“Tomorrow night.”
“HOW ARE YOU FEELING, Desi?”
“Better.” She winced when she tried to sit up and I could see that movement was still painful. Patriot gave her some heavy painkillers but a gunshot to the stomach was going to need a long while to heal.
“Feeling up to a shower yet?”
“Yeah. Snooki promised to help me later.”
“She’s a good friend,” I observed. “I really like her.”
“Me too. She seems to understand what I’ve been through which makes me feel less judged.”
“I know. I get that vibe from her too.”
There was a knock on the door and Shadow peeked in. “Can I talk to you for a minute, Naomi?”
“Sure.” I gave Desi a hug and then headed out into the hall. “What’s up? You seem agitated.”
He was bouncing on the balls of his feet and there was something close to a crazed look in his e
yes.
“I found out the name of the Russian that killed Stefanie,” he growled, pacing the back and forth in front of me. “His name is Resnikov. Same motherfucker that hurt you. Why didn’t I put that together until now?”
“Shadow, I don’t like where this conversation is heading.”
“All those enforcers from the other chapters arrived. I didn’t mean to overhear what they were sayin’ but it was hard to miss. Those guys are loud as fuck. I heard what they’re planning to do.”
I didn’t want to know. Things were good between me and Patriot. For once I wanted to have a little peace and not worry about the Russians and the threat against my life.
“Don’t tell me.”
He narrowed his eyes, scoffing. “This is your life, Naomi. Those assholes want you dead. You said so yourself.”
I threw my hands up in frustration. “What do you want me to do, Shadow? Chase them down with a gun and hope my aim isn’t off?”
“No,” he replied with venom, “I’m just sayin’ that I’m not sitting on the sidelines for this. I couldn’t protect Stefanie but I can protect you.”
Shit. I didn’t understand his meaning until now. “No way. I love you for this but you’re not going out there and getting yourself killed.”
He looked offended. “I’ve known how to ride a bike since I was twelve and I shot a gun for the first time when I was eight. I’m not an idiot.”
Throwing my arms around him, I hugged him tight. “You know I care about you like family, right? I can’t lose you. Promise me that you won’t go.”
He hugged me back, pulling away to pat me on the top of the head with a lopsided grin. “Knew it. I’m too badass for the ladies to resist.”
Whatever. He was pretty adorable. “You’re so stuck up.”
“Nah, just confident.”
“Don’t go out there, please.” Begging wouldn’t help. He wasn’t going to listen.
“Can’t promise shit, Naomi. Gotta do what I need to and that’s the way it is.”
He left me standing there in a panic as he rushed off and there was nothing that I could say to change his mind. No one was around either. Patriot was still in church. Grim and all the other members were also inside. I didn’t have a soul that I could tell to prevent Shadow from taking off.
“Fuck!” I shouted, spinning around to head toward Rael and Nylah’s room. My sister would know what to do and if she didn’t then I could find Snooki and ask her.