Page 130 of Capuleto

See you soon, sukin syn!

Iopened my eyes slowly, I felt terrible, another nightmare had shaken my body until I started to hear the little song from my childhood like a lifeline.

A cool hand caressed my cheek. I forced my eyes open. A blurred image emerged before them.

"Finally, you wake up, Kalinka." The murmur came from the tall figure reassembling before me.

"Yuri?" I asked, not believing he was in my room.

He couldn't have entered Romeo's house; his men would have seen him. Maybe it was part of the dream.

"Of course it's me, dear little sister." I turned my neck from side to side and didn't recognize the room.

"Where am I?" I asked, uneasy.

My strength was failing me, I had never been run over by a steamroller or run a marathon of hundreds of kilometers, but I supposed the sensation must be similar.

"In the hospital. A little bird told me you were admitted, and I came as soon as I found out." His tone was cold, cutting, with an extreme sweetness that reminded me of that poison that tastes like bitter almonds. As foggy as my senses were, I knew his visit wasn't a courtesy call, and I had to watch my words. "What happened?"

"I, I don't know," I stammered. "I'm thirsty, can you hand me that bottle?"

I noticed they had left one on the nightstand. My brother approached the still-closed container, carefully offered it directly to my lips, and I eagerly emptied it.

I glanced sideways at my injured arm covered by a bandage. If Romeo had taken me to the hospital, it could only mean the bullet wound had gotten complicated.

I was so thirsty I choked. I coughed a couple of times, my head drummed.

"Slow down, Nikita, I don't want you to choke." He took the bottle away from my mouth, and I licked the drops scattered on my lips. I was a mess. "What are these marks?" His index finger traced the skin on my wrists, where the bindings had left their mark.

"Do I need to explain it to you?" I didn't want to reveal that my husband had restrained me unless it was absolutely necessary. "R is into that kind of game." He raised his eyebrows.

"Really? And you let him?"

"All for our empire, right?" It was best to play along. He offered me a measured smile.

"I see you've accepted it. I'm glad, things have gotten ugly, Kalinka. Your husband's dog entered my property, took out Basile and another of my men. It seems that the Capulet fool didn't trust you and had you followed."

"No, really? We were so cautious!"

"Not cautious enough, any precaution is too little with the 'Ndrangheta. I went hunting with my men, we chased him, riddled him with bullets, and still lost track of him. Not hearing from you, I assumed we had finished him off, but I was wrong."

"I've been sick for three days, and Romeo hasn't told me anything."

"Maybe because he already distrusted you. I admit the mistake; I should have had one of my men follow your husband. Well, the damage is done. They have him in the ICU of this very hospital, although by now he should be in the morgue, I've sent two of my men to guide him to the light," he commented cynically.

I shuddered inside at the thought it might be true. I didn't even want to imagine how Andrey would take it. Not naming my man was a good sign.

"And how did you find out I was here?"

"I have my methods." I knew my brother had someone infiltrated, but I still didn't know who.

"Your man," I whispered. Yuri tilted the left corner of his mouth. He didn't respond.

"Tonight I had an incident while at my own house. My home has become a vulnerable place, and I've had two more casualties. A guy broke in alone, well-prepared this time. But he was discovered by one of my men, who died at his hands. I'm not sure why, but instead of coming after me, he fled."

"Maybe he left because he didn't expect to be discovered."

"Too much trouble to take down just a pawn," he clicked his tongue. "The thing is, this time I don't think it was your husband. Neither he nor his family act like that. If it had been the 'Ndrangheta, they would have attacked with full cavalry, and you wouldn't still be alive, so the situation makes me broaden my perspective."