His eyes darted to me and went wide, and he nodded in my direction. "Babushka…"
"It's fine. I told her all about it. She knows, but she doesn't believe me."
I couldn't help myself, and a laugh slipped from my lips.
I finished wrapping the bandage on her leg, squeezing her foot gently to let her know I was done.
My eyes met Mrs. S's deep-set dark gaze, and I smiled. "I'll tidy up a little and give you some time with your grandson."
She grabbed my hand and held it tightly. "No. You are needed here. You're going to assist me as I go through the change."
I felt my brows come together and questioned her, "What do you mean the change? Are you afraid to be alone with your family?"
Alexei spoke to his grandmother, ignoring me. "You don't have to do this. You could die."
The old woman reached out with her other hand and gripped his as well. "I'm afraid of not doing it. I have to roll the dice. I can't leave you and Kira."
Alexei switched into Russian, and the old woman let me go. I found busy work folding a blanket from the bed.
Mrs. S clapped her hands to get my attention. "Sofia, sit down and stop fussing." Her beady eyes shifted between Alexei and I. "I will need help from both of you."
"Pffft!" Alexei tilted his head to the side and let out an exasperated sigh before stringing together more Russian that I didn't understand.
Mrs. S gave him a stern look, and he quieted.
"Now, Sofia's a nurse. She should be here during the change. You can erase her memory after if you need to…"
I stopped listening and rubbed my forehead…We were into super crazy bullshit now. Entertained, I sat down and leaned back into the padded sixties style chair, watching.
She continued to speak to Alexei, but my head hurt, and I needed sleep. Part of me wondered if I were dreaming. The situation was just so bizarre.
Pinching myself to test the sleep hypothesis, I nearly jumped…nope, not asleep.
Finally, I stood and interrupted their conversation, looking to Alexei. "Can I talk to you in the other room for a moment?"
He followed me into the hallway. "What?"
His silver eyes turned my insides to jelly, but I held my ground. "I'm sorry if this comes off rude, but you cannot continue to feed this vampire fantasy. It's harmful and unethical."
He ran his fingers through his thick wavy hair, smiling contemptuously. "Fantasy?"
"Yeah, fantasy. I don't get it? Why are you playing along? This isn't healthy for her. She needs to accept the fact that she will die. She needs to get her affairs in order and spend time with loved ones."
The corner of his mouth quirked up into a pitying smile.
Shaking my head, I told him, "I'm gonna go. Maybe I'm not the right person for this job." Moving through the living room, I gathered my medical bag.
I needed the money, but I wasn't going to get involved in some kind of crazy make-believe world to trick an old woman. It was plain mean. Maybe I was tired, maybe I was childish, but I needed to get out of that house.
Grabbing my sweater from the couch, I hustled through the front door and down the path to the sidewalk. My car was still half a block away when I heard someone following me.
Turning, I saw it was Alexei. His mouth curved up into a conciliatory smile as he approached me.
He held his hands open in defeat. "Look, I know this all seems crazy. But my mom has hired three other nurses before you, and for some reason or another, my grandmother likes you…"
I interrupted him, "I like her too."
He continued, "She wants you to be there for her through the change and until she transitions."
I shook my head, "You mean when she dies? Just be honest with her. She's going to die, her heart is very weak, her lungs are full of fluid, and her mobility has slowed down even since I've met her. You shouldn't lie…"
He cut me off. "There's no lie."
"Well, what is it?"
"I told Kira we should've hired a moroi nurse, but they're in demand, hard to find and expensive." After examining me for several heartbeats, he said, "I'll give you…" He looked into his wallet and counted out some foreign money, "Five hundred euros to just stay today. Do your job and look the other way." He set the money on top of a rental car parked next to us.
Picking up the bills, I shook my head. "I don't even know what this is worth!"
"Euros are worth more than a dollar," he told me.
I narrowed my eyes at him, wondering if I could get this exchanged at my local bank. "Make it worth my while."
"A thousand." He countered.
