Chapter Eight

When morning came, I woke up in a panic. The room is filled with filtered light, casting long shadows on the floor. It isn't until I realize I can still feel Lina's warmth pressed against my chest that I relax. I prop myself up on my elbows and take in the delicate features of her face. With a tender touch, I trace the curves of her face as she sleeps. Memorizing every freckle, every line. Lina stirs, her eyes shooting open, wide and full of fear. As she looks upward, I meet her with the gentle gaze of my hazel eyes.

"Dobroye utro, Tsvetok (Good Morning, Flower)," I murmur softly, placing a tender kiss on her furrowed brow. I reach over and tuck her hair behind her ear, giving me access to her neck. I can hear her breath catch as I glide my lips down the side of her neck.

"Mmm. That feels so nice," she moans. I take that as my cue to continue. Her hand snakes into my hair as I bury my face in her neck, leaving a trail of tender kisses. I can feel the electricity of her touch as her nails scratch my scalp.

God I have missed this. I will never take our time together for granted.

"I"ve scheduled a doctor to come and ensure everything is okay. Is that something you're comfortable with?" I ask, needing to know that she will be comfortable, I probably should have waiting for her okay before doing this. She nods her head, but I feel her muscles tense up. "It is a female doctor, lyubov (love). Will that make it any easier?" I offer this, hoping that having a doctor of the same sex will ease her nerves.

"It's fine, spasibo (thank you)."

I decide not to say anything more. I get out of bed, thinking she must be hungry. As I approach the door, I glance back at her. "I'll get us some breakfast. Stay here and I'll bring it in." Lina sits up and sadness is present in her eyes.

"Alina" she whispers, her voice choked with emotion, and tears fall.

"I know, lyubov (love). I miss her greatly." My lips pull into a frown. Alina's death weighs heavily on my heart. If only I would have been here to prevent it.

I ensure the door is closed before walking towards the kitchen. Ilya is in there eating a muffin and sipping on tea. Having fixed the window, they took great care to restore the little table, which had been displaced when the window shattered, to its original position.

"Dobroye utro, Brat. (Good morning, Brother)" Ilya says.

I nod in his direction to acknowledge his morning greeting. As I approach the island, I see the colorful array of fresh fruit and pastries laid out for breakfast. Mila has been amazing at making sure there is food here for everyone. Ilya sleeps on our couch, while Oleg goes home to be with Mila and Alexei every night. I grab a plate and can't resist the temptation of the sweet pastries and grab some fruit because I know Lina loves it. I pour two cups of tea and place them on a tray with the plate.

Before returning to the room, I tell Ilya, "Once the doctor is done with Lina, we"ll handle Ivan."

"Khorosho (Okay), I'll text Oleg and get him over here," he says as he pulls out his phone to send a text.

The tray makes a clinking noise as the glass plates and tea cups rest on it. Lina waits for me in the open doorway, having heard me approach. She closes the door as I place the tray on the bed. The color drains from Lina's face as she makes a sprint for the bathroom. I can hear her retching into the toilet as I near the door.

Her medication.

After entering the bathroom, I remove the bottles of her pills from the shelf. I retrieve a dose and a bottle of water from under the sink. Crouching down beside her, I offer her the pills and hand her the bottle of water I had opened. Taking the medicine, she remains seated. I head back to the vanity and grab a hairbrush and hair tie. Seated behind her, I comb her hair. I try my best to braid her hair for her. Thanks to the videos I watched on the internet, I do a decent job.

We sit on the floor for a while. She takes a few moments, but eventually, she faces me.

"Thank you, moy lev (my lon)," she murmurs sweetly as she reaches for my face

"Vsegda. (Always.) How did you manage to not be sick for the time they held you captive?"

"Ivan. He made sure to give me these injections that kept the sickness at bay. Once on the train I think it started to wear off."

