Page 4 of Where the Wind Whispers

Violet snatched the white grocery bag the guard—one of the many men that Ruslan had watching the ward and room Kaz was staying in—and didn’t even bother to thank the man for doing what she’d asked of him. It was hard to do anything, or get anything done, without someone else looking over her shoulder and overhearing every single thing she said.

This was not the sort of thing she wanted talked about, and she didn’t want to discuss it, either.

Two days into Kaz’s hospital stay and there wasn’t much change. It was still just as touch and go as it had been that first agonizing night. He still had machines doing all the work for him, heated blankets warming him because he couldn’t keep his body temperature stabilized, and his monitors indicated little to no activity.

It was terrifying and confusing.

When Ruslan had gone down to grab the takeout he’d asked someone to get them for dinner, Violet used that time to her advantage. While she was sure her brother-in-law wouldn’t have anything negative to say about what she needed, it still wasn’t something she felt the need to share.

Not yet, at least.

Disappearing into the private bathroom attached to Kaz’s room, Violet shut and locked the door behind her. She dug through the bag, tore open the cardboard boxes, and unwrapped pink and white plastic with blank window panes waiting to give a definitive yes or no.

She took the pregnancy tests with shaking hands, set all six of them up in a row on the edge of the sink, and then stared at anything but the thin pieces of plastic as she waited.

White grout.

White tile.

White porcelain.

Anything but those tests.

All too soon, the minutes ticked down to zero, and Violet didn’t have a choice but to give the tests her attention.

She already knew what they were going to say.

Double pink, bright lines crossed every single window on each of the six pregnancy tests.

They couldn’t be more fucking positive than they were.

Alone in the bathroom and knowing she didn’t have someone to share the news with was hard—the only person she wanted to tell wouldn’t hear the words, anyway.

Violet sat on the toilet for minutes, the silence of her world deafening, and the reality of her situation crushing.

A muffled shout from outside the bathroom finally broke her from the daze. Forgetting about the pregnancy tests lined up on the sink in their neat little row, she flew out of the bathroom to investigate the commotion. Ever since Kaz had been brought into the ICU, it had been relatively quiet. Rus didn’t allow people in and out of the room—he didn’t permit guests beyond the family waiting room, and usually, he would be the one to go down and talk if someone wanted an update on Kaz’s situation. Violet wasn’t entirely sure why Rus was so adamant about doing things that way, but she believed it had a lot to do with the way Kaz’s current situation was being handled.

That Rus would not, no matter what, allow Kaz to be seen in a weak state.

Partly, anyway.

Violet wasn’t sure of the rest.

Ruslan didn’t offer a whole lot.

At the sliding glass doors of Kaz’s room, Violet peeked out into the usually quiet and somber hallway of the ICU. Down at the far corner where their room was, the very edge of the nurses station was only slightly visible, though she was well aware their position did nothing to hinder the nurses and doctors from getting to Kaz’s room damn near instantly if they needed to.

But she was grateful for the privacy it afforded from the other patients and their families coming in and out. Their room was the only room at the end, so no one other than the nurses and doctors needed to be down that far, disturbing their privacy and peace.

For a second, Violet stared at the two men just a couple of feet down from the doorway of Kaz’s room, unsure of what she was seeing. She thought—maybe—she recognized the tall, broad-shouldered man who was standing toe-to-toe with Ruslan. He didn’t look like he was the least bit afraid of the anger gracing Rus’ features even if he was the one backed against the cinderblock wall.

But despite the familiarity Violet felt as she took him in, she couldn’t bring a name to his face.

“How did you get in here?” Ruslan asked.

The man shrugged. “Came in with a patient’s family as they were bringing in coffee.”

Ruslan’s gaze darkened. “Why?”