Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 85156 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85156 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
“Shit.” Marco runs a hand roughly through his thick, dark hair until strands stand on end.
Neither of us knows what else to say, and the only sound is from the old, noisy fridge in the back. Someone walks by the windows without glancing in, busy on the phone at their ear. Someone else walks a small dog on the sidewalk across the street, pausing every few feet so the dog can sniff.
“Eva, are you sure Evgeny had something to do with, well, you know?”
My brother’s voice has a plaintive note, and his eyes are dark with sadness. Our grief has only just started to abate, the scar beginning to scab over. We all know they’ll never heal completely.
I reach across the desk and take his hand. I know he misses Evgeny. He can’t believe the guy he’d come to idolize could have had any part in Jordan’s death. He was either smarter than me or more naïve, and I wasn’t sure which.
“Yes,” I answer him, not wanting to give him any hope.
Now that my head isn’t quite so fogged with grief, I can’t say it with the certainty I want to. With Marco free from debt and the bookstore not teetering on the edge of disaster, I’m even less sure. Is Evgeny trying to get back on my good side, a tacit admission of guilt? Or is he caring for my family and me like he promised, even though I told him to stay out of my life?
“Hey.” I hold up my water bottle. “The water purifier quit working, and I’m out of water. Can you run down to the 7-11 and get me a Gatorade or something with electrolytes?”
I know my brother will agree, which is why I send him. I do need hydration, as the OB/GYN drilled into my head. But I also need Marco to go somewhere else so I don’t have to see the sadness in his entire being from losing Jordan and Evgeny at the same time.
“Sure. Be right back.”
He’s out the door to the corner store in a moment, and I take a deep breath, rising to clean the remains of our lunch.
The bell rings as I’m in the back, throwing the boxes into the trash and rinsing out a cup for Marco’s soda. It won’t hurt if I take a tiny bit. I haven’t even had any coffee today.
“Be there in a minute!” I call out.
When I walk out to the front, Dmitri is standing in the middle of the store, glancing at a few of the titles I’d arranged on an end cap. He turns at the sound of my entrance, his attention moving first to my face and then to my visible baby bump. We both freeze, panic pushing my heart into my throat.
Dmitri is the first one to break the silence. “Fuck, Eva,” he swears, turns as though to leave, then doubles back, running his hand over his close-cropped hair. “Is it his?”
“Yes. Of course they are,” I snap, offended. I stomp back behind the desk to shuffle receipts without any real reason. If only to hide my quaking hands, there’s a very good chance the Kucherov vor will drag me back to Evgeny.
And if that happens? Well, I have no idea what will happen. I have no idea if my babies or I will be safe or if I’ll ever get to see them after they’re born.
Except, deep down, I do know, and my tremors cease.
“Did you know— wait, wait, wait.” Dmitri interrupts himself, crossing to the desk in only two large strides. He plants his hands and leans over, eyes boring holes into mine. “Did you say they?”
Shit! Why hadn’t I been more careful?
I take a deep breath. “Yes. They.”
The expletives that fall from Dmitri’s mouth as he stalks around the bookstore are creative, if long-winded. He finally comes to a stop and sags onto the stool Marco vacated, dragging a hand down his face.
“Evgeny doesn’t know, does he?”
I shake my head.
“Fuck me,” he sighs, and his head drops. “His mom was a twin.”
“I suppose that answers the question.” I wrap my arms protectively around my middle and can’t meet Dmitri’s gaze.
“Eva.” Dmitri’s tone is far softer than I expected it to be, and so is his gaze when I finally raise mine. “He has to know. He deserves to know. They’re his kids, too.”
A flicker of shock races across Dmitri’s face as he says the words, as though he can’t believe he just said them. But I’ve had ample time to get used to the idea.
“Does he?” I snap. “Because after what happened to Jordan, I don’t want him anywhere near my children.”
“Eva, I’m sorry about your brother. I can’t tell you how sorry I am, and I know you’re in a lot of pain. But Evgeny had nothing to do with it. Evgeny made sure everyone knew your family was under his protection and what would happen if anyone went against his word.”