We head back into the bedroom and have breakfast, during which I watch her eat her fruit. She savors every single bit. Her eyes hold my gaze as she says, "You have some jam on your lip. Here, let me get it for you." With a seductive sway of her hips, she crawls across the bed. Straddling my lap, she grabs my face and licks my lower lip in a slow, sensual motion. She pulls back, running her thumb along her lip. Hunger in her eyes, but it's not for food.

"I have barely touched you, and you are already so turned on," she coos as she reaches between us and gently brushes against my hardened cock. "I'm nervous, and I know I shouldn't be with you. I miss your touch so much." She says, leaning back away from me.

"It wasn't the same thing, Lyubov (love)," I tried to explain. "He violated you. He forced himself on you. When we are together, it is consensual. Lina, no matter how rough we are during our lovemaking, it isn't the same. It will never be like that. I desperately want to make love to you, but I won't until I know you will be one hundred percent okay with it."

I ease her from my lap and reposition myself. She winces as she looks at me, her eyes betraying her pain. My heart breaks.

"Lina, I'm not saying we will never have sex again. Believe me, I want you so bad it hurts. My soul yearns to be connected with yours. It's only until you are sure you are ready. I will leave it up to you to decide, after you talk with the doctor, of course. If it's safe, then we will go from there. I just don't want you to think I forced this."

Just as Lina opens her mouth to protest, a loud knock on the door startles us.I give her a reassuring pat on the thigh before heading towards the door, cracking it open. Ilya lets me know that the doctor is here, and I close the door to turn back to Lina.

"Doctor is here, Lyubov (love). I'll send her in." I say.

"You'll stay with me," she says, her eyes pleading with me to agree.

"If you want me to stay, I will stay."

The doctor energetically enters the room. Her positive attitude is contagious. "Privet (Hello), Mrs. Igorova, My name is Dr. Marchenko. I'll be doing your twenty-six-week check, also if there is anything else you need me to look at I would be happy to assist." She sets down her bag at the end of the bed. "May I sit?" She motions to the end of the bed. Lina nods, but she fidgets with her hands, betraying her unease. I sit down next to her, taking her hand in mine. I rub my thumb over the top of it, caressing it.

"How about we start with doing the checks for the baby? We can ease into everything else." She takes a handheld Doppler out of her bag, and a tube of gel. "If you lay back, we can check on baby's heartbeat." I help Lina lie back and get comfortable. I pull the sheet up over her thighs, and she lifts her shirt. The bump is beautiful on her. My heart swells with warmth when I think about how much larger it is.

The doctor squeezes some gel onto Lina's stomach and holds the Doppler on it. Moving it around, all we can hear is whooshing and static. Until a strong rhythmic thumping comes through. The sound of our syn's heartbeat is music to my ears. I look away and wipe the stray tear from my eye. Happiness fill my heart knowing that for now his heart beats so strongly. I retrieve a towel from the bathroom after the doctor requests one. With the gel cleaned up, the doctor takes out a soft tape measure. Before she touches Lina, she makes sure it's all alright for her to touch her.

This doctor is excellent, I'll have to make sure I pay her well. We will have to keep her in mind for the future.

"Baby looks good," she says, smiling at us, "on track for the 30th of November." She looks over at Lina, commenting on what is visible. "The bruises I see appear to be healing. Do you think you have any broken bones? Cuts that need addressing?" Lina holds up her wrists, covered in cuts from being bound with rope for weeks. She shows the state of them. The doctor examines them and says, "These will heal, but you will have scarring. Anything else?"

"I — I need…could you check in—inside…"

Moya zhena"s (My wife"s) voice is strained as she tries to request an internal exam, unable to finish her sentence. She trembles and succumbs to a silent fit of weeping. I take over for her, saying what she cannot. "Can you do an internal vaginal and anal exam? My wife suffered through being raped and sodomized repeatedly for five weeks." I try not to display too much emotion behind the words.

"In addition to that, I can perform a quick series of swabs and a rapid test to ensure no diseases were transmitted. The rapid test results are available in 20 minutes, while the lab tests take about an hour."

