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I was still reeling from the inforet your et back,” he said as he turned his attention back to his roses

I didn’t knohatreferred to as ot hi him home to

Chapter 27

Nikolai

“Nikolai”

The sound of h the nuotten the call froain

“He’ll be okay, Elena,” I whispered as I reached out to cover her hand where it was fisted on the table “He’s a fighter,” I said firmly

Elena nodded and fell silent again I could only stare at the glassof the small conference room the nurse had led me and Elena to Wasn’t a room like this only for when they had bad news?

He’s fine He’s going to be fucking fine

Even as I repeated the words tothe backs of ht off the infection this ti but what if they’d found soame with Nattie and our parents in his hospital room and he’d seemed okay, but then e here?

I dropped ht before It had been one I knew that no iven up the pretense that I could be patient enough for Jude to find his way back to me After a week of unanswered texts and unreturned calls, I’d been on the verge of trekking out to Clifton Hayes’s fancy estate and beating the shit out of anyone who tried to keep Jude from me

The door to the rooh it waselse Several men and women in white coats entered

“Ms Falkov? Mr Falkov?” one of the older wo white coat said as she held out her hand across the table “I’ on Maks’s case,” she said with a smile

I ht have responded, I wasn’t sure Since I wasn’t interested in idle chitchat or a lot of bullshit ?”

If the doctor was surprised by my bluntness, she didn’t show it

“Yes,” she said, which iasp from my sister and had me so weak-kneed that I practically fell into my chair “But, but,” the woman quickly added as she leaned across the table and covered Elena’s and my joined hands with her own, “it’s treatable”