The Surgeon’s Secrets

by Michelle Love

  My body begins to shake and he stands there, watching me. “Tasha, what’s wrong with you?”

  I hear a knock at the door and my lunch is brought in. The woman says something in Greek and my father’s face goes ashen. “Take the tea away and bring her some without that in it,” he orders her.

  She hesitates as she places the tray on the table, then says some more to him in her language. He nods and runs his hand over his forehead. I look at my father and ask, “What’s she saying, Dad?”

  “The drug they give you in the tea three times a day is making you dependent on it. If you stop cold turkey, you will get the tremors and have seizures.” He looks at me with a certain amount of sadness in his eyes, mixed with a touch of guilt.

  “You’ve had me drugged and now my body is dependent on it?” I ask him as I glare at him.

  He doesn’t answer me as he sends the woman away, leaving the drugged tea for me to consume. “It’s not that I meant to do that. I thought you or he would move on. I didn’t think it would take this damn long, Tasha. I’ll get you into rehab. I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry?” I ask as I try to sit up. My head is swimming and pounding as he hands me the fucking tea.

  I knock the glass out of his hand, spilling the drink all over his white shirt. “Tasha!”

  “Get the fuck away from me,” I tell him with a low and even tone.

  “Now, you listen…”

  I cut him off. “Don’t. Just don’t. You’ve done something horrible to me and I will not lay in this bed and let you do one more bad thing to me. You may have done this in a misguided sense of parenting but you’ve done something terrible to me. You’re done. Do you understand me?”

  The way he’s looking at me, through hooded eyes that show remorse as it sinks in what he’s done, has me thinking I may finally get to go home. Not that I have a fucking place to live anymore as I know they’ve thrown my things out of the dorm.

  No one waits for thirteen months to see if anyone will show back up. And Dani was most likely spirited away too as Dad let that cat out of the bag back in Nic’s office that fateful day that changed my fucking life.

  “I’m a fucking drug addict because of you.” I turn my back to him and hear him leave my room.

  I feel sick to my stomach and my head is throbbing and I know that tea would’ve stopped this from happening but I’ll be damned if another drop of that shit goes down my throat.

  I made it through three days of being fed ecstasy without letting it get to me. I can overcome this too. I have to!

  Nic may be coming for me. He may be on a plane right now for all I know. If he does get to me, I’ll be sick and weak and in no condition to fly. And maybe that’s exactly what my father meant to happen.

  As I lie here and think about everything, I think either my father planned things out very well or half-assed. Either way, it makes no difference. He’s made me sick and I am done with the man.

  Hours have passed since my father left the room. I’ve thrown up four times and feel awful. I had the flu once and it was about this bad. I can get through this. I know I can. Nic fills my fevered dreams and I have no doubt I can fight this for him.

  I hear the door open and keep my burning eyes closed as I hear my father’s voice, “See, it’s pretty bad.”

  “It is but I have something that will help her,” I hear a woman say.

  A prick stings the inside of my elbow as she presses a needle into my vein there. I want to pull away but lack the strength to. “No more drugs,” I whisper.

  Her hand moves over my forehead. “Not drugs, honey. Just a mix of powerful vitamins and nutrients to help you. No more drugs. And I’ll set up an IV drip to hydrate your body.”

  Rolling over, I see my father’s red-rimmed eyes as he reaches out and touches my cheek. “I’m sorry and I’m taking you home. As soon as you’re safe to travel. This is over. I am done. I am a fool but I know when I’ve gone too far. I never meant for this to happen to you. I swear it.”

  A tear runs down my face as I watch him get on his knees beside my bed. “Dad?” I have to stop talking as a lump forms in my throat.

  “Don’t talk. Just rest and let the vitamin mix do its magic. I’m sorry. I’ll make this up to you. I promise. I’m taking you home to your mother. We’ll take care of you until you’re all better,” he tells me.

