Read Knight on the Children's Ward for Free Online Page A

close…’ She saw his jaw tighten, as everyone’s did these days when her brother’s name was mentioned. Aleksi was trouble. Aleksi, now head of the Kolovsky fortune, was a loose cannon about to explode at any moment. Annika was the only one he was close to; even his twin Iosef was being pushed aside as Aleksi careered out of control. She looked down at her coffee then, but it blurred, so she pressed her fingers into her eyes.
    â€˜You can talk to me,’ Ross said.
    â€˜Why would I?’
    â€˜Because that’s what people do,’ Ross said. ‘Some people you know you can talk to, and some people…’ He stopped then. He could see she didn’t understand, and neither really did Ross. He swallowed down the words he had been about to utter and changed tack. ‘I am going to Spain in three, nearly four weeks.’ He smiled at her frown. ‘Caroline doesn’t know; Admin doesn’t know. Intruth, they are going to be furious when they find out. I am putting off telling them till I have spoken with a friend who I am hoping can cover for me…’
    â€˜Why are you telling me this?’
    â€˜Because I’m asking you to tell me things you’d rather no one else knew.’
    She took her fingers out of her eyes and looked up to find that smile.
    â€˜It would be rude not to share,’ he said.
    He was dangerous.
    She could almost hear her mother’s rule that you discussed family with no one breaking.
    â€˜My mother does not want me to nurse,’ Annika tentatively explained. And the skies didn’t open with a roar, missiles didn’t engage. There was just the smell of coffee and the warmth of his eyes. ‘She has cut me off financially until I come back home. I still see her, I still go over and I still attend functions. I haven’t cut myself off. It is my mother who has cut me off—financially, anyway. That’s why I’m working these shifts.’
    He didn’t understand—actually, he didn’t fully believe it.
    He could guess at what her car was worth, and he knew from his friend that Annika was doted upon. Then there was Aleksi and his billions, and Iosef, even if they argued, would surely help her out.
    â€˜Does Iosef know you’re doing extra shifts?’
    â€˜We don’t talk much,’ Annika admitted. ‘We don’t get on; we just never have. I was always a daddy’s girl, the little princess… Levander, my older brother, thinks the same…’ She gave a helpless shrug. ‘I was always pleading with them to toe the line, to stop making waves in the family. Iosef is just waiting for me to quit.’
    â€˜Iosef cares about you.’
    â€˜He offers me money,’ Annika scoffed. ‘But really he is just waiting for this phase to be over. If I want money I will ask Aleksi, but, really, how can I be independent if all I do is cash cheques?’
    â€˜And how can you study and do placements and be a Kolovsky if you’re cramming in extra shifts everywhere?’
    She didn’t know how, because she was failing at every turn.
    â€˜I get by,’ she settled for. ‘I have learnt that I can blowdry my own hair, that foils every month are not essential, that a massage each week and a pedicure and manicure…’ Her voice sounded strangled for a moment. ‘I am spoilt, as my brothers have always pointed out, and I am trying to learn not to be, but I keep messing up.’
    â€˜Tell me?’
    She was surprised when she opened her screwed up eyes, to see that he was smiling.
    â€˜Tell me how you mess up?’
    â€˜I used to eat a lot of takeaway,’ she admitted, and he was still smiling, so she was more honest, and Ross found out that Annika’s idea of takeaway wasn’t the same as his! ‘I had the restaurants deliver.’
    â€˜Can’t you cook?’
    â€˜I’m a fantastic cook,’ Annika answered.
    â€˜That’s