Chapter 4
"My name is Dr. Alto. I wanted to update you on Dimitri's condition."
We all glanced up and saw a tall man donning a crisp white lab coat. He walked toward the empty chair in front of Abe while running a hand through his lighter brown hair. "Which one of you is Rosemarie?"
I straightened in my seat. "I am."
Dr. Alto looked at me and smiled. "We were able to go in and remove the bullet. All of it. It's a little too early to tell, but there should be no complications." Everyone let out a collective breath. "You made the right decision at the right time." Dr. Alto had put a hand on my shoulder. "I'm sure you all are waiting to see him. He will be up for visitors as soon as he wakes up and we transport him to his personal room. We'll have to run some tests and then he can have one visitor at a time." He stood up and turned toward the door.
Olena spoke up, causing Dr. Alto to turn on his heels. "Thank you for saving my son. Will someone notify us when he wakes?"
"Yes, the nurse on shift will after he's settled in his room." Dr. Alto smiled and said goodbye to everyone. There was still tension in the room. Anyone would have been able to feel that. But there was also a sense of ease…knowing that Dimitri was going to be okay was reassuring.
I felt the need to move. It felt suffocating in that waiting room. I stood up and looked at Abe. "I'm going to go for a walk." Abe nodded before immersing himself back into his phone. I'm sure he's been focused on trying to figure out just what the hell happened out there.
I moved quickly to the door, finding myself walking toward the elevator. I pressed the button to go down. A few seconds later, the door opened. I wasn't paying attention and started to immediately go in when I realized a patient was being transported. "Oh, I think I have the wrong elevator." I started backing up and turned around. "Wait! Are you for Belikov?" I turned back around. "Yes." A young woman in light blue scrubs stepped forward. Her dark golden-blonde hair was neatly tucked into a braid, her eyes a mix of brown and gold forming into a beautiful molten gold color. We locked eyes as she lowered her face mask some. I noticed a beauty mark that greatly resembled a flower…a lily. "You must be Rose." She made a sound to clear her throat. "I'm Sydney. Sydney Sage."
Sage. Now that name sounded familiar. This must be the blonde enigma of a woman that drove Adrian crazy. I grimaced. "I'm Rose. Rose Hathaway."
"I heard a lot about you from Adrian."
My mouth opened but I was quickly cut off. "Don't worry. Nothing but good things. Adrian speaks highly of those he cares about."
I felt the corner of my mouth turn upward in a smirk. "That he does. I've heard a lot about you as well. All good things, especially how inspirational you were to him."
Sydney glanced down at her hand on the gurney. "Yes, well there are always two sides to a story." Sydney sighed before catching my eyes again. She motioned to the gurney. "Mr. Belikov is being moved to his room. Figured since you were here you could follow." I glanced over at the silent figure on the gurney. His face was mostly obscured by the bandages around his head and the dark bruising forming. I briefly hesitated before agreeing. I entered the elevator and we climbed to the fourth floor. I watched as Sydney examined some of the machines that were connected to Dimitri's bed. I guess everything was okay. She seemed to be calm with what she saw.
The doors opened and I exited quickly and stood off to the side, allowing Sydney and her coworker to push Dimitri's gurney out. I followed down a short hallway before he was being pushed into a private room. I'm sure my father had something to do with this. I waited at the doorway as Sydney made work to switch Dimitri to more permanent setup.
"Rose. You can come in now." I walked in and glanced at Dimitri's monitor. I could hear and see the steady beat of his heart.
"He's going to be in the Surgical ICU while he's recovering from his surgery. The nurses on shift will monitor him frequently checking his vital signs. At first it will be every hour and then with his progress it will decrease until they are checking in a few times a day unless needed or requested. His vitals can be read both in the room and on a monitor at the desk. They will know if there are any issues immediately but feel free to hit the call button if you feel the need for a nurse or something happens."
"Okay. Are you going to be continuing with his care?" I asked Sydney.
Sydney shook her head. "No, I was the resident assigned to his surgery. I won't be following up with him other than when Dr. Alto comes in." She must have been able to read the concern on my face. "I'll check in again before my shift ends though."
