publication ban? Why?”
“The authorities have been conducting raids on warehouses, strip clubs and all known hangouts of the Russian Mafia looking for Arkady, but nothing has turned up. I guess the higher-ups don’t want anyone finding out you’re still alive.”
Great.
“Anyway, I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before they find Arkady, but if you ask me, he’s fled the country.”
Darwin’s eyes were getting heavy.
“Listen,” the cop continued. “I’ve got a friend in the bureau down in Florida. Let me give him a call to see if they’ve found out anything on Rosina and I’ll let you know when you wake up. Deal?”
Darwin nodded. “Thanks.”
He shut his eyes.
The hospital room door opened. His doctor walked in.
“You okay, Darwin?”
“He’s getting sleepy,” the cop answered.
Darwin realized as he drifted off that he didn’t get the cop’s name.
The doctor’s voice droned on as Darwin sunk lower. Something about what happened when Darwin got angry, and what set him off. The cop said he wasn’t in the room.
Darwin wondered why he didn’t have a reaction to the IV in his arm. He knew it was there. It was a sharp object—something he would’ve violently protested in the past, but barely noticed now. When he first woke, only a single lamp was on in the corner by the cop. Otherwise the room was pretty dark and the doctor kept it that way to be better on his eyes. Despite his fear of the dark and, he felt no inner reaction to it.
Could his phobias have been cured? If so, how come his temper flared so easily? Maybe it had something to do with what the doctor said about the aggression part of the brain being affected.
He drifted deeper.
In his mind’s eye, he saw Rosina standing in the Rome airport and wished they could go back to the innocent days …
Chapter 3
Darwin hated physiotherapy but he had to do it after being stuck in bed for ten days. The nurses had exercised his legs daily, but he still couldn’t quite walk on his own. By tomorrow, he might still have a slight limp but he would be good enough to walk without crutches.
The RCMP cop he’d met the first day was John Cavendish. He worked the night shift, guarding the inside of Darwin’s room. That night he was supposed to have information about Rosina for him. Information that the FBI assholes, Williams and his buddies, weren’t relinquishing.
Darwin promised them a full statement tomorrow, after the stitches in his head were removed and he was discharged from the hospital. Doctor Jameson had said he’d healed fast. Special Agent Williams planned to pick him up and escort him to the local branch of the RCMP where they would take his statement and then secretly put him up in a hotel until they learned more about Arkady. Possibly they would fly him back to Florida so he could be close when they found Rosina.
Darwin settled back into bed and ate the bland hospital Jell-O and soup. He debated his next move. Could he really be reunited with his wife and they’d ride off into the sunset? Maybe they could go to Italy where her parents were from or Greece where his dad was from, and live in a small village, far away from Mafia turf wars and hit men hunting them. Somewhere so far removed even the FBI wouldn’t be able to find them.
He was pretty sure Rosina was alive. She was a survivor. She probably found an abandoned building to hole up in. As soon as he got to Florida, he would retrace her steps from the safe house and find her. He was the only one who knew how she would think.
As soon as the authorities found Arkady, it would truly be over. With Darwin’s testimony, Arkady would go away for a long time. Fuccini and Gambino were dead. Once Arkady was gone, Darwin and Rosina could live the lives they deserved.
He pushed the remains of his meal away and checked the bedside clock. The cop who worked the day shift didn’t
“The authorities have been conducting raids on warehouses, strip clubs and all known hangouts of the Russian Mafia looking for Arkady, but nothing has turned up. I guess the higher-ups don’t want anyone finding out you’re still alive.”
Great.
“Anyway, I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before they find Arkady, but if you ask me, he’s fled the country.”
Darwin’s eyes were getting heavy.
“Listen,” the cop continued. “I’ve got a friend in the bureau down in Florida. Let me give him a call to see if they’ve found out anything on Rosina and I’ll let you know when you wake up. Deal?”
Darwin nodded. “Thanks.”
He shut his eyes.
The hospital room door opened. His doctor walked in.
“You okay, Darwin?”
“He’s getting sleepy,” the cop answered.
Darwin realized as he drifted off that he didn’t get the cop’s name.
The doctor’s voice droned on as Darwin sunk lower. Something about what happened when Darwin got angry, and what set him off. The cop said he wasn’t in the room.
Darwin wondered why he didn’t have a reaction to the IV in his arm. He knew it was there. It was a sharp object—something he would’ve violently protested in the past, but barely noticed now. When he first woke, only a single lamp was on in the corner by the cop. Otherwise the room was pretty dark and the doctor kept it that way to be better on his eyes. Despite his fear of the dark and, he felt no inner reaction to it.
Could his phobias have been cured? If so, how come his temper flared so easily? Maybe it had something to do with what the doctor said about the aggression part of the brain being affected.
He drifted deeper.
In his mind’s eye, he saw Rosina standing in the Rome airport and wished they could go back to the innocent days …
Chapter 3
Darwin hated physiotherapy but he had to do it after being stuck in bed for ten days. The nurses had exercised his legs daily, but he still couldn’t quite walk on his own. By tomorrow, he might still have a slight limp but he would be good enough to walk without crutches.
The RCMP cop he’d met the first day was John Cavendish. He worked the night shift, guarding the inside of Darwin’s room. That night he was supposed to have information about Rosina for him. Information that the FBI assholes, Williams and his buddies, weren’t relinquishing.
Darwin promised them a full statement tomorrow, after the stitches in his head were removed and he was discharged from the hospital. Doctor Jameson had said he’d healed fast. Special Agent Williams planned to pick him up and escort him to the local branch of the RCMP where they would take his statement and then secretly put him up in a hotel until they learned more about Arkady. Possibly they would fly him back to Florida so he could be close when they found Rosina.
Darwin settled back into bed and ate the bland hospital Jell-O and soup. He debated his next move. Could he really be reunited with his wife and they’d ride off into the sunset? Maybe they could go to Italy where her parents were from or Greece where his dad was from, and live in a small village, far away from Mafia turf wars and hit men hunting them. Somewhere so far removed even the FBI wouldn’t be able to find them.
He was pretty sure Rosina was alive. She was a survivor. She probably found an abandoned building to hole up in. As soon as he got to Florida, he would retrace her steps from the safe house and find her. He was the only one who knew how she would think.
As soon as the authorities found Arkady, it would truly be over. With Darwin’s testimony, Arkady would go away for a long time. Fuccini and Gambino were dead. Once Arkady was gone, Darwin and Rosina could live the lives they deserved.
He pushed the remains of his meal away and checked the bedside clock. The cop who worked the day shift didn’t
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