Page 37 of Little Blue

That’d be embarrassing.

With a huff, I roll the cuffs so that my hands peek out from thick black fabric. Then I decide to try my luck at the bedroom door. Unlocked.

Peering into the hall, I step cautiously from the room. With one last glance at a sleeping Lucy, I close the door and start for the stairs. I only look once at the front door before I shake off the thought. I don’t have the energy to run. There’s a dull throb in my head and I haven’t eaten since my omelet this morning. I’m starving.

With that thought, I move slowly, quietly, toward the kitchen.

As I turn into the kitchen, Polina slams her hands down on the table and shrieks a word that sounds suspiciously like, “Yahtzee!”

Daniil grins widely, his elbow flying to the side to jab at Luka as he says something in Russian. Then his eyes snap to where I stand in the entrance, looking undoubtedly ridiculous in Ilya’s massive sweater. He stands, his chair shooting back as he does.

“Irelynn.” He starts around the table. “You must be hungry. Yes?”

I nod, peering at the table. “Is that Yahtzee?”

“Da,” Polina starts, then says, “Yes. You play the game Yahtzee?”

I hadn’t in so long, it’s a distant and painful memory. My voice is soft and quiet with pain I pray they can’t hear. “It was my mother’s favorite game. That, and backgammon. She’d con my dad into—” my voice cracks. I clear my throat in an attempt to cover it up, saying firmly, “She’d con him into playing with her every Friday and Saturday night.”

“We print these off the Internet.” Polina waves a Yahtzee sheet at me. “I much enjoy this game. Come.” She pats the chair next to hers. “Sit. Play. Daniil fix you food, and we play, da? Yes?”

“Da means yes?”

Polina bobs her head. “Yes. You want to play?”

Feeling shy, I peek at Luka to find him watching me curiously. The man is big, like Ilya. But unlike Ilya, he’s not all jagged lines and ice shards. He’s more like—like a teddy bear. With muscles.

I send him a small smile that he returns kindly, before gesturing to Polina. “She wants you to play. Say yes, little Irelynn.”

A fat sandwich appears on a plate in front of me alongside a glass of water. My cheeks bloom red as I murmur a quiet, “Thank you,” to Daniil who again takes his seat next to Luka.

Then, to Polina, I say, “I’d love to play.”

As though I’ve just brought her immeasurable joy, she claps her hands together. Seeing her joy, my wary heart feels a glimmer of happiness.

I eat, and we play.

For the first time since I was stolen, I smile a genuine smile.

Seventeen

Ilya

“Between the seven clubs in L.A. nearly four hundred thousand is unaccounted for over the last year. Laurent has reported everything lines up.” Misha’s brow lifts, and he leans forward in his chair. “He doesn’t know I have everything gone over a second, and then third time.”

Misha rolls his head on his shoulders. “Can’t trust anyone, these days.”

“Money drives people to make stupid decisions.” I gesture to the screen. “This one will cost him his life.”

“Laurent has worked for the Volkov’s since Alexei ran things.” Misha sighs tiredly as he leans back in his chair, legs spread wide, face grim. “Do we know if he was approached by Popov?”

The mention of Ivan Popov has the already cool blood running through my veins, cooling. “I can find no connection.”

“But you’ve looked?”

“Of course.”

Misha nods, thumb and finger working the hard line of his jaw. Then he sighs again. “When are we leaving for L.A.?”

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