Page 50 of Conceal

“What happened?” I ask once they’re gone.

“Dmitri’s going to kill me,” he replies, and when he looks up at me, his eyes are glassy. Shit.

“We know that. That was always the risk.” I’m not used to being the voice of reason, but if Roman’s out of commission, and Mik’s getting Juliet settled back at the barn, then I guess it’s my job now.

“She could be pregnant,” he whispers, and the blood drains from my head, making me instantly dizzy.

She’s on birth control, right? Except, I didn’t pack it when I grabbed her stuff. We used condoms, right? Sometimes. Jesus, how could we have been so careless? It’s like all logic flew out of the window the minute she said ‘go’.

I shake my head to get rid of the errant thoughts.

“If she is, we’ll figure it out.”

“Unless we’re dead.”

“How about we worry about that when we know that she is? There’s still a good chance that she’s not.” I hope.

We sit in tense silence for a few moments before Roman adds. “I have to call him and tell him...”

I nod. At the very least, he needs to know she’s hurt and in the hospital. He should’ve called from the ambulance.

He stands and pulls his phone out, staring at it for a long time before taking a deep breath in and out.

He dials and holds the phone to his ear. I don’t envy him. That’s not a phone call I’d ever want to make.

“Sir, Tatiana’s been in an accident. We’re at the Grace Memorial Hospital, and she’s been taken back for imaging.”

He winces as Dmitri shouts down the line in Russian. Roman takes it all with a grimace before Dmitri hangs up. Shoulders sagging, he sits again and puts his head in his hands again.

I’m not sure how long we sit there, waiting, before the doors open and a small army of staff wheel Tatiana into the room.

We stand, and I’m immediately relieved to see that she’s awake.

“Juliet?” she asks the moment she sees us.

“She’s fine. Mik took her back to the barn,” I reply and am rewarded with a grateful smile.

“The doctor will be in to see you when he gets the results from radiology,” a nurse tells Tati and shows her how to call a nurse if she needs anything.

When it’s just us again, I can’t help but sit on the side of her bed. “Are you okay?” I ask, tracing a finger gently down her arm where her gown opens.

“I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck, but they’ve given me some good drugs so it’s not too bad,” she replies. I move to the other side of her and wince when I see the bruise forming on her other shoulder. It’s ugly and angry, red and deep blue. I drag the gown from under her butt to expose her hip, which is equally bruised.

“Baby,” I whisper, my voice cracking. I hate seeing her hurt. Her skin should never be this color. But I feel helpless because I couldn’t have protected her from this.

“What’s wrong with him?” She asks, nodding her head toward Roman.

“Your dad’s on his way.”

“Oh...”

A heavy silence sits between us. Neither of us wants to talk about what happens next.

When the door opens, I jump to my feet and lean against the wall next to her, like the good bodyguard I know I’m not.

Luckily, it’s just the doctor. He seems surprised to see Roman and me, but he smiles warmly at Tatiana before glancing down at her chart.

“Well, the good news is that you have no broken bones and no internal bleeding.”