I stopped pacing, unsure how long I’d been doing just that or how much time had passed since the nurse had brought us to the waiting room. This late in the evening, only emergency surgeries were taking place, and Tavia’s was the only one currently in progress since the OR waiting room was empty. But even if it hadn’t been, I would have had Yury and Ivan clear out the place so I didn’t have to deal with strangers on top of worrying about the woman I loved. Turning, I looked at the two men in police uniforms as they stood in the doorway.
They were both about the same height, the blond one maybe an inch shorter than his darker-haired partner, but on the heavier side. His thick waistline made the bulletproof vest he wore under his shirt stand out more. The other guy was probably ten years younger, but he carried himself with more confidence than the blond officer.
“Sir, we’re going to need a statement from you,” the dark-
haired officer said as he stepped forward. “The ER doctor called us, saying he had a woman brought in with a gunshot wound to the abdomen and her hands were tied together.”
Fuck, I’d forgotten about her hands in the rush to get her to the hospital. Just thinking of how helpless she’d looked on her knees in front of Yerik made me want to bring him back so I could shoot him in the head all over again.
Pulling my phone from my pocket, I made one of the calls I already should have taken care of. If I had, then these two idiots wouldn’t even have shown up. After hearing the voice on the other end of the line, I spoke my name and then handed the phone to the older officer, whose name tag told me he outranked the other guy.
“Sir,” the blond officer said, standing up a little straighter when he heard the police commissioner’s voice. “Yes, sir. Of course. We will take care of it, sir.”
Moments later, he returned my phone to me, apologized for the inconvenience, and assured me I could come down to the station and make a statement when I had time. With a grim nod, I watched them leave.
Once the door shut behind them, I dialed the first person I should have called as soon as I’d handed Tavia over to the doctors downstairs.
“Theo?” Pops said, sounding half asleep.
“I killed Yerik tonight,” I told him point-blank. “He was working for Viktor Petrov.”
I could practically hear the tension freezing his muscles and jolting him completely awake. Yerik was part of my mom’s personal security detail, and there was nothing Pops took more seriously than her and Sofia’s safety. Only his best and most trusted men were assigned to the two of them. Finding out one of those men wasn’t so trustworthy after all would put him on high alert.
“Where are you?” he demanded, and I heard him moving around. I told him the name of the hospital, and he cursed. “Are you hurt?”
“Not me, Pops. Tavia.” My throat clogged with emotion, but I quickly cleared it.
“What the fuck, Theo? Why was Tavia with you?” He blew out a harsh sigh. “I’ll be there soon. Stay out of trouble until then.”
“Pops.” I stopped him before he could hang up. “Don’t leave Mom and Sofia there alone. We don’t know who we can trust.”
“I’m not stupid, son. I’ll drop them off at Anya’s.” With that, he hung up, and I finally dropped down into one of the hard, plastic chairs.
It was over an hour later before the doors opened again. Pops and my uncle Ciro walked into the waiting room, both wearing grim expressions. Pops nodded at Yury and Ivan, who quickly exited the room. Once the doors closed behind my men, I knew it was time to tell them everything.
“Do you have a death wish?” Pops exploded once I’d finished. “You should have told me what you were doing with Petrov. The bastard was putting out feelers. He was talking to Anya, Theo.”
I shrugged. “I had heard that as well. But I didn’t want to drag you or Tetka into this. It was my problem.”
“One that got poor Tavia shot,” Pops grumbled. “She’s a good girl. You had no right to drag her into your shit, Theo.”
“She’s Petrov’s daughter,” I informed him, having omitted that little detail until then.
“Say what now?” Pops’s eyes widened, and he took two steps back from me in surprise. “I did a full background check on the girl when she started tutoring Sofia. Anya looked into her as well. Nothing came up about her father being alive—or his being fucking Viktor Petrov.”
“His men seemed surprised by the information as well,” I told him with a shrug. “And then they were more focused on putting a bullet in her than they were me. Considering I’d just killed their boss, I was surprised they wanted to take her out so desperately.”
My uncle made a noise, drawing both Pops’s and my attention. “If they were trying to kill her more than they were you, then something is definitely off. Who was her mother?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I doubt Tavia knows either. Viktor only said the mother showed up at his door after Tavia was born, and he took a DNA test that said he was the father. The mom supposedly died weeks later, scoring blow.”
“I’ll put out some feelers. See if Desi can find anything.” Pops nodded his head, and Ciro walked over to the only window in the room to make the call to his computer expert.
“Tavia could be in danger,” Pops said in a quiet voice, glancing at the door as if he expected Petrov’s people to storm into the room any second. “We need to deal with this, and quickly. I also need to do a complete overhaul of my men. Do you trust Yury and Ivan?”
“With my life,” I told him honestly, and then I quickly amended, “with Mom’s and Sofia’s lives.”
Satisfied with my answer, Pops inclined his head. “I will be borrowing them for the foreseeable future, then.”