Page 51 of Kidnapped By the Boss

He turned his back to me and threw a hand up to wave me off. “Enjoy your time off,Boss.”

I stood there in stunned silence as I watched him go, then I turned around and went up to the bedroom where Katya was already tucked into bed with her mom right at her side. She had thick bandages wrapped around her neck and was attached to an IV drip. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was labored. Seeing her that way made me want to punch a hole in the wall.

“Vincent,” Annika said, looking up at me, and she had clearly been crying. “What happened?”

“I’m sorry, Annika, I’m so, so sorry.” I sat down on the edge of the bed next to Katya, facing Annika who was in a chair at her side. “We all underestimated the strength of this enemy we’re up against. I was right behind her, but they managed to cut me off from her. She won the fight that resulted in this, if that makes you feel any better.”

Annika bobbled her head side-to-side. “A little.”

“When did the nurse leave?” I asked.

“About ten minutes ago. She said because of the damage to her neck, she’s going to struggle to eat and drink for a while, so she’ll be getting fluids through an IV, and everything she eats has to be soft. Applesauce, mashed potatoes, soup. That sort of stuff.”

“Okay. I’ll make sure I get lots of all of that,” I said. “What about for her pain?”

“The nurse gave her Vicodin through the IV. She can’t swallow pills, so she’ll come back every four to six hours as needed to give her more. We’ll have to wait for Katya to wake up to gauge her pain level.”

I’d never really gotten to experience anything like Annika’s concern over Katya before. My mom turned me over to myNonawhen I was still really young, and died before I got to know her very well. Then my dad came and snatched me away from myNonawhen my mom died, so I wasn’t really exposed toNona’s parental love—at least not until I was much older and she was already getting sick. My dad sure as hell never loved or had concern for me like this. It was just now occurring to me that Annika was really the best example of a parent that I had around. That ultimately made me feel even worse that I’d failed her only, remaining child and now she had to watch her in such a tattered state. I was failing people left and right.

“I’m going to make this right,” I told Annika. “Wherever this guy is, I’m going to find him, and Iamgoing to kill him.”

“Vincent.” She finally let her gaze drift from Katya and over to me. “That’s not how to make this right. Don’t get me wrong, I want to see that man suffer for what he did to my child, but the way you make this right is by taking care of your wife.” Mario’s words came back to me and I was beginning to think there was something thateveryonearound me knew that I just didn’t. “I know what she would want, more than you out there hunting down the guy that did this to her, she’d want you here with her. With your son. Just be here and be a family for a while.”

Even though the thought of it kind of scared me, she wasn’t saying anything all that different from what Mario had just said. Was I really supposed to just completely shut myself off from this life for a little bit and just be here with Katya? Was that really all she was expecting from me? This world and my role in it were such a huge part of who I was. Could she be happy with the man I was when I wasn’t the Boss of the Costello family?

“Okay,” I said to her. “That’s what I’ll do. I’ll just focus on helping Katya heal and taking care of Sascha.” Then I smiled. “I’ll be a husband.”

Annika reached up and put a hand on her face. “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.”

She stood up out of her chair and said. “I’ll give you two some time alone and go check on Sascha.”

“Thanks.”

Annika leaned down over me and gave me a sweet, motherly kiss on the forehead, then she walked out of the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Looking down at Katya made me sad. I promised her that I’d spend every day of my life making her happy. I was supposed to be protecting her, but not by restricting her from existing in this world, but by making sure that the world around her was safe for her to be in. I’d messed up, and because of that weird tension between Katya and I, she got hurt. I owed it to her just to be her husband for a while. I was asking her to find the line between being my capo and being my wife, but I hadn’t made a single attempt to do the same for her.

What kind of hypocrite was I?

“Vince…” Katya groaned.

“I’m here.” I took her hand. “I’m right here.”

She slowly peeled her eyes open, looking totally exhausted, and after fighting to orient herself, she finally glanced over at me. “What happened?”

“You got into it with Shaina, and she shot you,” I said.

“Oh yeah.” She looked back to the ceiling. “I shot her too.”

“You did more than that,” I replied. “She’s gone.”

“I was so angry,” she said. “Angry at how screwed up our lives are getting because of these people. I just want them gone.”

“Yeah, me too. I’m gonna take care of it, but not right now. Mario is taking care of it. For the time being, I just want to focus on you and helping you heal.”

Katya looked over at me again. “Really?”

“Yeah.”