mother bear, Galina took charge. She had the hotel's valet hail us one of the waiting cabs and gave him directions to take us to the closest emergency room. She even made sure that I remembered to fasten my seatbelt. In my dazed state, I hadn't even noticed that I had forgotten.
Soon, we were in the waiting room of the hospital. My hand shook as I filled out the forms. I wanted to scream as the minutes ticked by on the clock mounted on the wall across form us. Why weren't they calling me back? Why was this taking so long? My baby! God, my baby...
Finally, a nurse called my name. I gripped Galina's hand. "Come with me?"
She touched my cheek. "Let them try to stop me."
* * *
"So what are you going to do about the construction company and the offer to work at the gym?" Vladimir drained the last of his beer and dragged his bottom lip down the upper one to gather up the foam clinging to his skin.
Twirling a thin coaster on the pub tabletop, Sergei answered his brother honestly. "I like working with Ivan, but the boss was right. I have to think long-term, especially now with the baby. I talked to Ivan about it, and he understood my concerns. I'm at the gym to train every morning anyway so I'm partnering up with the fighters on the underground circuit to get them into shape. He's also asked me to go into the sparring rotation with some of his legitimate fighters. I might not have any official championship belts but I know things you can't learn in a sanctioned match."
"So part-time at the gym and full-time in construction?" Vladimir made a face. "That's a lot of hours, Sergei."
"I've worked harder. The construction company is a lot of office work. It's draining but I'm learning to like it. It's a fucking breeze compared to swinging a hammer." He sipped his beer. "Bianca doesn't want me to pay back the money she spent to buy my contract, but that’s a debt I need to wipe clean. Doubling up between the gym and the construction is the fastest way to do that."
Vladimir drummed his fingers on the table. "I've only known her for a few days, but I don't think she'll take the money from you."
"She won't. That's why I'm going to put it into mutual funds for our kids."
"Mutual funds? When did you become an investor?"
"I listened and watched. The boss learned from Yuri and I learned from the boss. Twenty thousand invested now and grown slowly is better than some flashy get-rich-quick scheme. I have to think about my kids' future. They'll want to go to college and have weddings and buy houses."
His brother grinned. "Kids? You're already planning to have more?"
"We made this one without even trying." He laughed as a surge of masculine pride rocked him. "I have a feeling that five bedroom house of Bianca's might need an addition before we're done."
Vladimir laughed and shook his head. "I can't believe you're going to be a father. I'm going to be an uncle again."
They both sobered at the memories of the sweet little nieces they had lost. Their older brother's stupidity had taken so much from the family. It was good to have something to celebrate.
"So the wedding?"
Sergei's mouth twitched with sadness. "I wish youcould be there."
"Maybe we can," Vladimir replied hopefully. "We'll try to get travel visas. It might not be possible because we're in the middle of immigration proceedings, but it can't hurt to ask for them."
Sergei started to question Vladimir about his job prospects with Dimitri Stepanov's private security firm when his brother frowned and lifted out of his seat to retrieve his cell phone from his jeans. He glanced at the screen before answering. "Ma?"
The tense expression on his brother's face didn't bode well. Sitting forward, Sergei dropped the coaster and waited for Vladimir to say something. He slipped his phone into his pocket and tugged free his wallet. A handful of bills landed on the table. "We have to go."
"Why?" Sergei's chest tightened. "What's wrong?"
Vladimir's serious face scared him. "Bianca is in
Soon, we were in the waiting room of the hospital. My hand shook as I filled out the forms. I wanted to scream as the minutes ticked by on the clock mounted on the wall across form us. Why weren't they calling me back? Why was this taking so long? My baby! God, my baby...
Finally, a nurse called my name. I gripped Galina's hand. "Come with me?"
She touched my cheek. "Let them try to stop me."
* * *
"So what are you going to do about the construction company and the offer to work at the gym?" Vladimir drained the last of his beer and dragged his bottom lip down the upper one to gather up the foam clinging to his skin.
Twirling a thin coaster on the pub tabletop, Sergei answered his brother honestly. "I like working with Ivan, but the boss was right. I have to think long-term, especially now with the baby. I talked to Ivan about it, and he understood my concerns. I'm at the gym to train every morning anyway so I'm partnering up with the fighters on the underground circuit to get them into shape. He's also asked me to go into the sparring rotation with some of his legitimate fighters. I might not have any official championship belts but I know things you can't learn in a sanctioned match."
"So part-time at the gym and full-time in construction?" Vladimir made a face. "That's a lot of hours, Sergei."
"I've worked harder. The construction company is a lot of office work. It's draining but I'm learning to like it. It's a fucking breeze compared to swinging a hammer." He sipped his beer. "Bianca doesn't want me to pay back the money she spent to buy my contract, but that’s a debt I need to wipe clean. Doubling up between the gym and the construction is the fastest way to do that."
Vladimir drummed his fingers on the table. "I've only known her for a few days, but I don't think she'll take the money from you."
"She won't. That's why I'm going to put it into mutual funds for our kids."
"Mutual funds? When did you become an investor?"
"I listened and watched. The boss learned from Yuri and I learned from the boss. Twenty thousand invested now and grown slowly is better than some flashy get-rich-quick scheme. I have to think about my kids' future. They'll want to go to college and have weddings and buy houses."
His brother grinned. "Kids? You're already planning to have more?"
"We made this one without even trying." He laughed as a surge of masculine pride rocked him. "I have a feeling that five bedroom house of Bianca's might need an addition before we're done."
Vladimir laughed and shook his head. "I can't believe you're going to be a father. I'm going to be an uncle again."
They both sobered at the memories of the sweet little nieces they had lost. Their older brother's stupidity had taken so much from the family. It was good to have something to celebrate.
"So the wedding?"
Sergei's mouth twitched with sadness. "I wish youcould be there."
"Maybe we can," Vladimir replied hopefully. "We'll try to get travel visas. It might not be possible because we're in the middle of immigration proceedings, but it can't hurt to ask for them."
Sergei started to question Vladimir about his job prospects with Dimitri Stepanov's private security firm when his brother frowned and lifted out of his seat to retrieve his cell phone from his jeans. He glanced at the screen before answering. "Ma?"
The tense expression on his brother's face didn't bode well. Sitting forward, Sergei dropped the coaster and waited for Vladimir to say something. He slipped his phone into his pocket and tugged free his wallet. A handful of bills landed on the table. "We have to go."
"Why?" Sergei's chest tightened. "What's wrong?"
Vladimir's serious face scared him. "Bianca is in
Similar Books
