Page 101 of Darkest Desire

“You can talk to her,” one of the nurses says. “She might be able to hear.”

“What? Just in case she doesn’t make it out of surgery?” I scoff. “She will. My wife is a fighter. She’ll make it out. Sasha, did you hear me? I need you to make it. I… I don’t want to be without you. I promised I’d keep you safe and I broke that promise.” For the first time in years, I feel tears hit my eyes.

I quickly wipe them away and stand up, composing myself. “Just make sure she survives,” I snap at the nurses before heading back out of the room.

“How is she?” Mikhail asks.

A sudden anger washes over me and I punch Mikhail before I can stop myself. “If you had never attacked our home, she never would have been taken! She never would be in danger of dying!”

I let my rage take over me as I attack him.

Chapter Eighteen

Nico

Iget in a few good punches before Mikhail hits me right back. Nurses and doctors come running over to stop us.

“Security!” a nurse calls out.

That’s when Natalya appears. She runs over to Mikhail and pulls him away. Him and I are glare at each other, neither of us ready to end the fight.

“What are you two doing?” she asks. “My sister is lying in that room, unconscious, about to go into surgery and you’re fighting? Stop.”

A security guard approaches us. “You two need to leave.”

“That’s fine,” Mikhail snaps, grabbing Natalya’s hand and tugging her away.

“No,” she says. “I’m going to remain here for my sister. You two can leave. Just don’t kill each other in the process.”

“I’m her wife,” I growl, pointing at Sasha’s room. “I’m not leaving.”

“Then you two need to stop fighting,” the guard warns. “Or I will be forced to remove you.”

“I’d like to see you try,” I mutter.

“What was that?”

“Nothing,” Natalya cuts in. “It was nothing. Nico, stop.”

“You’re not my wife. You don’t get to speak to me like you are.”

Mikhail places himself in front of her. “And you don’t get to speak to Natalya like this.”

“Is there a problem?” the guard asks, looking between all of us.

“No,” Natalya reiterates. “They’re done fighting. For Sasha’s sake.” She gives me a pointed look and I can’t help but sigh. She has a point. If I want to be here for Sasha, I can’t be getting into a fight with Mikhail.

“We’re good,” I mutter, walking away.

Natalya and Mikhail move to the opposite side of the room. I can’t hear what they’re saying but I can see Natalya comforting Mikhail and him doing the same.

My eyes flick over to Sasha’s room. Will she survive so I can comfort her? Knowing I could lose her changes everything. She’s no longer just a challenge for me to have fun. She’s my wife.

The woman I know I love.

I can’t lose her for anything in this world.

Sasha is soon wheeled out to be taken into surgery. Natalya runs over to place a kiss to her sister’s cheek before Sasha is taken into the elevators. Neither Natalya or I am allowed to go with.