Mafia Princess by Kennedy Slope

Chapter Fifteen

Waking up, I blinked rapidly as I tried to gather my bearings. It took me more time than I would have liked to figure out where I was and what had happened to me. The last thing that I had remembered was looking into Dom’s dark eyes and realizing that I was going to die.

From the pain in my stomach, I could tell that I was very much alive, and from the steady beeping of the heart monitor I realized that I was in the hospital.

“Shit,” I muttered. It was the only thing that I could think right now. I had been shot. And while it might seem odd to some, I hadn’t ever really considered the possibility of being caught in the crossfire of the Blanchi Petrov war, which felt ridiculous in hindsight.

“Watch your language,” my mother’s powerful voice invaded my thoughts. “It’s unladylike to curse.”

I turned my head slightly and was shocked to find my mother sitting in a chair next to my bed.

“Mama?”

I don’t know what I was expecting. The part of me that had been sure that I would die and had greatly feared that possibility wanted my mother’s comfort. Another part of me wondered what she was even doing here.

“Your husband called me. Told me that you had been shot.” Her words were matter-of-fact, as if she were talking about something that had happened at breakfast.

At the mention of Dom, I looked around for him. I felt a bit of fear in my heart at the thought of him and my mother in a room together, especially now that I knew that she wanted Dom dead.

“Oh my god,” I said. I tried to sit up, but the intense pain in my abdomen had me nearly screaming in pain.

My mother’s facial expression didn’t change as I practically howled.

“I saw Anastasia,” I gasped.

Thinking about how desperately my mother wanted Dom dead, reminded me of what I had realized right before the gunfire started. Before the cocktail hour, I had run into a woman who had known me, but I hadn’t been able to place her.

“You must have hit your head when you were shot,” my mother said. Her lips were pursed into a thin line, which looked odd considering the crimson of her lipstick. “Anastasia hasn’t been in New York since your brother died.”

I shook my head, though even that action made it feel as though a million knives were slicing through my stomach. “She was there,” I said. “I saw her at the wedding. We spoke.”

“Why would Anastasia be at a Blanchi wedding?”

It was a good question. Anastasia was the daughter of one of my father’s men. She wasn’t a Petrov, so they were just out of the inner-circle, but my brother had been madly in love with her. Of course, that meant that my mother despised her. I didn’t know Anastasia well. I’d been so young when Nikolai died, but I remembered her being sweet. At the funeral, she’d been hysterical over my brother’s death, and I remembered hoping that someone would love me as much as she loved my brother. It felt so silly to think such a thing now.

“I’m telling you that Anastasia was there. She tried to warn me that I was in danger…” I trailed off as I spoke. Anastasia’s father was Bratva. If she had been at the wedding, warning me, that meant that the Bratva had been the ones to open fire.

This time, the pain I felt in my gut had nothing to do with the fact that I had been shot.

“Did you try to have me killed?” I asked my mother. I nearly threw up at the thought. I knew that my parents hated Dom, and that it was stupid to think that our marriage would solve all of the problems between our families, but I never considered that my own family might have been killed just to get at Dom.

“Stop looking so glum,” my mother said. “You’ll get wrinkles.”

“You didn’t answer the question,” I snapped. “Did the Bratva put a hit out on Dom?” I had always believed that my father loved me and would protect me. I was more than aware that I was a means to an end for my mother, but if there had been a hit, it would have had to come from my father, and that thought hurt worse than anything else that had been done to me.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” my mother snapped. “Your father would never harm you.” It didn’t escape me that she sounded slightly disappointed by that fact.

I ignored her tone. I had long ago come to terms with the relationship my mother and I had. Right now, I had more pressing issues anyway. “Then explain Anastasia. She didn’t just happen to be at the Plaza at the same time as I was. She knew that I would be there. She’d sought me out.”

“I don’t know why Anastasia would be there,” she snapped. “I haven’t seen her since…”

The pain of my brother’s death played on my mother’s face and genuine tears sprang to her eyes. Nikolai was the only person I knew of who could make my mother emote.

I reached out to place my hand on hers in comfort, but she pulled it away at the last minute and delicately whipped her tears away. “We need to talk,” she said.

I tried not to feel dejected. “We are talking,” I reminded her. “And you are refusing to answer my questions.”

“Dominic Blanchi needs to go,” she said. She stood up from her seat and grabbed her purse. “I’ve heard that his men aren’t very happy with his choice to marry you.”

“So?” I asked. My throat was dry, and I was desperate for a glass of water. Everything ached, and I was surprised that neither a nurse or a doctor had come in to check on me now that I was awake. “I’m sure there are plenty of Bratva members who aren’t happy about my marriage.”

My mother’s lips thinned, and I immediately knew that I was right. It was unheard of to marry the daughter of the Pakhan out of the Bratva.

“If Dominic is dead, the mafia will fall. We’d be able to come in and take their territory and ensure that the Bratva is the only family in New York.” There was a greed in my mother’s voice that gave me pause. She sounded manic, even more so than she had when we sat down for lunch.

“I almost died,” I reminded her. “Because I got caught in the crossfire of someone trying to kill Dom.”

“You wouldn’t have been caught in the crossfire if you would have done it yourself.”

I felt ill as I thought about killing anyone, but especially Dom. It wasn’t that I had any sort of feelings for him, but more because I couldn’t fathom harming anyone.

