67
IVAN
Evaline tore into the waiting room like a wild animal, but there’s no fight left in her by the time we get to the sidewalk outside. I shove her through the automatic doors and she stumbles towards the curb.
“Where am I supposed to go now?” she whispers again and again in a hollow, broken voice.
I don’t think she’s talking to me, but I’m happy to answer anyway. “I don’t give a fuck. Anywhere but here would be a good start.”
I want her as far away from Cora as possible. But I also know if she stays here, I’ll kill her. And I’ve done enough of that for one night.
Her husband tried to force Cora into marriage and then, when she refused, kill her. And Evaline doesn’t give a damn. She never tried to save Cora. She never tried to make things right. She is more worried about her life than Cora’s.
Part of me once thought Evaline was like my mother. She was trapped with a monster and didn’t have another choice. But now, Alexander is dead. She is free to make her own choices. And with this newfound freedom, her first thought was to get to the hospital and scream at her daughter for having the audacity to save her own life.
This bitch doesn’t deserve Cora.
“Alexander was all I had.” Her shoulders sag. It looks like she’s caving in on herself. “I have nothing left.”
“You could have had your daughter.”
Her eyes are dark, shadowy caverns when she looks up at me. “Cora hates me. She has hated me for years. It’s why she killed Alexander. She wants to punish me for—”
“I killed Alexander.” I pause and let the confession sink in. “Cora didn’t pull the trigger; I did. And I did it because, just like you, he slapped Cora. I’ll kill anyone who hurts her.”
Her eyes go wide and she stumbles another half-step back.
Good. She should be scared.
“And just so you know—so you can spend the rest of your days thinking about all the many ways you’ve fucked up—he hit her because Cora attacked him after he said he was going to kill you. She was defending you.”
Evaline’s jaw drops. “He didn’t say that,” she whispers. But I can tell she doesn’t believe it.
“He sure as fuck did. After everything you’ve done to her, Cora was still trying to protect you. Your daughter was looking out for you even though you have never once looked out for her.”
A tear rolls down her cheek. “I didn’t know. I thought—I need to talk to her.”
She takes a step towards the front doors and I shift in front of her. “You are never going to talk to your daughter again.”
“We’re family. We need to—”
“You need to get away from me right now. Before I decide to kill you for hurting my wife.”
She inhales sharply. “You wouldn’t kill your wife’s mother.”
I chuckle darkly. “Then you don’t know a fucking thing about me. If you touch my wife again, I’ll end you. If you so much as breathe the same air as her, I’ll pop your lungs like balloons and watch you choke. If I even hear your name whispered by anyone in my vicinity, I will hunt you down and make you wish you had never been born.”
She’s pale now. She takes another step back and falls off the curb. Only barely does she catch herself on the bumper of a parked car to keep from spilling into the street.
“I don’t care where you go,” I tell her, “but it better be far away from here. Do you understand?”
As much as I want Evaline to run into the night and disappear forever, part of me would respect her for pushing back. I’m estranging her from her daughter forever. She should fight against that. She should rage and beg, whatever it takes. That’s her daughter she’s letting go. Show some goddamn heart.
But in the end, Evaline nods weakly and then shuffles into the darkness.
Maybe she’ll end up on the streets again. Maybe she’ll find another rich man willing to take her into his house. Either way, I don’t care.
I watch her turn the corner and disappear. Hopefully for the last time.
“Do you think that was a good idea?”
I saw Yasha crossing the street towards us a few minutes ago, but I was a bit too busy ridding Cora’s life of yet another soul-sucking leech to pay him any mind.
I turn to him now. “I think it was one of my best ideas, actually. I should have done it a lot sooner.”
He nods. “Good. If she stuck around, I was going to have to keep an eye on her and any future boyfriends she had to make sure they weren’t plotting anything. It would have been annoying.”
“That’s why I did it,” I say sarcastically. “So you’d have less work.”
He grins. “I appreciate that. You’re always looking out for me, boss.”
I roll my eyes. “What are you doing here?”