Lina nods her head.

"Khorosho (Okay), remove your underwear and lie back and I can start the exam. Let me know when you are ready."

The doctor steps away, and I help Lina pull down her underwear. She mutters under her breath, "Eto tak nelovko. YA sobirayus' udarit' yego v chlen. (This is so embarrassing. I am so going to stab him in the dick.)" I smirk at her words and lean into her ear so only she can hear me.

"Skoro tsvetok. Vskore ty smozhesh' udarit' yego v chlen. (Soon, flower. Soon you can stab him in the dick.)"

The doctor finishes up with the internal exams and has samples for the chemist. The rapid test is being processed while we wait. "Anything else? I can get you in touch with a therapist if you want to have someone to talk to?" The doctor asks.

"Can we have sex?" Lina asks, her voice quiet.

The doctor packs her bag and says, "If the test results are negative and you feel up to it, then sure. I would take it slow though." The doctor turns to face me. "Trauma response can and will show up. If she has one during intercourse, stop immediately."

"Konechno. (Of course.)" I respond, my expression pained. That doesn"t even need to be said.

"You would be surprised by how many men don"t. This worsens the trauma and delays healing." She says, taking in my expression.

The doctor walks out to complete Lina"s chart at the dining room table. After finishing up she returns to the room just as I finish dressing Lina. "Rapid tests are negative. I"ll text you the lab test results in about an hour."

"Thank you, Dr. Marchenko. We appreciate you coming." I reach for her hand, squeezing it.

"Of course, Mr. Igorov. If there is ever anything else I can do, you have my contact information."

Ilya walks the doctor out. I sit back on the bed with Lina. "See, all done. Our syn (son) is growing well. We'll just wait for your results from the tests."

"Take me to Ivan. I'm ready."

"Ready?" I ask.

"You said I could stab him in the dick. I'm ready." She says, getting up from the bed.

"Khorosho, moy I'vitsa. Poydem. (Okay my lioness, let's go.)"

Ivan is being kept in the back warehouse on our property. My intention was to keep him nearby and under my vigilant gaze. Ilya arrives at the back of the house in a truck. Lina reaches out for my hand, and I guide her as she climbs into the truck. I buckle her in and when I sit next to her; I am met with her ice-blue stare.

"He's been here this whole time," she says through gritted teeth, her voice filled with anger.

"I wanted him nearby in case I woke up at night with a desire to kill him." I smirk, but Lina doesn't return my smile. She has a look of unease about her.

The truck pulls up to the warehouse and we get out. I nod to the men standing guard, I can"t help but notice the glint of steel in their hands. Lina"s gaze darts nervously between the guns held by each man, her eyes filled with apprehension. I respond with a chuckle. "Tsvetok (Flower), we are very well protected. There is nothing to worry about. These men are her to protect us." Inside the warehouse, it is almost identical to the one on my father's property. Except it's more modern. As we cross the main room, the men greet moya zhena (my wife) and show her the utmost respect.

We reach a door at the end of the hall. I face her, to prepare her for what she"s about to witness.

"Tsvetochek, v etoy komnate Ivan zhdot. YA vyvedu tebya iz komnaty, yesli khotya by nameknu, chto s toboy chto-to ne tak. Ponimat'?(Flower, inside this room, Ivan is waiting. I will take you out of the room if I even get a hint of you not being okay. Understand?)"

Lina rolls her eyes at me before she reaches forward and turns the knob on the door. I will let it slide that she rolled her eyes at me, given all that has transpired. The door opens, and she walks inside the room. The three of us enter and Lina heads straight for Ivan without hesitation. I stand over in the corner, rolling the sleeves of my dress shirt up to my elbows. I watch moyaI'vitsa(my lioness) prowl. She reaches out and smacks him across the face. Ivan jerks awake in the chair.

"Sukin ty syn. Gotovy li vy vstretit'sya s d'yavolom? (You son of a bitch. Are you ready to meet the devil?)"