Before I could say anything else to my mother, the door of the room opened, and Dom walked into the room. I instantly breathed a sigh of relief to see him. From the way my mother stiffened, she wasn’t happy to see my husband.

“You’re awake,” Dom said. I wasn’t sure if I imagined the relief in his voice, or if I simply wanted him to be glad that I was still alive. “Katarina.”

If possible, my mother looked even angrier at Dom’s presence. She was standing there, clutching her purse, looking as though she was carved out of stone.

“Think about what I’ve said,” my mother told me. She didn’t reach down to kiss me or leave me with any parting comfort. She scooted past Dom and out the door. I suspected that she would go back to my father and report that I was fine. He hadn’t shown up at the hospital, and I suspected it was because he didn’t want to run into my husband.

The Bratva would always be more important than anything else in his life.

“She’s a delight,” Dom said. He took a seat in the place that my mother had vacated.

I raised an eyebrow. “I’m surprised that she would come here. She’s not a big fan.”

Dom snorted. I knew what he was thinking, which was that my mother wasn’t the only person who wasn’t a fan of the other.

Looking at Dom, I was surprised at how fresh he appeared. He was dressed in jeans and a dark t-shirt. It was the first time I had seen him in something so casual.

“How long have I been out?” I asked. I tried to sit up once more, but the feeling of my abdomen stretching made me whimper in pain.

Dom immediately jumped from his seat. “Lay down,” he ordered. This was one order that I was actually glad to adhere to. “Has a nurse come to check on you?” Dom didn’t stop to wait for my answer. He began fidgeting around looking for the call button.

“I didn’t wake too long ago,” I said. I had a desire to ease the obvious concern on his face. “And my mother was here.”

Dom tapped the call button. “A nurse should check you out. You’ve been out for over twenty-four hours.”

I was shocked. I could barely remember anything. After I realized who Anastasia was, shots started firing. I hadn’t even realized I’d been hit until Dom was dragging me to cover, and hot, sticky blood was slipping down my abdomen.

I shivered as I recalled the fear I felt realizing that I was likely going to die.

“You are pale,” Dom said. He reached out to pour water from the plastic pitcher next to my hospital bed. I inwardly rolled my eyes as I realized that my mother had been so close to water but hadn’t offered me any.

“I’m fine,” I said. I lifted my arm slightly. “I’m pretty sure that this IV has morphine in it.” I don’t know why I was trying my best to make Dom feel better when I’m the one with a bullet in my gut, but I was. I couldn't forget the panic in his eyes as he held me. I was surprised to see it, and it comforted me.

“Someone should still check on you,” Dom said.

“How bad was the damage?” I was in pain, but I felt mostly like myself. My memories were intact, and I seemed to be able to move, so I wasn’t paralyzed, which was good. Overall, I should feel lucky. I had attended plenty of funerals for people who hadn’t been as lucky as I was.

“The bullet nicked your kidney,” Dom said. “You were in surgery for a while, but they were able to repair the damage.”

Dom’s words overwhelmed me slightly. “But everything’s okay?” My voice sounded small in my own ears.

He reached out and moved a piece of hair away from my forehead. His fingers brushed against my skin, and I couldn’t stop the shiver that went down my back. Whenever Dom touched me, my body immediately reacted.

“Everything is going to be fine,” he said.

Before I could say anything else, a nurse walked in and Dom pulled away from him. I missed his presence already.

“You are awake!” the nurse said. Her voice was incredibly chipper. “I’m sure that the doctor is going to want to examine you.”

I smiled tightly. I felt like I had a million things swirling around in my mind, and I wish that I had a minute to process things, alone.

“I’m going to step out,” Dom said.

I wanted to call out and ask him to stay. He’d just go here after all. But I said nothing. Dom might not have wanted me to die, but that didn’t mean that the two of us were a normal married couple.

“Your husband was so concerned about you,” the nurse said. She was looking at my vitals and writing things down on my chart. “He barely left your room.”

I found that hard to believe, but I didn’t say anything. If Dom had stayed, it was likely because he wanted to make sure that no one would try and take another shot at me. I was sure that I hadn’t been the target, but who knew what Dom thought.

“Have you two been married for a long time?” the nurse asked, breaking me away from my thoughts.

“A few months,” I said.

“Ah, newlyweds.”

I wasn’t sure what to say. We were newlyweds, but we were also strangers. I had learned more about Dom in the last week than I had in the last few months.

“Such a tragedy that you two got caught in,” the nurse said.

“A tragedy?”

The nurse nodded. “Who shoots up a wedding?”

For the first time, I considered what story had been told. As the daughter of the Pakhan, I was used to hearing about random shootings. My own brother had been caught in one. The danger was why I had been sequestered in the house my whole life. Danger could find any of us anywhere.

“I’m going to go and get the doctor,” the nurse said. “He’ll talk to you about what happens next.”

I nodded, but I wasn’t paying a great deal of attention. So much had happened since I had woken up, and I needed a chance to breathe and process.

I had been shot, likely by a member of my own family, and my own mother expected me to kill my new husband.

There was too much happening in my life right now, and I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do. Did I tell Dom about my mother? If I did, it would be a complete betrayal of the Bratva, and no matter what, I would never be able to return home again. And while I didn’t want Dom to die, I wasn’t ready to give up on my family just yet.

After all, there was always a chance I would need to go home.