  I don’t want to go to their house. I want to go to Nic’s. But I’m not about to try to argue. I’m going back to America. Nantucket isn’t that far from New York and I can get to Nic then.

  The mixture is working as I no longer feel the need to vomit. Sleep invades my thoughts and I drift off, knowing soon I’ll be back to where I can get to him. To the man I love.

  NICHOLAI

  Finally, after ten hours in the air, we are landing in Greece. Night has fallen so Nic and I can travel by car to the castle where Natasha is. He’s had his brother make a purchase of a grappling hook and rope so I can climb up the castle wall to get her.

  I’ve never done that type of climbing before but he’s told me it’s easy. I hope he’s right. I have to come back down that rope with Natasha and I don’t want us both to fall to our death or get hurt badly.

  “Thank goodness the darkness will cover us, huh Nicholai?” he asks as we wait in line to exit the plane.

  I have on black clothing to help me stay hidden in the darkness and the stewardess looks me over as I walk up to the exit. “You look like a man on a mission,” she says.

  Not knowing exactly what to say, I find Nic answering for me. “He’s into that goth crap. I tell him always he is a fool.”

  She eyes me and nods. “You look like a man who would look more at home in expensive business suits.”

  I shake my head and smile as she is more than right in both ways and I find that amusing. “See you on the trip back home, gentlemen,” she says as we leave the plane.

  Neither of us will be getting back on any commercial airline. Nic will stay in Greece, of course. I will be in hiding with Natasha until my jet comes for us. From there we will decide where to go while things cool down. I’m not about to take her back to New York just to have her father steal her away from me again. We must plan and perhaps negotiate with the man to get him to see we will be together, come hell or high water.

  Climbing into a cab, we head to Nic’s home. Even in the dark of night, I can tell the scenery around us is beautiful. The homes we pass are brilliantly lit up and one family is having a gathering on their front lawn.

  “Everyone seems so happy here,” I say as I look around.

  “Generally, yes,” Nic agrees.

  “My family will welcome you with open arms. Many sisters I have, so expect to get a pinch on the ass or two,” he tells me with a laugh.

  “I think I can handle them, Nic. Thank you again for what you’re doing. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you doing all of this. Before I leave here, I will make sure your bank account looks nothing like it does now.” I pat him on his leg and he smiles.

  “You know, I’ve been thinking about that. Nicholai, I want no reward from you. What’s happened to her is a crime. I merely want to see her leave with you, safely and happily. That will be payment enough.” He pats my leg. “Think of it as my gift.”

  I nod but I will give the man a reward for his help. Maybe he won’t know about it until he checks his bank account and I am long gone. But I will reward him.

  We pull to a stop on a hillside and get out in front of a modest home. “This house holds how many?” I ask as I look it over and grab my one bag from the truck.

  “Fifteen. We are to the roof in this place. Do not worry. We reserve a private room for our guests,” he leads me to the door where we are met by three other young men.

  “Nic! Where have you been?” one calls out as they hold the door open. “Many have been coming to look for you.”

  “Damn,” he says under his breath. “That is no good.”

  “Why is that?” I ask as he takes me inside.<
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  He shakes his head and introduces me. “This is Nicholai. Remember I told you to get that rope and hook?” He looks at one of the men who shrugs. “Don’t tell me you don’t have it!”

  “I don’t have it,” the guy says, sending me into a worried and tense state.

  “Where is it you would be using such a thing, Nic?” a woman, obviously, his mother, asks as she comes into the room. She stops when she sees me and wipes her hands on her apron. “And your friend?”

  “This is Nicholai, Momma.” He looks at me. “My Mamma.”

  Her arms go wide and I move in to hug her. “Nice to meet you.”

  “You call me, Momma. Everyone does. Come and eat. Food is on the table,” she says as she pulls me along with her to another room.

  We go through it and I find several children sitting and talking over a board game. All eyes come to me. Nic shouts, “He is my friend. You call him Nicholai.” He looks at me. “These are some of my nieces and nephews.”

