Page 24 of Darkest Game (The Dark Mafia #3)

Chapter Thirteen

Liam

“ D id you do this?” Mikhail asks, nodding at Irina. “You hurt her?”

“I didn’t do this to her.” But I can’t say I had nothing to do with this since I technically did. Elaine is after us because I killed Jack. Elaine was able to cut Irina’s throat because I used Irina as a distraction to save my mom.

“You can’t be in here,” the nurse says, trying to back Mikhail and Nico up but they’re not moving.

“You’re a dead man, Liam,” Nico says.

“I’m going to call security,” the nurse warns them. “So leave. Now.”

The two men finally walk out of the room but I can see them through the glass. They’re waiting for me to get out. My mom is out there. They could use her to hurt me just like Elaine did. I just have to hope that they don’t know what my mom looks like.

“Do you need me to call security?” the nurse asks me.

“I’ll deal with them,” I say, turning back to Irina. She clutches at my hand, pleading with her eyes to… not fight? Not die? Wishful thinking.

“Please,” she rasps out. “Let me tell them.”

“You can barely speak.”

“But… you’ll… die.”

I grip her hand and give it a kiss. “I’ll be fine. They’re not going to kill me in the middle of a hospital. They’ll want to get me outside and they won’t be able to. Not with security. Even they’re not invincible when it comes to the police.”

“Tell them… the truth.”

“I’ll try to. But you know they’re not going to listen. I already told them about Elaine before and they didn’t want to hear it. They’re determined to hate me.”

“Just try.”

“I promise.” I gaze down into her eyes, feeling my heart beat faster and my head swim like I’m underwater and trying to breathe for the first time.

These feelings I have for Irina are encompassing.

Jack changed my life forever when he forced me and Irina to marry.

I fucking hated the bastard. But Irina has been the only good thing I’ve ever had in my entire life.

I’m not ready to lose her just yet. “I’m glad you survived. I was… scared.”

Her eyes widen at my admission.

“I want you, Irina,” I say gruffly. “I want you in my life. There’s no use pretending. So I’m going to fight to keep you.”

“My family?”

“I don’t want to keep you from your family. But if Mikhail and Nico refuse to see reason… I know you can’t speak much. But tell me what you want?”

“I… want… my family.”

Her words crush my fucking heart but it’s not unexpected.

Then she speaks again. “But I also want… you.”

My breath hitches. How can this girl make me feel this way when no one ever has before? Her sweet, caring nature has rubbed off on me.

“I’ll find a way to give you both,” I promise. “But it’s all up to Mikhail and Nico. They’re fucking stubborn.”

She smiles but there’s a sadness to her eyes.

“We’re going to move her to a different room now,” the nurse tells me. “You can come with.” She warily looks at Mikhail and Nico. “I can still call security on them if you want.”

“I’ll talk with them. No need to get the police or anyone involved.” I turn to Irina. “I’ll come find you.”

Her nod is a small gesture. Two nurses wheel Irina out of the room and I follow behind.

“Where are you taking her?” Mikhail demands of the nurses.

“We’re not obligated to say.”

“We’re both her brother-in-law,” he says, gesturing to him and Nico. “We have more of a right to know than him.” He tosses me a sneer.

“I’m her husband. I have more of the right.”

“You’ve only know her for a week,” Nico scoffs.

“And so have you. You didn’t spend any time with Irina when she was held prisoner in Denis’s home.

I know because she told me how locked up she was.

So don’t get all fucking high and mighty with me, acting like you know Irina better.

You don’t. Her sisters are a different story.

But you two? You don’t have any right to Irina. ”

“Neither do you,” Mikhail growls. “You took her from her family. You hurt her. She’s in the hospital because of you.”

I turn to the nurses. “Get her to her room. I’ll deal with them.”

They quickly wheel Irina away. There’s a good chance they’re going to call for security soon. I don’t want to be kicked out of the hospital too.

I square off against Mikhail and Nico. A quick glance to my right shows that my mom is still there. She’s just not getting involved. Good. “I didn’t hurt Irina.”

Nico scoffs. “Bullshit.”

“My wife is worried,” Mikhail says. “She wants her sister back. You will give us Irina back and we won’t kill you. That’s a fair deal in my opinion.”

“I didn’t take her back. I was saving her.”

Nico rolls his eyes. “I saw you grab her and run when we were in Central Park.”

“Because Elaine was there and she was trying to kill us.”

“How fucking convenient.”

A flare of anger courses through me and it takes everything inside of myself not to punch the shit out of these two men.

