Midnight Sanctuary (Bugrov Bratva #2)(33)

Honestly, I’m not sure which is worse.

“What do you need?” he demands the moment I straighten up and reach behind me.

“I just want to adjust the pillow,” I say calmly.

“I can do that for you. Next time, just ask.”

I suppress a smile and let him adjust my pillow. He doesn’t place it exactly right but if I try to do it myself, he’s probably gonna burst a blood vessel. So I just shimmy in place until the pillow obeys.

“When can we go home?” He shoots me a quick glance that makes me feel immediately self-conscious, so I rephrase. “Er, what I mean is, when are we going back to your place?”

“The moment Emily clears you.”

“Where is she, by the way?” I ask. “Wasn’t she supposed to do her rounds an hour ago?”

“That’s the annoying thing about doctors,” Uri growls. “They have other patients.”

“I thought she was the official Bratva doctor. That doesn’t translate to exclusivity?”

He snorts. “You would think, but Emily’s always been a bleeding heart. She likes to volunteer here whenever she has the spare time. Which is currently pissing me the fuck off.”

“Uri,” I say, reaching out and catching his arm, “leave it. It’s not like I’m in pain or anything. Just bored.”

“Boredom is a kind of pain.” The corners of his mouth turn up slightly. It’s the closest thing to a smile I’ve seen from him in days. No—weeks. I’d almost forgotten just how handsome he is when he smiles. Those blue eyes seem to get so much bluer.

“Are you comfortable?”

It’s the third time he’s asked me that in the last hour alone. “Yes, I am. Very comfortable.”

I already know he’s going to follow up with his other favorite question: Can I get you anything? But before he can get to it, the door swings open and Dr. Popov walks in with her clipboard in hand.

“What the fuck, Em?”

She stops short at Uri’s bark, her eyes going wide. “What’s wrong?”

“You were supposed to be here to check on her forty minutes ago.”

She exhales. “Jesus, Uri—I have other patients here, you know. One of them went into labor. Emergency Cesarean.”

Uri rolls his eyes. “You couldn’t have fobbed off the job on some other schmuck?”

“Uri,” I snap before turning to Emily. “Ignore him. I was happy to wait.”

Pursing her lips, Emily gives Uri an amused glance and floats over to my bedside. “How are we feeling today, my love?”

I’m getting really sick of that question.

“Fine. I feel fine. A little tired, but that’s to be expected.”

Emily consults her clipboard. “Okay, so everything’s looking good. You’re definitely cleared to leave today. However—”

“‘However’?” I interrupt before she can finish. “‘However’ is not good!”

Uri grabs my hand and gives it a little squeeze. It’s amazing how fast that tiny gesture succeeds in calming me down.

“No need to panic. This is just something you need to be aware of,” Emily reassures me, looking between Uri and me. “The scans show that your babies are sharing a placenta. That’s totally normal for identical twins, but it does mean that we will need to monitor you closely going forward. Especially considering the recent episode that brought you here.”

“Is this a reason for concern?”

“Not at all,” Emily insists. “It just means you need to be careful. Take it easy. Put your feet up. Avoid stress at all costs.”

I snort through my nose. “Yeah, okay.”

“Alyssa.” The seriousness in her voice catches my attention. She looks me dead in the eye. “I mean it.”

I nod. “Okay. I hear you.” The only problem is actually executing her advice. It’s all well and good for people to tell me to relax. It’s a whole other ballgame actually relaxing.

Especially when nothing is resolved. Lev is still confined to his upstairs room, suffering from nightmares when the sun’s down and a boatload of daytime traumas. Polly is still missing. And I have no idea what’s going on between Uri and me.

“Is bed rest necessary?” Uri inquires.

I look up at him with alarm. Is he serious? I’ve already been going crazy down in that basement. Now, he’s trying to prevent me from leaving the bed. Oh, hell no!

“Bed rest is drastic,” Emily demurs quickly, probably having noticed the panic on my face. She gives me a little wink. “We don’t need to resort to that just yet. Alyssa is young and healthy. A little light exercise might actually do her and the babies good. By ‘exercise,’ I mean, like, a walk around the garden twice a day. That should do it.”

“Okay. And what about sex? Is that advisable in her condition?”

My jaw drops, but Uri doesn’t show the slightest trace of discomfort. You’d never know the man hated my guts just a few days ago.

“Sex is fine,” Emily confirms with a nod. “Just nothing too wild or strenuous. We don’t want to shock the system.” She clears her throat and stands. “Okay, I’m gonna sign off on the release paperwork. I’ve also scheduled another appointment for next week to make sure things are progressing smoothly. Until then, take care of yourself. If you experience any more bleeding or pain, call me immediately.”