“Came to make sure you survived without me having to bail you out of trouble like always.” He nudges me in the ribs and sighs. “Seriously, though, I’m glad you both are okay. The house was fucking wrecked. I found Niles locked in a closet. If you hadn’t already killed Francia, I think he would have.”
“Is he okay?”
“The first thing he did when he got out was find a ladder and start patching bullet holes. It should be back to normal by the time you get home tonight.”
“If we get home tonight. Cora’s father is still in surgery.”
Yasha winces. “Is he going to make it?”
“I think so. I hope so.” I run a hand over my head. “Cora is tough. She can get through anything… but she’s been through enough. She needs this.”
Yasha gently pushes me towards the doors. “You should go be with her then. I’ll make sure Mommy Dearest stays gone.”
“She’ll stay gone. I think I scared her thoroughly enough. You should get some rest. Or go find your woman.”
Yasha smiles, but still wrinkles his forehead like he’s confused. “Who?”
“God. When are you two going to give up this stupid game? Everyone knows you’re fucking.”
“Obviously, I fuck. I mean, look at me, Ivan. Of course I fuck.”
I groan. “It’s been a long night. Go find Jorden and let her deal with you.”
“Jorden? Huh, there’s an idea,” he says, still grinning from ear to ear. “I never thought of her before, but maybe I will go see her. Since you’re letting me off for the night and she is Cora’s friend and all. I’ll go check on her and make sure she’s safe. Because I’m a very nice guy.”
Yasha is still talking to himself, his voice fading out, when I walk back through the automatic doors and into the hospital.
I turn every corner expecting someone else to show up. Hell, after the night we just had, maybe my father will make his final stand with whatever old guard lieutenants he could scrounge up. Maybe I’ll have to kill him to cement my place as pakhan of the Pushkin Bratva.
But no one shows up. I walk the quiet halls back to the waiting room.
It’s empty.
Panic grips me for a single second before a young nurse clears her throat behind me. I whip around, and the girl jolts. “Sorry, I—Your wife told me to tell you that she’s in Room 408.”
“Is Marcus St. Clair out of surgery?”
She nods. “I just wheeled him into the recovery room.”
“What’s his prognosis?”
She gives me a nervous shake of her head. “I’m sorry. That’s something you’d have to talk about with the doctor. I wasn’t in the operating room and I haven’t seen his charts. But you’re welcome to go in and see him for yourself.”
I want Marcus to pull through for Cora. So some piece of her old life—the life she lost—can come back to her. She deserves it.
As I approach Room 408, I hear voices. Laughter.
I knock on the door and find Cora standing next to her father’s hospital bed, smiling wider than I’ve seen in a long time.
She turns her smile to me and almost knocks me back on my ass. She’s so fucking beautiful.
“Oh, here he is!” Cora says. “Ivan is the one who called the ambulance and got you into surgery so fast.”
Marcus is still pale, but he’s cleaned-up and conscious. “You look a lot better than the last time I saw you,” I remark.
He turns to me slowly, his eyes heavy. “You saved my life.”
“Yeah, well, you bought enough time for me to get to the house and save Cora’s life. For that, I owe you mine. This was the least I could do.”
Cora fluffs his pillows and holds a cup of water to his lips so he can drink. She talks to him about nothing for half an hour until he drifts to sleep. Even when he’s snoring gently, though, Cora stands by his bedside, looking down at him.
“You should sit down,” I tell her. “You need to rest, too.”
She nods, but doesn’t budge. “I just can’t believe he made it.”
I grab her by the waist and pull her into my lap. “Believe it. You made it, too.”
“I wasn’t sure I’d get to talk to him again. I thought it was all over.”
“It’s not,” I whisper. “You can both talk tomorrow. So for now, rest.”
She curls against my chest. “Tomorrow. I like the sound of that.”
I hold her even tighter. “You have a lifetime of tomorrows, Cora.”
Her cheek curves as she smiles. “You’ll be there, too?”
I kiss her forehead. “Until the very end.”