"Five Thousand. I could lose my other job. Which you know I need because of the health insurance for my mom." I crossed my arms over my chest and stood there defiantly.
"Two," he countered.
"Fine, two thousand," I spat.
He raised his brows at me again, "Euros or dollars?"
Shaking my head, I said, "Your choice. I'll stay and keep quiet and do my job and play into Mrs. S's crazy delusion."
If I was going to be part of something shitty, I might as well make the most of it, although guilt still niggled at me. I despised lying, but I could use the money.
I didn't count the bills but tucked it into the side pocket of my purse.
"I'll give you the rest tomorrow, but this is between you and me." He told me sternly.
I nodded. "Yeah, sure."
Chapter 4
I turned to go back inside. Two thousand! My fingers itched to google the exchange rate, but I’d do that later.
When we returned, Kira and the other blond woman were sitting with Mrs. S in her bedroom speaking in their native tongue. They addressed Alexei, and he answered in Russian while I lurked inside the doorway.
At least when my family spoke Spanish, I could understand most of it.
Kira approached me with a cat-like smile. Her bright blue eyes pinned me down while she spoke in a silky voice. “Now, this is going to seem all perfectly normal to you. Nothing is wrong, you’re going to monitor my mother and do as we say.” An almost crackling, electric vibe radiated from her and a dreamy state began to overtake me.
I shook myself out of it, my brow furrowed; this family was so weird. I could tell they were waiting for my answer, so finally, I said, “Okay. You want me to track her heart rate? I can do that.”
The two young women exchanged a worried look and some quick Russian words.
Alexei broke in, speaking in English, a sardonic grin on his lips. “Of course! Babushka would pick the one nurse who’s resistant to compulsion.” He laughed hard and long while his mother and the women watched in irritation.
Kira’s friend frowned and spat a string of words at him.
But Alexei was unfazed, that cocky smirk still on his lips. “It’s fine, she’ll do what we ask.” Turning to me, his gaze stern, he said, “Don’t be afraid, no one will hurt you or anyone else here. Just do your job. You agreed.”
My mouth opened like a fish…Don’t be afraid? You agreed? “I agreed to do my job…not whatever this is!” I protested.
Alexei placed his hands on my shoulders and led me out of the bedroom, closing the door behind us. I looked up into his steel eyes, a shiver of fear and desire ran through my body as this wall of muscle loomed over me. However, he wasn’t menacing, no—his stance protective.
Whispering, he smelled of mint and cigarette smoke, “My grandmother trusts you and aren’t you and I friends? Because of that, I’ll give you one last chance. But if you go, I need my money back. I’m not asking for anything other than you to do your job. You’re getting paid a lot for doing very little. But I won’t force you. We can find another nurse.”
I felt frozen in place, his arms bracketing me against the wall. “I’ll be safe? You’re not hurting anyone?”
“That’s right,” he whispered, leaning away, his hands going to his narrow hips.
I pinned him with a stare, “Okay.”
Leaning toward me, his hand
gently lifted my chin to meet his eye. The charged tension running between us was palpable and in any other circumstance, I’d think he would kiss me.
Instead, he said, “No more bullshit. No more running away and don’t act afraid, no matter what you see…”
I protested, “I can’t control…”
“You cannot act afraid,” he told me.
Sucking in a deep breath, I let it out slowly, “Okay…okay…I trust you.”
He nodded, and his hand trailed down my neck to my shoulder, sending a chill in its wake and heat rushing through my center.
When we entered the bedroom again, Kira and her son exchanged a look.
Mrs. S sat propped up against the headboard, her frame rigid, face set in a mask of determination. “I’m ready.”
I set down my bag and sweater in the chair and nodded to my patient before turning to the others. “Do you need any medical supplies? What do you need from me?”
Kira motioned for me to come close, “I’m going to bring her near death. Because I have only done this once before, I have Maria here to help.” She motioned to the other blond woman.
Maria scowled at me, “You listen to heart. Tell us when organs are shutting down? You do that, yes?”
