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“Thank you for coming,” Marinka said.
Marta tossed her blond hair behind her and checked her phone, not even pretending to show she cared.
“Sure thing. Eat plenty and get well, Marinka. We’ll be seeing you,” her mother stated before marching out of the room. Vlad leaned over and kissed Lilly’s head, then whispered something in her ear. She giggled, nodding.
Relief settled in when they left and the overbearing tension was sucked out of the room. Marinka stared at me with obvious apprehension. I knew I had to win her over again. I had done it once and I would do it again by being my charming self. I just needed to remember my past mistakes, keep in mind I had to take things slowly.
“How about we all go for a walk? The door to the grounds is right next to my room and I’ll probably manage a short stint,” Marinka suggested, hope in her voice. She looked down at Lilly and smiled. “I haven’t seen the outside yet, so we could explore together a little.”
I could sense her unease. After all, we would be living together soon, and so much had changed for her.
“I don’t know if this is such a good idea,” I said, unsure if she could manage. Just yesterday, she barely had strength to get out of the bed. “Maybe we should ask Dr. Stephens.”
“Why don’t you then? I’m fed up of laying around and I’m starting to hate that bed.” She sighed.
“Yes, let’s go for a walk. I want to hold your hand, Mommy,” Lilly agreed.
I smiled, thinking that now I’d have two strong-minded women in the penthouse. I went outside the room to give Stephens a call. The building itself was secure, and patient admission was limited, contingent upon a pressing need for discretion. I had also hired extra security to make sure my wife was safe.
Stephens seemed delighted with Marinka’s progress, so five minutes later, we were about to shuffle out the door, Marinka in a light nightgown that displayed her form against the sunlight.
A sharp arrow marked ‘jealousy’ hit me right in the chest. She wasn’t going out like that. I made a mental note to pack some clothes for her, so she’d have something decent—and less revealing—to change into. It was ridiculous for me to feel this way, of course, but my wife’s body was mine, in a coma or not, sick or well, inside or outside. She belonged to me, and nobody else had a right to see her body, except the doctors and nurses—and even that irked me a little.
“Here, put this on,” I said, putting a dressing gown over her shoulders when she slid out of bed. “It’s warm out there, but your immune system is probably weakened and you don’t want to get ill.” I helped her put it on, my fingers brushing over her delicate neck, and I had to have words with my dick to stand the fuck down. Really.
Lilly was bouncing around, so excited that her mom was finally awake. I didn’t know why I’d been so on edge about their first meeting. Lilly had a knack for making everything better.
She smelled a lot like I remembered, like innocence and spring flowers and a hint of citrus. Delicate and pure, with the power to drive me insane. Since she’d been gone from our lives, I’d been loyal to her, the only woman in my life being Lilly, so holding back was going to be fucking difficult. Once, after Stephens told me not to expect much, I attempted hookups with other women, but it never worked because Marinka owned my body and soul.
Besides, she was all I had and I couldn’t imagine being with someone else, even if she didn’t remember me and what we’d shared.
She shivered under my touch, but quickly put a safe distance between us, taking Lilly’s tiny hand.
We left in silence and headed outside. Every now and then, I held her gently by the arm, helping her on. The landscaping was a work of art within itself, so green and peaceful, with perfectly manicured bushes and neat flowerbeds. A perfect place for healing.
Marinka looked up at the sky, soaking in the sunlight on this beautiful day. Lilly pulled away from her and started running around, pointing at all the flowers in delight.
“I hate that I don’t remember her…” she said sadly as I guided her hand to loop around my arm. We resumed walking at a slow, steady pace. “Thank you for bringing her to me. She’s wonderful,” she said shyly, then added, “You did a great job with her.”
“You don’t have to thank me. She’s our daughter. I was never going to let her forget you.” I was so close to her, and yet so far away. The sooner I could get her home, the better. Once she was settled with me and Lilly, I knew she would remember everything. Remember us—the good and the bad, but mostly the good.
She said something to Lilly about the flowers and then directed her attention to me.
“Was it true that my parents sold me to you because you were going to kill them?” she asked after a while. Way not to pull any punches.
I dragged my hand through my hair, thinking about my answer. Marta had probably painted a bad picture of me—not that I didn’t use to be that guy, but I wasn’t even surprised. At this point though, honesty was the best policy.
“I shot your father, yes. I wanted him dead. He betrayed me and then jeopardized my ex-wife’s life. She was killed because of him and I was driven by revenge,” I said. Marinka needed to understand she was part of this world now and we had to do things a certain way. I dealt with dangerous people every day and her safety was always my priority.
As she processed what I said, shadows crossed her face.
“I just can’t understand how I could have been so stupid, refusing to see the business my parents were involved in.” She shook her head. “Now that I think about this, it’s clear I had been very naive and obviously blind. All these people who used to come to the house and the security standing outside…”
“I always admit I’m not a saint, but I promise one thing above all others: that I will always protect you. Your parents failed you in a way, but I won’t. You were shot because of me, because I angered someone I shouldn’t have.”
“What happened then?” she asked.
“Our family is Serbian, and we have many families here in Chicago competing for dominance. At that time, I had a disagreement with the Italian mafia. To make a long story short, their boss, Gino, didn’t like the fact I was making an alliance with the Russians instead, so they—”
