Page 60 of Mine To Possess

Viktor folds the belt in two and puts it in his mouth and nods his head. I know what the belt is for now. It’s to bite down on when the pain gets too much for him. I step closer to him and take his hand in both of mine.

“I’m right here,” I say, before I faint.

When I come back around, I’m lying on the sofa with a couple of cushions under my feet. Viktor is sitting next to me. “Are you alright?” he asks.

“Are you?” I ask.

He nods and shows me the small bowl the Doctor had brought, and I see the bloody, mishappened bullet inside it.

“I’m sorry I fainted on you.”

“It was a good thing you did,” he replies. “It wasn’t a pretty sight.”

I lift my head up and kiss him. Doctor Singh clears his throat and I pull my mouth from Viktor’s.

“Sorry,” I apologize sheepishly.

“That’s it. The worst is over. The bullet grazed the bone but not enough to do any real damage. I’ll be prescribing you some antibiotics too,” he says.

Headlights flash in front of the window.

“That’ll be the cars for Justine and Lacey,” Viktor says.

I sit up immediately.

“Steady,” Viktor warns.

“I want to say goodbye to Justine and Lacey.”

“Alright, but go easy.”

I go out to the hallway where Justine and Lacey are still waiting.

“Is everything ok?” Lacey asks. “It sounded like someone was being murdered in there.”

“I fainted,” I confess guiltily, “but everything’s ok now,” I say. “The doctor had to pull the bullet out without anesthetic.”

Lacey winces. “I honestly don’t know if Viktor is brave as hell or bat shit crazy not going to the hospital and having it done while he was knocked out instead of this back street surgery.” She glances at me. “Shit. Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.” I grin. “I was thinking pretty much the same thing myself.”

“Will he be ok?” Justine asks.

“Yeah. The doctor said it didn’t leave any lasting damage. Anyway, your cars are here, and I just came to see you both out.”

We say our goodbyes and the two women leave the house. I close the front door and go back to the living room to find Dr. Singh smiling.

He hands Viktor two pills.

“An antibiotic and a painkiller. Take those now and then get this filled in the morning and take the full course,” he says as he writes on a prescription pad.

“I’ll go and get you some water,” I say.

33

AMELIA

Ihurry to the kitchen and grab a glass and fill it with water. I go back to the living room and hand Viktor the glass. He takes the pills as Doctor Singh packs his things away.