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“I doubt it. Why would Sofia jeopardize our agreement and create a senseless war?” another voice said. Sparky’s.
They must have given me morphine, but I couldn’t move or talk.
“Well, you’re wrong. She had the gall to demand that I ask my father to give up his territory or his supplier,” Marinka argued.
“What are you talking about, Russina? I thought your father was dead,” another voice asked, a male voice I didn’t recognise. There was another woman present, too, talking in the background. I wasn’t fucking dreaming, I could hear them clearly, but I couldn’t open my eyes. I heard the sound of the door opening, then shut. Someone else came in.
“We came as soon as we found out. How is he?” another woman asked.
“Stable, and the bullet didn’t go too deep. He’s a lucky fucker. He’s heavily sedated.”
“Thankfully, he’ll survive. Russina, how are you holding up?”
“This is driving me crazy, so I’ll just be out with it and say I’m not Russina, all right? My name is Marinka and I have been pretending to be Sebastian’s late wife because he asked me. Sofia knew so it’s not a secret anymore,” my wife announced.
For a long while, I could hear a pin drop. Marinka had grabbed the bull by the horns and chosen to tell the truth. Just as well. The woman had balls for sure, and she managed to do what I’d been waffling with for a good long while. No point in keeping the charade going.
“What the fuck did you just say?” That was my idiot brother Sparky speaking.
“Are you fucking deaf, Sparky? She said she’s not Russina,” a woman replied in an amused tone. “To be honest, when we met at a party four years ago, I had my suspicions. You just didn’t act like Russina at all. I’d known that woman for years and she never had anything good to say about anyone.”
“I’m going to kill that bitch,” Sparky growled, and the sounds of a struggle ensued.
“Sit the fuck down and don’t even think about touching her!” my other brother, Milo, yelled.
“Sofia already knew who I was, which is why I’m telling you all now, before you hear it from her or someone close to her. My father is Vlad Shevchenko and apparently, he had something to do with Russina’s death. To make a long story short, Sebastian bought me from my parents when my mother suggested that I looked like his first wife, so here I am now. We can move on.”
* * *
I came around sometime later.Someone told me to open my eyes, so I did. At first, everything was blurry until my eyes settled on the face of an angel. Marinka’s face brightened with a smile, and she touched my face.
“How are you feeling?” A small frown creased her face, and she now looked concerned. It warmed me that she worried about me.
“Like shit,” I croaked out. I felt numb, probably because of all the medications they’d pumped into me.
She laughed then, a gleam in her eyes that looked a lot like love.
“Well, you got dinged up pretty bad. The bullet didn’t do much damage but you hit the back of your head on the concrete and that caused some problems. You’re still under observation to make sure the swelling and risk of infection are under control, but you’re on the mend.” Dr. Stephens came in my line of vision, standing next to Marinka.
“I started to call 911, but then decided to contact Dr. Stephens, who arranged to have an ambulance dispatched right away.”
I paid a lot of money to have a direct line to Marinka’s physician. It seemed to be funds well spent.
“What about the police?”
“If you feel up to making a statement when you’re recovered, you can do so,” Dr. Stephens replied.
“Thanks, Doctor?” I said, trying to sit up but giving up fast. My head was banging in my skull and the ache took my breath away.
My mind whirled with questions. I needed to know who was trying to kill me. I didn’t remember much from that evening, but I seriously doubted Sofia was involved. It would be stupid for her to go to war with us on a whim.
“All right, I will be back later to check on you, Sebastian,” the doctor said, then left.
“You need to rest now.” After a pause, she added, “I think I know what happened and who’s responsible,” Marinka sighed.
“What’s your theory?” I asked, wanting to speak to Sparky and Milo about this. I somewhat remembered the conversation they had with Marinka while I was semi-conscious. Sparky’s wife was there, too, so now they all knew our little secret.
“I think that bullet was meant for me, not you. When we came out of the restaurant, I was fixing a loose shoelace for you. That’s when the bullet hit you, grazing you in your left arm. Just a moment before, I’d been standing next to you,” she explained.
