell the others, “We have a list.”

“Where to first?” Atanas asks as we all gather in the parking area.

“Gusev is at a bar a few miles away. Chernov and Malenkov are at a nightclub on the other side of the city. Baranov is at a house in the suburbs, and Moroz was last seen at a traffic light in the middle of the city,” I relay the information before adding, “I’ve never seen their faces, which means they’re low-level scum who probably wanted to make quick money.”

I don’t mention that Sokolov Junior was spotted going into an apartment building.

He’s mine.

Ryo checks the time on his wristwatch. “Are we splitting up so we can work through the list faster?”

“Makes sense,” Atanas agrees.