“You know what? It is convenient because it’s the truth.

Elaine has been trying to kill me and Irina for days now and no one seems to believe me.

She went after my own mother just to get to me and Irina.

That’s how Irina was hurt. Elaine cut her throat before I shot her. ”

“She’s dead?” Mikhail asks.

I hesitate. “Well… no. I shot her in the shoulder. She was holding Irina by knifepoint. I couldn’t risk killing Irina.”

“And yet, she still ended up in the hospital. Like Nico said, what a very convenient story.”

“For god fucking sakes,” I groan, dropping my head back.

“I know you want to see me as the enemy. And I deserve it. I did kidnap Natalya and Sasha a year ago. I was trying to mess with you two. That is true. But I only took Irina now because Jack wanted me too. After I took Natalya and Sasha, I decided I didn’t want anything to do with them.

I didn’t want to be at war with you. But Jack wanted it.

So I took Irina. Yes. But it was Jack who forced me to marry her.

It was Jack who was going to rape her on our wedding night so I killed him and that’s why his wife, Elaine, is after me and Irina.

She wants revenge. She was there at Central Park.

She was trying to shoot me and Irina. I showed up at the park not knowing Irina was going to be there. ”

Nico snorts. “I don’t believe you.”

“Well, it’s true,” I snap. “I just happened to be there when she was. Elaine was there for one of us. I’m not sure which.

But she got lucky. We happened to both be there at the same time.

I took Irina again to save her life. I didn’t have time to explain that to you.

And besides, I knew if you caught me, you’d kill me.

You’re not letting me explain. You don’t trust me.

Fine. I get it. I don’t trust you fuckers either.

I’m not fully innocent in this. Yes. I’ll own up to that.

But I did not hurt Irina. In fact, I have been doing everything in my fucking power to save her life.

To save her from being raped. I might have been forced to marry her but she is my wife now.

And I am going to protect her. Whether you believe me or not.

Now, I’m going to spend time with Irina.

Make sure she’s fine for the night while she heals.

You can either join me or get the fuck out. But I am not leaving my wife.”

Mikhail and Nico stare at me stunned. I don’t give them time to answer as I walk over to a nurse and ask for Irina’s room.

Her new room is more private and secluded. Good. I wouldn’t want her to have to share a space with anyone else.

Her eyes light up when she sees me. I’m not sure I deserve it but I’ll take it.

“I tried to explain it to them,” I tell her, taking her hand. “Now it’s up to them to believe me or not.”

“You’re… fighting for… me.”

“Save your voice. Did they tell you how long it will take for your voice to heal?”

She grabs a pad and pen off the side table of the bed and writes her answer down . About a week, she says.

“That’s not bad. It could have been worse. And I’m fucking glad it wasn’t.”

Why are you fighting for me? she writes.

“Because you’re my wife now. And I care for you. There’s no use pretending I don’t. I was never the sort of man to get into a serious relationship with anybody. But with you… I don’t know. It just feels different.”

I agree .

I smile at her words. “So, I’m gonna stay right here. Make sure Elaine doesn’t find you here. I wouldn’t put it past her to send someone to kill you. I’ll protect you. I promise.”

I speak too soon because a security guard enters the room. “Liam O’Connor?”

“Yes?” I ask slowly. In my gut, I can tell that this isn’t good.

“Will you come with me? The police are here to question you about your wife’s injury.”

“I promised Irina I would stay by her side.”

“We need to talk with you. So…”

Irina pats my hand, motioning me to follow the security guard. Fine then.

I head out into the hallway to see two police officers standing there. Mikhail and Nico are further down the hall. I don’t see my mom. I have to hope that she’s just staying out of this and not hurt.

“Yes?” I ask the officers.

“You’re Liam O’Connor? The victim’s husband?” the female officer asked.

“Yes. I can tell you what happened to her.”

“We’d like to hear it.”

I don’t give too many details about Elaine or Jack because all of that could fall back on me. So instead, I tell them that a crazy woman broke into my mom’s house and tried attacking me and Irina. That’s how Irina’s throat was cut.

“You can ask my mom. She’s here. She can vouch.”

“We’ll do that. But we were also told that you’re keeping your wife hostage. That you potentially were the one to do that to her.”

“Who told you that?”

She points to Mikhail and Nico. “They said they were her brothers-in-law.”

“They are.” No point in lying about that. “But you can speak to Irina yourself. She’ll tell you I didn’t do this to her. She can’t really talk right now but she can write it down.”

“We’d like to talk with her.”