Arriving at the hospital, I leave the parking to Leo, then I head inside and go straight to Adelaide’s room.
I’m aware of the nurses and doctors, all stepping out of my way, clearly afraid to do something that would make them a target. I couldn’t give a fuck what they’re afraid of. To survive, they better stay away from my wife, and to keep this hospital running smoothly, my wife better not die.
Ivan’s sitting in the chair I had been in when I arrive back at the room. There was no change in Adelaide. I step toward the bed, hoping to see some sign of life. Anything. There’s nothing.
The machines are making their sterile noises and it pisses me off. All of this pisses me off. Adelaide is hooked up to a machine, and Bethany is…
“It’s Bethany,” I said, cutting through the silence that was starting to make me angry.
Ivan’s brows go up. “You’re sure?”
“It’s her. I’m clear. After what I put him through, I believe it’s her.”
“You were gone for an hour and a half.”
“I didn’t waste any time.”
I touch Adelaide’s hand. There’s no response.
“Interesting,” Ivan said.
“There is nothing interesting about it.”
“Not to you, but I’ve been keeping an eye on her. She doesn’t have the means to hire a hit man, or even know how to contact one.” Ivan runs a finger over his lips.
“Do you think someone is playing her?” I asked. I didn’t care either way. I was going to kill her.
“We could pretend Adelaide is dead,” Ivan said.
“No. You did the whole dead thing and rising up, and look what shit that gave us. Not happening.”
I wasn’t going to allow Adelaide to die. She would wake up soon, and I wasn’t going to live with her being somewhere else. Not happening. I would fight Ivan on this.
He chuckled. “And you were pissed at me for making her marry you. Please, you should be thanking me.”
“She could have died,” I said, losing myself. “Fuck, shit, I’m sorry.”
Ivan held his hand up. “It’s fine. I always find it refreshing being spoken back to. Kind of a turn-on.”
I roll my eyes, knowing he’s doing it to get yet another rise out of me. This is what Ivan did. He was a master at manipulation.
“I expected him to name Demon or Oleg,” I said. “It was Bethany.”
“She has the jealousy, Andrei, just not the means, and certainly not the funds to pay for someone.”
“I can find out.”
I tense and look toward the door to see Nathan. One of his eyes is swollen shut, and his mouth looks too big for his face, but he’s standing there as if I’d not put him through the fucking ringer.
Reaching for my gun, I keep my hand wrapped around it, ready to kill him. I want to kill him. This man had gotten way too many smiles and laughs from my wife. He’d gotten to see her happy and relaxed.
“Ah, our true hit man,” Ivan said. “You do intrigue me.”
This isn’t good. I want to kill Nathan. If Ivan likes him and sees a use for him, then his death wasn’t going to happen.
“You’re right. Bethany has no means or power to gain access to a hit man. Someone had to have helped her, and I can find out who that is for you,” he said.
“I don’t trust you,” I said.
“You have every reason not to trust me. I’m friends with your wife and you’re jealous of that. I care about Adelaide. She’s a special person. Sweet, kind, it’s why I’ve been keeping an eye on her all these years. A sister like Bethany brings nothing but death to those around her.”
I want to kill him.
“Word on the street is there’s a potential hit out on you,” Nathan said, looking at Ivan.
“This isn’t news to me. I’ve always got a hit on my head. It’s the fun part of being the boss.”
“From one of your own men,” Nathan said. “The biggest problem right now is finding anyone stupid enough to take you on.”
Ivan winked and I didn’t have time for jokes.
“It’s him,” I said.
I’m not sure how much Nathan had heard, but I wasn’t going to say the fucker’s name. I wanted to launch a full-scale attack on Oleg. To bring him in and strip him of his title. That piece of shit wasn’t going to last, not when I got my hands on him.
“You’re going to need to get the information out of Bethany,” Nathan said.
“Consider it done,” I said, happy to end the little slut’s life.