Shadows and Light: The Complete Series by Nancy C. Weeks

Author:Nancy C. Weeks [Weeks, Nancy C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781440591976
Google: 1lZFCQAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 25639582
Publisher: F+W Media
Published: 2015-05-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Ludis sprawled in a high back lounge chair and glared at a loathsome oil painting that covered the entire wall of his hotel suite. The comforter, end table, and floor were littered with blood-soaked gauze. When he couldn’t stand the sight of the painting another second, he lowered his eyes and studied the doctor’s handiwork. Not a sound escaped his lips as the sharp tip of the tapered needle dug into his tissue repeatedly, knotting the ragged sides of the wound together.

“Take another drink, Mr. Vasnev. This is going to hurt.”

The pungent odor of antiseptic his personal physician held in his hand reeked. Ludis reached for the glass of vodka on the end table and gulped down a hefty portion of its contents. The cheap hotel bar version was bitter and burned the back of his throat but gave him the buzz he needed to deal with the pain.

“I can give you something that will take the edge off.”

“No! Just get on with it.” Ludis couldn’t take a narcotic. He needed his wits about him.

The doctor raised a container and doused a liberal amount of the burning liquid over the deep knife wound below his shoulder.

Ludis grabbed the bottle of vodka and took another deep swig. Setting the bottle back on the table, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as he glared into the doctor’s face.

Vodka was usually a great distraction, but not tonight. Ludis couldn’t help clenching his jaw each time the doctor pressed down on the wound. The fucking knife wound was nothing. The pain from his father’s blows lasted longer than this scratch.

His father, the great Emil Vasnev. Now that was a distraction.

Rage seethed through him, pushing the pain from his mind. He had lived daily under his father’s abusive thumb and cleaned up more horseshit than he cared to track. And everything Ludis had worked so hard for the last thirty years was all about to be for nothing.

“My father … ” A slight gasp of pain escaped Ludis’s lips. He bit down hard on his back molars and hissed out a breath. “When was the last time you saw him?”

“Two days ago.”

“And?”

A sadness edged into his doctor’s eyes. “He’s the same. The clinical trial had no effect reducing the cancer.” The doctor removed the gauze and reached for the needle. Before he continued suturing the wound, he said, “Your father’s assistant, Mr. Reese, asked me to relay a message.”

The doc’s eyes were glued to Ludis’s chest—a sure sign of his discomfort.

“What does Reese want now?”

“He said he couldn’t reach you so he wanted me to tell you time is running out. He gave me an envelope of orders from your father. I have it in my coat.”

Ludis fisted his free hand. “It can go in the trash with all of this on your way out,” he said, nodding at the bloodied bandages.

The man grimaced, which made him pierce the skin a little harder. Ludis bit back a groan. He didn’t need to read the note to know what Reese wanted.

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