Nikolai
Ava returns with a pack of frozen peas, a thin towel and a change of clothes. She places the things she brought by my side on the bed and returns to her position on her knees.
On any other day, the sight of my wife on her knees in front of me would’ve sent me coming in my pants, but the tightness in her lips, the subtle puffiness around her eyes, mixed with the throbbing pain in my ribs makes it impossible for me to get aroused in this situation.
“Take off your shirt?” She orders and I bite down on my tongue to keep from making a joke on how eager she was to get me naked. Considering how well she’d taken my last attempt at a joke stopping myself before the words slip out seems like the only wise thing to do.
I discard the blood-stained fabric of my shirt to the floor a few feet away from her, wincing as the movement pulls at my ribs. Ava notices. Her fingers pause, hesitation flickering across her features before she schools her expression and reaches for the ice pack.
“Hold still,” She commands. “This might hurt a bit” I do as she says, watching her as she wraps the thin cloth she brought with her around the frozen peas before she presses it firmly against my side.
A low hiss slips from my lips at the shock of the peas pressing into my skin. Ava doesn’t flinch at my reaction, her jaw tightens as she adjusts the pack against my ribs. Surprisingly, after the initial contact, Ava’s touch turns gentle. She presses the pack against my ribs, moving it up and pressing it down again when she feels the swelling beneath her fingertips.
In my line of work, pain is something that’s to be expected. It’s something my father made sure to drill into me once I came off age through rigorous training and sometimes a poorly aimed shot. Before Ava, no one had ever cared enough to take care of me after I came home bruised and battered.
Her gaze remains firmly screwed to my side, her touch so painfully delicate, it’s almost maddening. She bites down on her bottom lips, eyes furrowed in concentration, and I can’t help but notice how fucking adorable my wife looks right now, all wrapped up in ensuring I’m better.
This last week has been nothing but pure torture without her but with everything that’s happened so far, staying away felt like the only option I had.
I didn’t expect her to be awake when I arrived earlier. I expected to find her asleep, tucked in bed without a care in the world and definitely not in my clothes. I also most certainly hadn’t expected her outburst.
She cares about me. My wife fucking cares about me. The words she’d uttered only a moment ago confirming the notion felt surreal. She was worried about me. Actually worried that something might’ve happened to me.
As absurd as it might sound, the idea that she’d been mad with worry during my absence sends an exciting thrill through me in more ways than one.
My lips curve despite myself, my gaze dropping to where her delicate fingers work with precision. Ava, my beautiful, fiery little wife, cared about me. The thought had me grinning from earlier to ear.
Her gaze flickers to mine, holding it briefly as the corner of her lips twists questioningly.
“What’s so funny?” she asks and I shake my head.
“Nothing.” I smile
“Then why do you look so happy? do you have some type of pain kink?” She looks genuinely curious and the sight of her crinkled nose is enough to draw a chuckle from my chest, but the sound is immediately cut off by a groan.
“Hold still”, My wife scolds, holding the pack firmer against my skin. I hiss and this time it’s her turn to smile.
“I think you’re enjoying this far too much for my liking,” I murmur, narrowing my eyes at her.
“Really? How could you tell.” she deadpans then presses the pack in with a bit more force than necessary. I gunt, shooting her a glare but there’s no real heat behind it.
My wife’s smiles and it’s at that moment I realise how much I’ve needed to see her smile this last week.
“Admit it, you’re only helping me because you like having the ability to hurt me.”
“Am I that obvious?”
“I’m afraid so, Solnyshko”
She presses down against the bruise as if warning me and only stops when I hiss.
“Are you going to tell me who did this to you?”
My lips thin at her question. I knew it was only a matter of time before she asked me again, after all, my wife was nothing if not persistent.
“Every year the Bratva has something known as the Riga Operations. This Riga operation is a crucial part of the Bratva and happens at least once a year.”
Ava doesn’t react immediately, but I can sense the way her fingers tighten slightly against the pack.
