Love Me Long (Love Me Book 4)

Chapter 8

Chloe was on duty that night, and she was pleased to keep busy. They had patients now, so there was plenty to do. Thankfully, there were no emergencies, which left her mind free to wander about the scene that had taken place earlier that morning with Juric.

Several things kept popping up in her revolving thoughts. Of course, Chloe was pleased that he saw her as a woman and that he said he would do anything for her because both hinted that he still cared. However, what bothered her the most was the way he had been pleased that the battle would come to him, that we would get to fight once more.

When had he started to enjoy conflict?

Chloe had heard Nadia and Alena talking as they were going off duty that evening. They were talking about Juric and the amazing way he had saved Dimitrie's life. The action had lifted his pedestal even higher.

Shortly after midnight, Chloe noticed Dimitrie was conscious once more, and she moved to check on him. He watched everything she did with sharp eyes as if he expected her to slip poison into his I.V.

"Why did you safe my life?" Dimitrie asked in a hoarse voice.

"It's what I was trained to do, and this war isn't my war. I don't have a side," Chloe assured him. It sounded good, anyway.

"I saw the way you and Juric looked at one another. You have a side even if you don't admit it." Dimitrie insisted as he tried to sit up. Chloe helped him by adjusting the pillows behind him, then offered him a drink, which he took.

While she was helping him, her mind was racing. He had figured out Juric's weakness, and as his enemy, he could use that against Juric.

"Why did he save me?" Dimitrie asked as he settled down once more.

"Because he is a good man," Chloe said. Juric had said he had done it for her, but she knew he would never have let the man die even if he had the choice.

"You have too much faith in him," Dimitrie insisted with a harsh smile.

"No, I don't think I do. May I ask you a question?" Chloe pulled a chair over and sat down. Their voices were the only ones in the quiet ward.

He nodded as his brown eyes watched her.

"Why are you fighting him? Do you not like what he is trying to do for your country?" Chloe's voice was soft.

"He wants to be like his father!" Dimitrie's voice was so harsh that he started coughing.

"Are you sure about that?" Chloe offered him some more water. "Did you fight for his uncle when he was alive?"

"No, he was just as evil." Dimitrie insisted.

Chloe considered the man. If he was indeed the leader of an army of men, could this all not be solved with a simple conversation. Knowing that Juric was going to send her home at the first chance he had, she decided to bite the bullet.

"Would you like to hear my story?" Chloe asked. It appeared to be such a dramatic change in the subject that Dimitrie gave her a startled look. "I promise it is on topic, but it will place my life in your hands."

Dimitrie nodded with a serious look.

"My name is Lockwood. Does that mean anything to you?" Chloe asked, leaning forward and lowering her voice.

He nodded again while leaning in to hear her.

"I knew and loved Valentine Juric when he was a student. He never wanted to lead. He wanted to heal people as a doctor. He hated his uncle as much as you did, and when his brother and father died, he sent me away and took up the fight to save his country. His goal was to win the war and then give the country back to the people. I still believe this is his goal, but he has been so busy maintaining the strides he has made that he can't focus on the bigger picture. Two years ago, he had almost made a massive leap forward by getting the UN to recognize Drevniye, but the war started once again, and he had to abandon the cause. Did you know this?" Chloe looked at Dimitrie, who appeared to be considering what she said.

He shook his head, deep in thought.

"Juric wants to talk to you, so talk. Keep an open mind, ask questions, and listen. Perhaps the best way to help your country is by giving him your trust and laying down your guns." Having said her piece, Chloe stood up and pushed the chair back into its place.

"He has a woman. They are engaged." Dimitrie's words hurt, but she didn't think they were intended to.

"I know, that's not why I came. I came to see my father. I haven't seen him for over twelve years. He believed in Juric so much that he stayed and let me go. Both he and Juric let me go, and despite that, I still believe in both of them."

"He was a fool to let such a beautiful, loyal, and strong woman go," Dimitrie blushed a little as he said the words, and Chloe smiled.

"I was a needy girl then, and as much as it hurt, I do believe he did it to keep me safe. He's not happy that I'm here now." Chloe shrugged. "Get some sleep. I promise you are safe. Juric is a man of his word."

Chloe spent the rest of that evening monitoring the injured. Dimitrie sat deep in thought for a long time before he drifted off to sleep.

When the morning came, it brought Juric, Petrov, and Robert with it. The three men examined the patients and put together a list of those that they thought would be ready to move that afternoon.

By the end of the week, they had almost every patient moved. If Dimitrie and Juric had their talk, it wasn't while she was on duty. The first wave of nurses and doctors left by truck on Saturday, but the Americans were not among them.

When Sunday dawned, so did the battle. The gunfire and shelling were constant, and she and the rest of the volunteers that were left were led out on foot, waiting a safe distance away until the fight was over. Then they would return and start to help the wounded once again.

This time though, there would be fewer people to help, which would cost lives. She had faith that Juric had a plan, but she had no clue what it might be.

One thing she was sure of was that the waiting between battles was a never-ending cycle that was exhausting, and she didn't know how her father and Juric had managed to live with it for the last twelve years.

It was dark by the time the shelling and gunfire stopped, and the soldiers came for them.

They were led back to the hospital and the injured, of which there was only a handful.

It was as if the battle had been all for show. They quickly tended to the minor injuries and the few serious ones. Then they waited to see what was next.