Page 136 of Between Us

“I'm starting to wonder if my sister really is safe with you. Criticize him all you like, but nothing ever happened to her while she was under my father's protection.”

That did it.

Roman turned to face him and took a step closer, their shoes inches apart. “Listen here, Matteo.Ididn't force your sister into an arranged marriage with the enemy to accommodatemyplans. I love Alessandra and I will do everything in my power to protect her, but the shitstorm that came with this marriage is not something I can control entirely. I'm doing my fucking best to work with what I have. Can you understand this and get off my back for one motherfucking minute?”

Matteo's jaw flexed, but he averted his eyes. “I'm notgoing to tell my father about it.”

“You can tell him, for all I care. I'm done walking on eggshells around him. Everyone is accountable for where we are right now, including me and you. So, how about we own up to it and fix this mess so we can get on with our lives.”

???

“Everything is set up,” Stepan announced from the doorway to the kitchen.

Roman lifted his gaze from his phone to meet his friend's tired eyes. They'd been up all night planning the last hit on the Clan—one that was sure to keep them at bay for a long time. He felt a tinge of guilt for keeping Stepan away from his wife and infant son, although the man himself didn't seem to mind the tasks Roman saddled him with day after day.

“Good. Make sure everyone gets the message.”

Stepan chuckled. “A bomb is a pretty clear message to anyone with eyes and ears and fucking limbs to loose. After tonight, no Armenian will ever dare to come within ten blocks of you or your family.”

Roman let out a sigh. “I know Davit is dead, but they’re fucking tenacious. Someone new will take over whatever is left of the Clan and start all over.”

“It will take them years to even begin to recover from what you've done to their ranks.”

“That’s what I’m counting on.”

Stepan looked around the kitchen, seeming to contemplate something. “When are you bringing her back?”

“Tomorrow,” Roman said, and despite his tiredness,he felt the buzz of excitement at the prospect of having his wife back home. It had only been a week since she’d left, but it felt like a lifetime had passed.

His phone rang, and he was surprised to see it was the hospital.

“Yes?” he answered, watching as Stepan walked over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water.

“Mr. Leskov, this is Dr. Brown. I have some good news for you. As you are aware, your father’s condition has improved significantly over the past few days. We started reducing the medication that kept him in a coma, and he’s been breathing on his own since last night. He finally woke up about thirty minutes ago.”

Roman ran a hand across his jaw in thought. Despite knowing about Vitaly’s progress, he felt neither happy nor upset about the positive outcome. “Did he.”

“He did. Now, we are still keeping our reservations regarding his full recovery, but this is the first step toward achieving the best results possible.” The man paused. “Unfortunately, because the left hemisphere of his brain was affected, he is unable to speak at the moment, but he is showing clear signs of understanding what is being said to him.”

“Is this something permanent?”

“We don’t know yet. We’ll have to wait and see how his situation progresses.”

“Thank you for letting me know, doctor. I will pay him a visit today.”

“Excellent. A nurse will notify me when you arrive so we can discuss about next steps.”

After ending the call, Roman gave Stepan the news. “Vitaly is awake but unable to speak.”

“Hmm. That’s too bad. He might've had someinteresting things to say.”

“I doubt that. He'll never admit to any of the shit he did behind my back, damaged brain or not. But that's fine with me. I'm not interested in his confession.”

His friend smiled. “You're not? After what you told me, I thought you might want to get the truth out of him.”

“The truth is irrelevant at this point. I just want him to know where I stand.”

“And where's that?”

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