Lovenap

Chapter 7

Dimitri glanced over at Bianca as she drove. She looked stressed beyond words — aggressively chewing the inside of her cheek while gripping the steering wheel in a white-knuckled hold. Her big brown eyes were shiny with unshed tears that threatened to spill over at any moment. The weight of what had just happened clearly pressed down on her small shoulders.

He threw a sharp glare toward the backseat at Nikolai, who sat surprisingly calm despite the blood slowly seeping through his fingers and staining the leather.

“I’m so sorry!” Bianca burst out, her voice cracking. “I really didn’t mean to shoot you! I just wanted to knock that creep’s ego down a peg or two!”

Nikolai leaned forward with a carefree attitude, wincing only slightly as he grinned. “It’s fine, really. Anyway, enough about me! What’s your name? I’m Nikolai, this guy’s best friend and long-suffering right hand. I hope he hasn’t been too much trouble for you — he’s always been a big sourpuss. What have you two been up to?”

Dimitri stayed quiet, shooting Nikolai another warning glare. Nikolai’s eyes shone with the same defiant mischief a child has when they know they’re dancing on their parent’s last nerve.

A hypnotic melody of laughter suddenly broke through the tension, ripping Dimitri’s attention away from his friend. Bianca was laughing — a hearty, unrestrained sound that filled the car and made her whole face light up. It was the kind of laugh that came from deep in the belly, with no restraint or pretense.

“Well, nice to meet you, Nikolai!” she said, still giggling. “I’m Bianca, this guy’s captor… If you have any embarrassing dirt on him, it would make my job a lot easier!”

Nikolai’s eyes lit up with pure excitement. He leaned as close as the seatbelt allowed. “Well, there was this one time in Moscow when he—”

They continued bantering back and forth as Bianca navigated the tight Chicago streets. Dimitri sat back and listened, a reluctant smile tugging at his lips despite himself. Nikolai regaled her with exaggerated tales of Dimitri’s past — from a disastrous attempt at cooking blini that ended with the fire department showing up, to the time he got stuck in an elevator for three hours because he refused to admit he didn’t know how to fix it. Bianca’s laughter grew lighter with every story, her death grip on the wheel slowly easing.

Dimitri silently praised the heavens when they finally pulled up to the back of a discreet veterinary clinic. The building was unassuming, tucked behind a row of commercial buildings with a heavy metal door that looked more secure than most banks.

“Here we are!” Bianca announced, trying to sound confident again.

They all approached the metal back door. Bianca quickly knocked in a specific sequence. After a few moments, a woman who looked remarkably like Bianca — same big brown eyes and determined chin, though with long chestnut waves — opened the door a c***k.

Bianca waved shyly. “Hey, sis… Can I ask you to do me a favor?”

The woman sighed but opened the door wider, gesturing for them to hurry inside. “Come on in before anybody sees you, birichina.”

Bianca quickly scuttled inside with the two men close behind. The woman led them into a back examination room that smelled strongly of antiseptic, stainless steel, and faint animal scents. She aggressively pulled a chair up to a stainless steel table, the metal feet scraping loudly across the tiled floor.

“Sit.”

Nikolai flashed a cheeky smile as he lowered himself into the chair. “Yes, ma’am!”

The woman tied up her long chestnut waves into a loose, messy bun. She covered her perfect French-tip manicure with blue disposable gloves and meticulously set up her workstation with practiced efficiency — gauze, antiseptic, forceps, sutures, and a local anesthetic.

Nikolai tried plastering on his best charming smile. “So what’s your name, beautiful?”

She paused, looking up with a completely unamused expression. “Quiet. I’m working.”

She roughly took a pair of forceps, inserting them into the bleeding wound. Nikolai hissed in pain but kept grinning. “Playing hard to get… okay, I get it.”

She threw him one last deadpan look before continuing her work. She quickly found the bullet and slowly pulled it out, holding it up to the light and raising an eyebrow in Bianca’s direction.

“Accident or intentional, little sis?”

Bianca’s face turned cherry-tomato red as she avoided her sister’s heavy stare. In a quiet, embarrassed voice she admitted, “Accidental…”

“In her defense,” Nikolai chimed in cheerfully, “I didn’t get out of the way fast enough!”

The woman shot him another unamused look. Dimitri smiled, unable to resist. “Little sis? That’s why you two look so alike.”

The woman ignored Dimitri completely, focusing back on her work with professional precision. She cleaned the wound thoroughly, applied stitches with steady hands, and wrapped it securely. The whole process was efficient and surprisingly gentle despite her no-nonsense attitude.

As she finished, Bianca hovered nearby, still looking guilty. Dimitri stepped closer to her, his hand lightly brushing her arm in silent reassurance. Nikolai, now patched up and dramatically flexing his shoulder, grinned at the group.

“So… are we all friends now, or do I need to worry about getting shot again on the way out?”

Bianca let out a small, relieved laugh, and Dimitri felt something warm settle in his chest. This chaotic little family was growing on him faster than he’d ever expected.