Page 96 of Goodnight, Sinners

“I’m always honest when it comes to medicine. What’s the point in telling a dying man he’ll live longer than he will? This way, you have the time to make arrangements and be with the people who matter most to you.”

He didn’t respond to her comment, but waved his hand at a second file sitting on the table. “Look at that one and tell me what you see.” Before she could reach for it, he asked, “You value confidentiality?”

“Of course,” she answered.

“Good. No one must know who this patient is…” he hesitated before continuing, “to me.”

“As both a doctor and a human being, you have my word that nothing we discuss will leave this room unless you want it to.” She paused and then added, “Except for Jozef.”

He dipped his head in a nod. “That will have to be good enough.”

She picked it up, flipped it open and began reading. The more she read, the more alarmed she became. The patient was a three-year-old male with a degenerative heart condition. “This will be fatal if he doesn’t get surgery immediately.”

“Yes, that’s what his doctor told me,” Ivan sat up in his chair and leaned forward. There was a flash of terrible fire in his dark eyes. “Unfortunately, he botched the procedure, and my great-grandson is now on life-support with little chance at survival.”

“I’m so sorry,” Shaun murmured, meaning it. Though this man had undoubtedly done terrible things throughout his life, she couldn’t help but feel for an old man who might outlive his great-grandchild.

She continued to peruse the images and notes, both pre-surgery and post. She studied the blown-up image of the child’s heart, holding it up to the light so she could see every nuance.

“What are you thinking?” Ivan demanded.

Shaun lowered the image, tucking it into the file. She stared at the old man. “This is why I’m here, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” he said, not bothering to cover his true intentions. “This child is my legacy. Even if his parents have more children, none of them will be my Petr. I’ve spent many years hiding the existence of my family but have recently connected with them. Little Petr has given me more joy than I thought possible in the past three years. I can’t watch him die in a hospital bed.”

She thought about what she would say next. She had to step carefully with this man, or she might end up in the same position she’d been in two years ago, a woman with a gun to her head and nowhere to run. She suspected the doctor who had botched the boy’s surgery was no longer among the living.

“I can’t help you.” She saw the thunderclouds gathering on his face and suspected she was about to meet the real Ivan Siberia. She was quick to add, “As you must know, I’m specialized in neurology and a repair surgery this delicate will require a top cardiologist. I may not be able to help you, but I know someone who can.”

Ivan released a breath and relaxed back into his chair. “Thank you.”

“I can give you his name under two conditions.” She ignored his sharpening gaze. “You will not threaten or harm this doctor, no matter the outcome of the surgery. Your great-grandson has a major surgery ahead of him and he’s very fragile.”

Ivan nodded. “Of course. I am not a monster. I wouldn’t bring harm to a person who is trying to help heal my grandson. What is your second condition?”

Shaun chewed her lip, trying to think fast. “You pay him two million dollars for the consultation and another five if he agrees to the surgery.” Was seven million dollars too much? Would he laugh at her and then torture her for the name of the doctor?

“Done.” Ivan’s answer was so quick she rather thought she should have asked for more. As if reading her thoughts, he added, “I will pay any amount if someone gives me the gift of my great-grandson’s life before I leave this earth.”

Shaun smiled. “His name is Dr. Sebastian Ngammi, he lives in South Africa. I met him at a refugee camp in Mozambique. If you give him my name, I’m sure he’ll be happy to help if he can. If your people could give me my phone, I can write his information down for you.”

Ivan made a call and five minutes later, Shaun’s phone was returned to her. She was relieved the battery had enough of a charge that she could access her contacts. She wrote the information inside the file, closed it and placed it on the coffee table.

“Is that all, or was there something else you wished to discuss? I should get back to Jozef.”

“Of course.” Ivan pushed himself slowly and painfully to his feet. It was hard for Shaun not to help, but she suspected he wouldn’t appreciate her acknowledgment of his weakness.

He used his cane to walk her to the door, taking her hand in a light grip and squeezing it in his shaky hand. He didn’t immediately let go.

“There was one more thing I wanted to ask you.” His calculating look sent a shiver down her back. “I know you have been researching methods of repairing a damaged larynx. You’ve gone so far as to research top surgeons in the field of voice recovery, yet you haven’t taken this information to Mr. Koba. Why is that?”

Shaun swallowed hard and gently extracted her hand from Ivan’s. She thought about how to answer him. She didn’t think he gave a shit about Jozef’s lack of voice. No, he was telling her exactly how invasive the Bratva were. They were keeping tabs on her laptop at work. That wasn’t the scariest part, though. The only way the Bratva could know that she hadn’t talked to Jozef about fixing his voice, was to have eyes and ears on everything, every aspect of their lives, including the bedroom.

Still, she had to know. “How do you know I haven’t talked to him?”

Ivan gave her a tight-lipped smile that told her to tread carefully. “I know.”

She nodded and answered the question in the spirit of complete honesty. “Jozef uses his lack of voice to his advantage. It was never a disability to him, and I’m convinced if he could speak, he would lose an important part of who he is.”

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