No. Ravil is the fairest man I know. If Natasha’s trouble for us, I trust him better than I trust myself to handle things.
I nod. “Yeah.” I scrub a hand over my face. “I’m sorry about the car-”
“We’re good,” Ravil interrupts. “I understand she’s your soft spot.”
“More like my fucking Kryptonite,” I mutter. Because Natasha single-handedly wreaked me tonight, and I’m usually the one who’s thought of and prepared for everything. I lost all reason when she looked at me with those sea-green eyes and asked for a favor that made no sense.
The door from the clinic opens, and Dr. Taylor comes out, Natasha trailing behind. “I’m finished. I repaired the colon and put a drain in. He’s on a drip of painkillers and antibiotics. Moving him isn’t advised, but you obviously can’t keep him here.” He addresses Ravil but includes me in his eye contact. “Natasha knows how to administer the drip and adjust the drain. I’ve packed up the supplies you’ll need. I’d like daily updates and am willing to do a home visit in the next forty-eight hours to check on his progress if that’s… agreeable.”
“Video or teleconferencing would be preferred,” Ravil answers smoothly. Showing an outsider the location of the cabin would defeat the point of having the cabin. Of course, Natasha would know now, unless I make her cover her head with a hood, an idea that turns my stomach.
Dr. Taylor nods. “That’s fine. Let’s video tomorrow, so I can take a look at everything. I’ll send you with a pressure cuff as well.” He glances at Natasha. “You know how to use it, I assume?”
She nods.
“Let’s carry him out,” Ravil says. We use the bodyboard, and I put one of the back seats forward to lay Nikolai down flat like I’m transporting lumber. Natasha crawls in the remaining backseat, positioned near his head.
“Keep him comfortable,” I growl, throwing her a dark look before I slam the door.
The order is totally unnecessary. I know without a shadow of a doubt that Natasha will take care of him. That’s her personality. That’s why she made herself indispensable to the vet, brought coffee out to Ravil, and learned everything she would need to know to act as Nikolai’s nurse.
Still, I’m not going to soften my heart toward her again.
I can’t. Not when the consequences are this terrible.
Natasha
I JERK awake from what must’ve been a dream although it exactly represented my present moment. As in, I dreamed I was in the Land Rover, sitting beside Nikolai, trying to keep his head stabilized on a turn.
The vehicle bumps and jostles, and I realize it was the change to a dirt road that woke me. By the glowing clock on the dash, it’s nearly four in the morning. Dima drives another ten minutes or so then parks the Land Rover in the dark. I blink, my eyes getting used to the darkness. Dima gets out without a word and slams the door. He walks toward the darkened building.
A few moments later, a light comes on, illuminating a large, wooden wraparound porch. Lights go on inside the cabin, giving its windows a warm yellow glow. I’m not sure you can really call it a cabin. Yes, it’s made of logs, but it’s huge and looks newly constructed and expensive.
“We’re here,” I say softly to Nikolai, even though he seems to be out cold. The doctor said the pain meds should keep him asleep until morning.
I climb out and open the back gate of the Land Rover and slide the board toward me.
“You take that end.” Dima appears behind me.
I swallow. This could be tough with just the two of us, but I can do it. At least I have his lighter half. “‘Kay.” I grip the board and back up.
Dima slides in to take the other side and then walks backward up the steps and through the door, which he propped open. I follow his lead into a giant living room area with vaulted ceilings. He leads me to what appears to be a master bedroom, with a giant king bed that he’s already pulled the covers down on.
I’m starting to grunt with the weight, and Dima must notice because he moves quickly, sliding the board onto the bed and taking over my portion until the entire thing is supported. Then he stares down at his brother.
“Should we try to slide him off it?” I ask.
“I don’t know.” The weariness and defeat in Dima’s voice make me want to drop to my knees and howl for what’s happened to his beloved brother.
I have to fix this. To fix Nikolai. I crawl up on the bed beside him on my knees. “You steady him, and I’ll see if I can just slip this out without jostling him too much.”
“Slip it out. Right. Good luck with that,” Dima mutters, but he slides his two palms under Nikolai, one under his hips, the other under his mid-back. “Go.”
I tug. It doesn’t move. Dammit. I lean all my weight backward, and it slides a little in a jerk. I gasp, but Nikolai’s body remains relatively undisturbed. I yank again with all my weight, and the board slides out. “Got it,” I say needlessly.
I think I must want him to praise me or thank me or just somehow acknowledge me, but he doesn’t. He just stares down at his brother stonily.
“Pick a bedroom upstairs. I’ll stay with Nikolai.” Once more, I hear how weary he is, and I feel stupid for wanting anything from him. Of course, he has nothing to give. And all of this is my fault.
I kick off my high heels-the ones I’m about ready to throw into a deep lake because my feet ache so badly-and pick them up to walk up the stairs.
I don’t want to go to bed-not before things have been straightened out between Dima and I. I want to somehow make things right.
But I’m too tired to think straight, and he’s obviously too angry to listen.
Tomorrow, I will fix things.
I hope.