I nodded, “Yes.”
I sat on the bed, stethoscope in hand. Mrs. S reached out and squeezed my arm.
Kira took a position opposite me, catching my eye. “I thought we’d be able to enthrall you, but it appears for whatever reason we can’t. But, if Alexei says it is fine, then I trust him.” I let this last part fall into the, I’m getting paid $2000 bucks.
The old woman turned to her daughter, “I trust Sofia,” and turning to me, “Solnyshko, I see you’re afraid, but I need you here. This will be difficult, and Kira will be gone tomorrow.”
Her eyes examined my face.
I gripped her hand. “I’m here. Whatever you need.”
“Good,” Mrs. S nodded.
Glancing around the room, I asked, “Explain to me what you’re doing so I can do my job.”
Kira’s voice was low, almost a whisper, “I’m going to drain her blood until her heart is about to fail. Then I need to stop and feed her my own.” Her eyes roamed my face… “What did Alexei tell you? How much did he offer you?”
“Kira…” He growled before he lashed out in Russian.
I got the gist though because Kira made a duck face before turning back to me. She pinned me with a sharp look. “You understand what my boy, Alexei, does? He’s a bounty hunter, he tracks people down. If you don’t follow through on the bargain you made, he will track you down and make you disappear,” she told me.
“Stop, it’s taken care of,” he warned.
She shrugged, “It’s your job to watch my mother and help her go through the transition. Because she is so old, it will take several weeks.”
I nodded, hoping that whatever they did to my patient wouldn’t kill her. The poor old thing was on her way out, but she didn’t deserve to suffer.
“Does she need to be sedated or?” I asked, leaving my question open.
Maria shook her head, “No, she won’t feel any pain.”
I pursed my lips and pulled out my stethoscope. “Okay, I guess, do whatever you’re going to do.”
Warning bells rang loudly in the back of my mind. My body felt on edge, and I knew something extraordinary was going to happen here.
I felt it in my bones.
I rubbed my neck to ease the tension and watched my patient glance behind me at her grandson. Alexei stood close enough for me to feel his body heat and smell his cologne.
He reached past me to squeeze his grandmother’s shoulder. I tried to lean away to get out of their personal space, but I found myself wedged between the two. Alexei’s solemn voice broke the silence as he asked his grandmother something. I hadn’t understood the words, but I felt their meaning. Did she really want this?
She responded by a hand to his cheek and nod.
My mind raced. Was euthanasia legal here? I didn’t know what kind of hoops I was supposed to jump through to perform a legal, assisted suicide. My heart raced, what was I doing here? I was going to lose my nursing license. A drop of sweat ran down my side even though the room was cold.
Kira loomed over the old woman before bending down to kiss her mother. Her ponytail splayed around the two like a curtain, providing privacy. Before I realized what was happening, a trail of blood ran down Mrs. S’s neck and onto her crisp white pillowcase.
I reached out, but Alexei stopped me with his hand on my shoulder. When I looked up at him, he tapped my stethoscope that lay around my neck.
Nodding, I listened to Mrs. S’s pulse.
Alexei leaned in, but I put one hand on his rock hard stomach to push him back. He was distracting me.
How could I find him so appealing when I was watching his grandmother die? I was clearly a terrible person.
The thud and whoosh of her heart was like an old friend to me. I knew the pronounced sound of her heart murmur and the gentle wheeze of her breath. In the background was a gentle gulping and slight slurping that reminded me of a baby drinking from a bottle.
But Kira wasn’t a baby, and there was no milk. The metallic penny bite of blood scented the air as the stain on the pillow grew.
Then it happened.
My beautiful, sharp, frail patient began to die. Her heart raced to fight the blood loss.
I sat up, my lip trembling. I whispered, “She’s dying. Her heart is about to shut down.”
Kira abruptly pulled up and contemplated me with glazed eyes. Deep, dark, crimson-colored blood dribbled down the corner of her mouth until her tongue flicked out and licked it up.