"Thanks, Sydney." She smiled at me before leaving me alone with Dimitri.
It was the first moment of silence that I have had since arriving. The steady beeping of his monitors was comforting. A reminder that he was alive and that I had made the right decision. I looked from the chair I was sitting in and saw all the wires attached to him. His face was blank. They must be giving him some strong painkillers for his expression to be that blank. There's no way I would be that calm if I was shot. I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes.
Abe and I had landed in Russia a couple of hours ago. I settled into the hotel room as he was meeting with a couple of his business partners to prepare of the day catching up on what he had missed during the 11+ hour flight from Missoula, Montana to Novosibirsk, Russia. I was restless during the flight, but we did have the benefit of a private plane, so I didn't suffer too much. Abe had instructed me to stay in the suite unless I agreed to going out with Pavel, one of his bodyguards. It was insulting really. Did he think that I couldn't handle myself? I guess it would help to have someone who spoke Russian with me. I could stumble my way around and might have someone understand what I was trying to say.
I decided to take a shower to freshen up. We were staying at the Marriott. Of course, Abe had booked a presidential suite for himself. The room was exquisite with opulent deep red walls with golden ornate details, plush carpeted floors, a small seating area for entertaining guests, a desk with enough space and connections for him to easily set up a remote office, two large bathrooms complete with a jacuzzi tub, and a breathtaking view of the city at night. I had a business suite reserved for myself just down the hall from Abe. The only difference in our rooms was the size as everything else décor-wise was the same. What I was looking forward to the most was getting a chance to soak in the tub.
After showering and drinking a hot chocolate on the balcony, I decided to seek out Pavel to see if he was ready to explore the city with me. Times like these I wish Lissa could have come with me. Even though Eddie had come with us, Abe was convinced that I would corrupt him into escaping for a night on the town. It was 100% true. But, regardless if Eddie was joining me or not, I was going to find a way away from my babysitter tonight.
The streets of Novosibirsk were alive with people everywhere celebrating the Maslenitsa festival. I would admit that when I found out that this was happening when we were going to be staying in Russia, I was excited. Who wouldn't like a festival that focused on pancakes? My mouth watered as I smelled all the delicious blini. I convinced Pavel to drop his guard enough to stuff his face with a cheese-filled blini. I have to say that was probably my favorite.
We spent several hours in the heart of the city shopping and vegging on food before returning to the hotel. Abe and Eddie were still busy with their business meeting, so I took advantage of Pavel being distracted by updating his second-in-command on the security protocol and made my way silently out my front door. I knew Pavel was in Abe's suite and I wouldn't have much time before it would be noticed that I was missing. Before leaving, I had changed into a silky black dress. Lissa and I had went shopping right before I left on my trip with Abe, and she deemed this to be the dress that I was born for. The dress was about knee-length, strapless, and clung to my body in all the right places. It was very sexy. Probably too sexy for the weather that I was in now. I pulled on my black leather jacket with quilted leather detailing on the sleeves and added black tights to try to combat some of the coldness seeping into my body. I slipped into the elevator and patiently waited, hoping that the doors wouldn't open to reveal a pissed of Pavel in my wake. The doors opened and my eyes darted around the lobby. Yes! No one was in sight. I made my way to the front entrance and immersed myself in the crowd.
I knew that this would be the perfect time to leave. The Maslenitsa festival may have focused on blini but a key feature of it was the burning effigies to symbolize the end of winter and the beginning of spring. Everyone had come out for the celebration. I turned the location feature off on my phone before turning it completely off. I had already searched my possessions for trackers to ensure that Abe's overprotectiveness wasn't coming out in full force. It wasn't that I wanted to run away, I just had a rebellious streak and wanted to enjoy a night on the town. I would hear about how stupid this was later in my lecture from my mother after Abe would tell on me.
