Page 40 of Stolen Innocence

I heard the vulnerability in her tone and paused to choose my words carefully, knowing they would weigh heavily on her. “If you’re right about Michelle, we’re tied together anyway. I’m new at committing. New at sticking around. And there are things you don’t know about me that you probably should.” Not that I was looking forward to that discussion. “But I would like to try.”

I saw the happiness in her eyes at that, and prayed the truth wouldn’t end up snuffing it out.

She hugged me, and I held her, thinking about sneaking off to the master bedroom again, but knowing, especially after the broken glass incident, that I had to keep an ear out for Michelle.

“Is it going to be okay doing remote work from here?” she asked once I let her go.

“Of course. I’ll help you get set up. And if you need me to pick anything up from your home, let me know. I’ll need your key, though.” I didn’t, but I did need her permission.

“I’ll come up with a list.” She smiled at me, but then it faded. “I also have to make appointments for a doctor and therapist to look over Michelle. She doesn’t have any scars or anything but this not talking…”

I sighed and nodded. “I understand. Let me accompany you to the appointments for your safety. I will stay outside if you want.”

She licked her lips. “You have a right to be there if you want to.”

Her quiet sincerity poked me right in the heart. Now that I had said I wanted to try with her, she was all in.Please stay that way, I caught myself thinking, but simply smiled and nodded. “Just let me know when.”

***

It took until nightfall before we were dug out again. The plows were grinding their way through the streets while we ate a hearty beef stew, and kept it up well after we put Michelle to bed.

We had spent the day together, and I had loved it. It had been cozy, something about the closeness reminded me of happier childhood days. We had talked for hours about everything from favorite movies to her work as a CPA to her need to at least know the remaining Ivanovs had been brought to justice.

I had promised to let Alissa know as soon as I found out, but I felt strange about it. If we stayed together, I couldn’t keep lying to her. I would never be able to tell her much about the organization, but she deserved to know as much as I could afford. She would find out something was up eventually. Women always did, and I was no idiot. Better for her to hear it early on, from me.

Now, though, she had drifted off in front of the movie we’d been watching, and I got up to go back to my study, phone in hand. The cat trailed in after me and I shut the door.

Two messages from Sergei. I called him back. “Sorry, didn’t have privacy before. What is it?”

“Need to talk to you. Face to face.” He sounded tired and uncomfortable. “And I need to warn you.” His voice was a little slurry. He had been drinking, and not a little. It shocked me,Sergei was normally sharp as a tack even after we’d had shots together.

“Warn me about what?”

“Vasily’s having me look into you. What you’re doing. The mother and child you’re sheltering. I don’t think he knows that’s your ex-lover and probably your kid. But he’s pissed you’ve been keeping things from him. If I were you…” he took a swallow of something, “…I would head this off. Go to him first, and quickly, and tell him everything.”

“You’re a good friend, Sergei. I know I owe him an explanation. I was focusing on keeping them safe and paying the Ivanovs a visit.”

“Table that second one for now,” Sergei suggested so firmly that he sounded sober for a moment. “Trust me, you need to see him first.”

I took a steadying breath, slow and deep. “Understood.”

“He needs to know that’s your daughter. Otherwise, he won’t understand as much. He’s been acting so strange the last few years,” he muttered, almost under his breath. “Now, most of what he does is cover his own ass and watch his own men.”

“Do you have any idea what’s going on with him?”

“I know his family stopped talking to him a couple of years back, but that’s all.”

I let out a low whistle. “All of them? He never said a thing.”

“Pride,” he said. Vasily had a lot of it. “No idea why his sons walked out of his life, but ever since then he’s been acting like he expects a betrayal from any side.”

“Huh. Well, he won’t get a betrayal from me. He’d have to do the betraying first before I even considered it.”

“Same here. But I admit, he’s not doing himself any favors by scrutinizing all of us while letting fringe players like the Ivanovs go unmonitored.” He coughed. “Probably shouldn’t have said that.”

“I heard nothing.” I sighed, not wanting to leave Alissa and Michelle but knowing I had to. “Where should we meet?”

“I—damn, that’s Vasily on the other line. Hold on.”

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