She blinked several times before examining her mother.
I reached out and covered Mrs. S’s wound with gauze. Only, it didn’t bleed, and when I lifted the dressing, I found the skin unblemished.
“Where did you bite her, I can’t find the wound,” I whispered into the solemn atmosphere.
“There won’t be one,” Kira told me, “It’s already healed.”
I could feel the fluttering of her dying heart beneath my fingertips. “What have you done? She’s dying.” I sucked in a shaky breath.
Before I could make a move to help my patient, Kira raised a silver knife and made a quick cut to the side of her neck.
“Oh shit!” I gasped, standing and backing away as blood sprayed the bed.
Alexei held me in a vice-like grip when I tried to intervene. His voice was soft, “No, it’s okay. This is the drink of life.”
Kira held her ponytail to the side with one hand, while the other braced herself over the dying woman.
Blood was everywhere, like Kira had used the sink sprayer over the bed. I tried to identify the color—scarlet? No, it was deeper, like crimson.
Carmine.
That deep dark red.
I stood, mouth gaping, eyes blinking, brain trying to make sense of an illogical event. Eventually, Alexei pulled me into his chest, his arms encircling me. A sob escaped my lips, and he rubbed my back until my breathing calmed.
I wasn’t a surgical nurse, but I’d seen my fair share of blood. However, nothing could’ve prepared me for this. Tears ran down my face, soaking into Alexei’s shirt.
I couldn’t believe what had just happened.
This was madness.
I needed to help. Both women were probably dead, and Alexei had just held me!
Pushing away from the comforting embrace, I startled when Kira sat up.
I rushed toward her like I had Mrs. S, only to find—again—no wound. I wiped at Kira’s neck, but there was nothing except smooth, creamy skin. Sinking to the sodden bed, I gazed around the room.
Kira’s laughter rang out like a deranged Carrie at Prom. “Don’t upset yourself. We’re fine…Well, I’m a bit thirsty now,” she said, eyeing me before pulling herself off the bed. “And I need a shower.”
My mouth gaped as she strode away into the ensuite
bathroom before closing the door.
“Uhh…What a mess.” I sighed into the stillness.
Touching Mrs. S’s neck and wrist, I couldn’t find a pulse. Pulling out my stethoscope with little hope, I wiped the blood off the head with some gauze before listening to her chest.
Nothing…and then I heard it. The slow and faint whoosh, whoosh and fluttering breath could be heard.
“She’s alive, but she probably needs a transfusion,” I whispered, bending back up to the stern faces of Maria and Alexei.
“No, she’s fine. She’ll transition. Is time for drink, no?” The blond woman asked.
Usually, I was not a drinker, but some crazy ass shit just went down, and I nodded. “Yeah, sounds good.”
I began cleaning the older woman with a basin full of warm soapy water and a sponge. When I finished, I changed the sheets and bedding under her, doing one side at a time.
I kept checking her pulse and blood pressure, and to my amazement, it was stronger every time. When all was cleaned up, I grabbed my bag and headed to the other bathroom to change.
After a quick sponge bath myself, I changed into clean scrubs. and opened the door into the hall, where music, chatter, cigarette smoke, and vodka drifted from the living room.
As I surveyed the party scene, a shot glass was pressed into my hand. I drank it down in one gulp before setting it on the end table.
Winding my way through the crowd of revelers, I knocked on Mrs. S’s door before entering. Inside, a showered Kira lay on the bed next to her mom, brushing her hair with an old silver brush and crooning in Russian.
Maria leaned against the wall, a cigarette dangling from her fingertips.
I carefully closed the door behind me and caught Kira’s gaze.
“I’d like some answers. I’ll sign a disclosure agreement or whatever, but I just need to know what you did.” I tried to keep my voice steady.
Maria laughed, “It was no secret.”
Kira wound a lock of her blonde hair around one finger. “We told you already. We changed her. She’s becoming a moroi.”
Shades of Red Page 65
