She steps through the curtains encircling my bed, tugs them closed again, and then I’m all alone.
I close my eyes and try to let the quiet settle over me, but it’s not peaceful like I was hoping for. Hospitals aren’t quiet places, not by any means, and even if they were, there’s enough cacophony ringing out inside my own head and body to keep me wired.
My cheekbone throbs; my thoughts race. I can feel my heartbeat thudding in my temples and fingertips.
I dig the heel of my hand against my good eye and try to breathe. I did the right thing. That’s what I keep telling myself. Raymond would’ve smelled Matvei on me from a mile away, and then he would’ve dug until he found something, and then he would’ve hurt Matvei, or tried to, and even if Matvei won that fight—which he would—there’d be co
