Chapter 69
Dmitri
Amidst the surprise, I called Armen and he answered immediately.
“Ariel is missing. Send the men to search the streets, bars, and abandoned warehouses. Every fucking place in Seattle and beyond. We must find her tonight and I don’t care how you’re gonna go about it,” I ordered with an impatient husky tone.
“Yes, Capo,” He replied sharply and the line went off.
The neighborhood was a quiet one and it would take a while before the police got here and found the dead bodies, but I didn’t risk being found there so I took her phone and went to my car.
I hated myself the more as the minutes went by. I was disgusted at how careless and callous I’d been and right now I was ready to give anything just to go back to the past and right my wrongs.
If only I could be given a second chance. Sadly this wasn’t a magical world where anything I wished could happen in a matter of seconds.
If Ariel didn’t survive this I’d be forced to live with the brunt of my mistakes for the rest of my life.
I drove rather slowly for someone who had a missing wife. Even the cold evening breeze couldn’t help to mollify the feeling of anger and uncertainty that was building up within me.
Stuck in a deep reverie, I couldn’t see the sign from the traffic light. Accidentally, an old woman who was crossing almost collided with my car.
Fortunately, I was quick to step on the brakes which stopped me from causing a major accident. A string of Russian cusses flew out of my lips and I took off my seat belt and came out of the car.
I helped the woman to get on her feet and my eyes caught the sight of blood dripping from the cut on her knee. “I’m so sorry, ma’am,”
Her face was pale from the shock of almost being involved in an accident but she still offered me the kindest smile ever. “It’s fine, son. You look bothered and I should have watched carefully before crossing,”
“No, ma. It’s not your fault. Please allow me to take you to the hospital so that you can get treated,”
She hesitated at first but winced when she tried to turn away. “Alright then,”
It was strange that the police vans weren’t chasing me right now, but I was thankful because I wasn’t in the mood to have any altercation with the cops.
We arrived at the hospital some minutes later and I got her admitted for treatment. After ensuring that she would be properly taken care of, I stepped outside to speak with Vladimir who had been blowing up my phone with calls.
“Vlad,” I shortened his name, too tired to speak.
“Are you alright?”
I took the phone off my ear and stared at the screen in disbelief. “Is this my brother or did someone steal his phone?”
“This is ten seconds of me being worried about your mental health so enjoy it while it lasts,” He chuckled and I couldn’t help but laugh along even though my mind was in turmoil.
“I’m at the hospital right now. I bumped into an old woman. Almost killed her, man…”
My explanation was cut short when the hospital’s gate was pushed open and an ambulance drove in and parked. The door to the ambulance flew ajar and a stretcher was carried out.
My lips parted as I scanned the woman’s body from her head to her toe. Even though her eyes were closed I could recognize the carefully carved and distinct side of her pointed nose at any given time.
Without thinking, my legs carried me swiftly to the stretcher and my heart skipped a beat while I clutched onto the edge of the stretcher, ignoring the paramedics and nurses who trained their weird gazes at me.
“Ariel,” My lips quivered as her name slithered out of my lips and sorrow chilled my heart when she didn’t respond.
She only had a bralette covering her chest and then I noticed that her jeans were ripped at the thighs. Blood gushed from the bullet wound at the side of her stomach and her face had turned pallid.
“Do you know her?” A paramedic asked while they wheeled her into the hospital.
“She’s my wife,” I responded without hesitating, my attention solely fixed on Ariel.
My reply shut her up and then she told the other staff about my relationship with Ariel. The paramedic returned to stop me from going into the theatre with her.
“You’d better get out of my way,” I thundered.
She trembled visibly but managed to hide her fear and put up a stoic look. “I’m sorry, Sir, but you can’t go in there. You should know that,”
“My wife is on the verge of dying and you want me to stay back here? Where’s the fucking chief doctor of this place?” I roared in anger which wasn’t necessarily directed to the paramedic but to the bastard who had thought that he or she could shoot Ariel and get away with it.
A few doctors scurried over and the nurses too. One of them stepped forward and scrutinized my face meticulously. His eyes widened in realization and he shuddered involuntarily.
“Good day, Mr Mikhailov. I’m the chief doctor here, is there anything you want us to do for you?” He asked me politely.
“Yes, there is. My wife is in that theater right now and I want you to go in there and ensure her safety. If anything happens to her every staff here will pay for it,”
The doctors and nurses exchanged glances, murmuring to each other. If they knew who I was, they wouldn’t be doing that.
“You don’t have to worry, Mr Mikhailov. Your wife will be up and about in a week. All I ask is that you allow us to do our job,” He responded firmly, his voice void of fear and I liked that because it gave me some assurance that he was good at his job.
“Then I’ll stay here and wait for good news,” I said and crashed on an empty chair that was outside the theater.
The medical team went away, whispering amongst themselves while I sat by myself, enveloped with several emotions-anguish, dread, anger and guilt.
My only desire was for Ariel to wake up.
She had to survive this.