“It involves exchanging valuable weapons with one of the Bratva families, and once the exchange was a success, the weapons would be carried off to Eastern Europe, where they would be sold. This year’s operation was scheduled five days ago. Ivan and I did everything to ensure that this year’s operation went smoothly especially since the representative of the other family was none other than the the first son of the Mikhaylovs family. The Mikhaylovs are an important part of the Bratva and their compliance goes a long way in ensuring that all dealings are met with the precision they require.”
“Did something happen during the operation?” Her voice is quiet, almost as if she’s scared of asking too much and the pressure she placed on the ice pack had weakened.
“Everything was going fine at first. Ivan and I arrived at the port as scheduled and made sure the shipment was secure. It was supposed to be a simple exchange, and everything had gone well until the time for the actual exchange arrived, and then we were ambushed.”
The crack of a sudden gunshot was what triggered it all. The scent of blood followed soon after as the bodies of my men started hitting the ground one after the other.
Ava’s fingers still against my skin, her brows furrowing slightly, “Ambushed?”
I nod. “I was informed before we left that the usual representative from the Mikhaylov family was apparently a rat. In order to keep our warehouse from getting compromised and to avoid our deal from being infiltrated I had the location changed at the last minute. But someone leaked our new location and we were unfortunately ambushed. Luckily, Ivan and I were able to escape with only a few grazes, but Alexi…” My voice trails off.
Alexi might’ve been trained on what to expect during operations but nothing would’ve prepared him for what it felt like to be shot.
My jaw clenches as the memory of him bleeding out on the floor resurfaces in my mind. He’d been quick to jump into action at the first sound of the gunshot, but unfortunately, speed does not always equal skill, and If I hadn’t seen the instant his body dropped to the floor from the impact of the bullet, there’s no telling what would’ve happened.
“This Alexi, is he alright?”
Exhaling shakily, I nod stiffly, “Yes, fortunately, the gunshot wasn’t severe. I was able to get him transferred to a hospital in Russia two days ago so that he can be closer to home, where he’ll be taken care of.”
Stepan was more than happy to receive the report that his son was okay. He insisted that his son be transferred to their family hospital in Russia so that he could monitor his recovery better.
Ava exhales slowly, relief crashing her features. “That’s good.”
“It is,” I agree
“And it was during the ambush you lost your phone?”
I nod once, “It was,”
My wife exhales slowly, her lips forming a tiny o as a small gust of air escapes them, “Well, that explains that, but I’m assuming the ambush wasn’t how you got injured” Her gaze flickers to my ribs before she draws it back to my face.
I smirk, though it fades quickly as another sharp pain shoots through my side. Ava snaps back, apologizing but I stop the words from tumbling from her lips by wrapping my hand around her wrist and bringing the pack back to the spot on my ribs.
“Relax, Malysh. I can take it.” I murmur. Our gaze meets briefly and a faint pink hue dusts the tip of her ears. pp
The action is all she needs to continue applying the pressure. “You would be right” I grunt
“So, how did you get injured?”
“After what had happened, I was able to track down five of the men who were responsible for the attack. They were in a warehouse on the outskirts of the city. We couldn’t let them get away with what they did, not after the number of men I lost that night.”
A rule of the Bratva meant blood for blood and I intended to spill theirs in the same gruesome manner they spilled the blood of my men.
“How many of the men did you …. hurt?”
A pause and then, “Four”
Ava momentarily tenses against me. I expect her to withdraw from me, maybe see a little bit of disgust in her expression, but she meets my gaze head-on, silently giving me permission to continue.
“The last two fought like hell. One of them managed to grab a baseball bat while I wasn’t looking and swung two hits at me. I was able to put a bullet in his skull before he could land the third”
Something shifts in her gaze and I can’t tell if she’s scared of me or if she wants to run away.
“And the last?” She swallows “What did you do to him?”
“Nothing. He escaped before I could get to him. Slipped out from right under our noses”