  We go out of a door and are outside at the back of the home. The yard is lit up. Every tree has white lights wrapped around it, illuminating the large yard. Three of the trees are olive trees and the smell is amazing.

  “This is lovely,” I say, bringing a smile to his mother’s lips.

  “You are single, yes?” she asks as she looks at my left hand.

  “He is currently unwed, Mamma,” Nic tells her. “But he is not single. He is quite taken.”

  She looks me over. “I happen to have some lovely daughters who are single. If you’d like to do a little window shopping before you make a wifely purchase, you are welcome to.”

  “Mamma!” Nic chastises her as I grin.

  “What?” she shouts as she throws her hands in the air. “A man should shop around before he makes a choice that big. Marriage is forever you know. Go tell your sisters a gentleman is here.” She sends off another guy and I find myself laughing as he runs with his mother’s words.

  “Thank you, Mamma,” I tell her as I take the seat she’s offered me. “I have done a bit more than dabble with other women. The one I’m picking up here is the one for me. It’s been over a year since we’ve seen each other or even talked. And my heart pines for her. No one can even come close to taking my attention. Sorry.”

  She pats my back as she begins placing food on a plate then she places it in front of me. “Tell me what has you two lovebirds apart for so long.”

  “Her father. He’s against our union,” I tell her as she pours a large glass of wine.

  I haven’t touched a drop of liquor since that morning she was taken away from me. I thought it unfair to drown my sorrows when she was God knows where. But seeing as there seems to be nothing else to drink and this is the beginning of what I hope will be a fantastic night, I indulge in the sweet liquid that tingles in my mouth.

  She watches me as I take the first sip. “Delicious,” I say, making her clap her hands and laugh.

  “Yes! My family has made their own wine for generations. We have tried, quite unsuccessfully, to get our own company. We are not a family of business people. Food and drink we are great at. Business, no.” She points to a grape leaf which is expertly wrapped around something. “You taste that. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever tasted, I promise you.”

  Picking it up, I take a bite and find the meat inside melts in my mouth. “Ummm.”

  She nods. “Good, right?”

  “Great!” I say, then take another bite. “You wouldn’t want to come back to America with me and be my cook, would you?”

  She laughs and claps her hands as I hear the sound of women coming out to join us. “And who have we here?” one of the tall, slender brunettes ask as three of them come out.

  I stand up. “I am Nicholai Grimm.” I make a bow and they giggle a little.

  Then I find them moving into the seats around me as Nic tries to shoo them away. “He’s unavailable.”

  “I see no ring,” one of them says as she takes my left hand.

  I pull it up and kiss the top of hers, making her flush with most likely an unexpected heat between her legs. “But I can assure you that I am very much taken. You will meet the woman I am hopelessly in love with soon, I hope.”

  Her eyes move to Nic’s. “Who is she?”

  “She’s from America,” he answers.

  “Yes!” his mother shouts. “You were going to tell us your story, Nicholai.”

  Suddenly everyone is sitting around the enormous table and staring at me. “My story is boring,” I say as I look at each and every one of them as they seem to be waiting with baited breath.

  Nic makes an attempt to save me. “I assure you, the story he has to tell is X-rated. I’ve heard it. It’s not for the faint of heart.”

  One of his sister’s hands moves over my leg and I quickly take it and shake my head at her. “Naughty, naughty.”

  She wrinkles her nose and says, “Come on, tell us your story, Nicholai. We love a good X-rated story.”

  I give Nic a wink. “I’ll church it up a bit.”

  He nods. “You do that, Nicholai. My mother is a widow. She has to go to bed alone tonight. No need to heat her up.”

  His mother rubs her hands together. “Oh good. Tell us what has you in our town and our country for that matter.”

  So, I sit back with my glass of wine and start the tale that is the story of me and Natasha and how fate is against us. Eyes go wide and some have to wipe away tears but in the end, I see compassion on every face.