After blending in and finding my way across the city, I found myself outside of The Nightingale, a nightclub that looked every bit like the Winter Palace. Everyone was dressed in rich and lavish clothing for the most part. The security guard at the front glanced at my ID to ensure that I was 18 before allowing my entry. The walls were ivory in color, with golden scrollwork and molding. The atmosphere matched the patrons with its elaborate chandeliers alight with real candles, a large open seating area fit for relaxing with your drink of choice, as well as a dance floor.
I made my way to the bar, focused on ordering something from their top shelf. I sat on one of the high barstools and waved my hand over to the bartender. His eyes flashed in my direction before giving me a smile with his blindingly white teeth.
"Что я могу заставить вас пить?"
I hesitated before smirking at him. "Do you speak English?"
He chuckled. "Yes. What is a beautiful American girl like yourself doing in Siberia? Must be cold for you."
"Business. And it's not like I thought it would be honestly. I always thought of Siberia as a cold, Artic wasteland."
"Ouch. Nice appreciation for our country." He laughed again. "You have a name?"
"Rose. What about yourself?"
The bartender extended his hand towards mine, taking mine in an embrace before bringing it to his lips. "Ambrose. What can I get you, Rose?"
I scanned the bottles behind him. "Surprise me. What's a popular mixed drink here?"
Ambrose smiled. "I know just the thing." He went to work making the drink for me. I used this as an opportunity to look around the club. There were many people here tonight. I turned back to Ambrose to see him pouring several liquids into a shaker. After a few minutes, Ambrose presented a red and pink colored cocktail in front of me topped with a crown of meringue. "What is this?" I asked before bringing the glass to my nose, sniffing it gingerly.
"That is a Red Square cocktail. It's a very berry cocktail with cranberry extract, cowberry puree, cranberry water, lemon juice, sugar, fructose, and egg white. The meringue resembles the shape of the dome of St. Basil's Cathedral."
I grimaced. "Cowberry? What the hell is that?"
"Just try it, Rose."
I brought the glass up to my lips. Damn. He was right. It was delicious.
I spent a portion of the night talking to Ambrose when he was available in between mixing drinks and taking orders from other patrons. I had kept ordering drinks from him, causing him to be even more creative with each one. I started to feel light and bubbly. I knew that the alcohol was kicking in. I threw back a shot of vodka when I felt a bump at my right elbow. A man who was probably more intoxicated than I was starting to speak Russian to me. I couldn't understand everything that he was saying, but from the gesturing that he made I could take a guess that it was very vulgar. I brushed him off and turned my attention back to the bar. I felt his hand land on my thigh. "What the fuck? Leave me alone!" I shoved his hand off me just to see his face darken.
"Сука!" He growled. "American woman. Thought you would be more liberal with your body. Explore more."
"Oh, I'll explore more. More like kicking your fucking ass!" I started to stand and then realized that as much of a fight as I had in me, my body wasn't responding the same. I stumbled slightly backward as a pair of strong hands grasped my shoulders.
"Are you okay?" I turned around and saw a tall man, I mean tall, with shoulder-length brown hair tied in a loose ponytail at the base of his neck. His dark-brown eyes met mine with concern. I had to admit that his appearance was sexy as hell He had to be at least 6'6" or 6'7" and muscular everywhere. His grip on me loosened as he acknowledged that I had righted myself. "Has this man bothered you?"
I let out a breath. "Bothered. Sexually harassed. It's all the same." I waved the man off.
I saw the muscles in his arms and shoulder flex as he turned toward the man. "You will leave her alone." The mysterious man growled. The sleazy man glanced at him before shaking his head, muttering that I was a bitch and not worth it.
The mysterious man who chose to be my savior now took a step back from me just as a man with platinum blond hair and piercing blue eyes clapped his hands on his back. "There you are, Dimitri. I've been looking for you."
I jumped…. startled. My eyes snapped open as I heard a groan from across the room.
Что я могу заставить вас пить? What can I get you to drink?
Сука: Bitch.
Note:
I know that the Nightingale was a club in St. Petersburg, but for the purpose of the story I moved the club to Novosibirsk as this is geographically closer to where Baia would be and this will make more sense in future chapters.
Reviews and feedback are greatly appreciated! Thank you for coming on this journey with me!