  “I tell you what, Nicholai,” Nic’s mother says. “You and she should stay in this town. We are a close-knit bunch of people. No one will be able to do a thing to either of you.”

  Nic’s eyes go big as he adds, “You could buy the enormous home that is on the hill just on the outskirts of town. My momma could be your cook then.”

  “We can keep the house for you and your beloved,” one of his sisters says.

  I can see them all so happy to help. It fills me with energy and I wonder if Natasha would like a life here in Greece. I have no doubts I could get a business going with their wine and food.

  “I will speak with my princess about it.” Then I think about her being held captive here and wonder if that would sour the place for her. “But her reasons for being here may have her wanting to leave this beautiful place. Her happiness is all that matters to me.”

  I receive awws from all and find that endearing. “You are a prize, Nicholai,” another one of his sisters tells me as she wipes away a tear.

  “I am not. But my Natasha is. And maybe you all could help me go get her from that castle I told you about,” I say.

  Cheers ring out and everyone jumps up and runs to the house. Nic grabs my arm. “Come on, Nicholai. We are going to storm the castle to rescue your princess!”

  My heart is pounding as it seems his whole family is with me. We walk down the street in a horde of people and I find others asking what we are doing and when they’re told of the rescue mission, they join in. Before I know it, there is the equivalent of a small army and we are all on our way to the end of the road where the castle awaits us in complete darkness.

  Nic is at my side as I say, “There are no lights on.”

  “They have none,” he says as we continue to walk.

  I’m furious she’s been kept in such a state yet her father sees me as unfit to be with her. The man takes the cake and I will not allow Natasha to stop me from lashing out at him.

  He will end his tyranny over her. I will see to that. My princess will never be hidden away again. Or her father will have more to deal with than he ever saw coming!

  NATASHA

  The young woman doctor my father found is with us as we get onto the FBI’s jet. It’s early evening and he says we’ll be home in a matter of about ten hours.

  I’m lying on the bed in the back of the cabin, the IV is being started up again after they had to stop the fluids as they transported me to the airport. I’m holding my cards close to my chest as my mind
has been a whirlwind of how I will get back to my Nic. My plan is to call him as soon as I get near a phone.

  Dad did say Nic hadn’t moved on and hadn’t been messing around so I have a ton of hope he’ll want to talk to me. We can figure out how to be together if we can talk. I just know we can.

  Dad opens the door to the tiny bedroom. “How’s she doing?”

  “Fine,” the doctor says as she pulls the blanket up to my neck. “You can tell the pilot to take off. I’ll be right here with her.” She pulls the straps to make sure they’re tight. She uses them to strap me to the bed for the takeoff.

  There’s a chair in the room too with a seat belt I suppose she’ll take while we take off. My father comes to me and kisses my forehead. “You and I will have a talk once we’re up in the air and can move around freely.”

  I look at him as he turns to leave and feel compelled to say something, “Dad?” He stops and turns back to look at me. “I forgive you.”

  With a nod, he turns back around and leaves the room. I watch the doctor wipe one of her eyes then she takes the seat and puts on the seat belt as the captain comes onto the speaker, telling us to put on our seat belts and get ready for takeoff.

  “He’s not so bad,” she says.

  I suppose the fluids are helping me regain brain activity as I suddenly realize she’s not from Greece. She’s American!

  “How do you know my father?” I ask and watch her head fall to her chest.

  Her mouth stays closed, though. The slight shake of her head tells me there is more between them. “You should rest.”

  “You should tell me,” I say as the plane begins to move.

  We wobble back and forth as it taxis to the runway. She won’t look at me and I have a feeling I know exactly why. I watch her bite at her lower lip. Then she looks at me. “It’s not for me to say.”

  “He’s asked you to keep a secret?” I ask as I feel the plane moving faster as it gets on the runway.

  She merely nods and I know my father is having an affair with the woman. She’s young, maybe thirty. She’s pretty too. Dark hair falls to her shoulders in a straight, glossy sheet. Her brown eyes look kind and nurturing.