“No, that’s ok. I spent enough time with them today already,” she retorted sarcastic. “They’ll probably just talk in Russian anyhow,” Anastasia added as she stood up, leaving her phone behind. “Just tell me what to do because I can’t cook to save my life.”
They both went through the kitchen door chuckling softly. If Sonia picked up on Anastasia sarcasm, she didn’t let on.
“Are you going to tell her?” Sergei asked in Russian. It was the question that has been lingering on my mind since I found out her history with Boris and that he was no longer in prison. Should I tell her that Boris escaped prison?
“I don’t know.” I wasn’t sure if it made sense to worry her unnecessarily. With a manhunt going after Boris, the odds of him making it to Russia were slim.
The odds of him escaping from prison should have been slim too.
“You should tell her,” Nikolai muttered and I knew he was right but why stress her more. It was bad enough she saw me kill a man and now was wary of my brothers and me.
Her nightmares would come back tenfold, right?What she doesn’t know, won’t hurt her.He knew the moment I made my decision because he shook his head.
“No way!” Anastasia exclaimed and I could hear her laugh with Sonia in the kitchen. They both giggled like two school girls and made me wonder what it was they were discussing.
In another few minutes, they both came out of the kitchen carrying plates. The moment Anastasia entered the room and her eyes met mine, her smile faltered. Fuck, I didn’t want her to be wary of me.
They placed the food and plates down.
“Well, I have to go,” Sonia looked around apologetically. “I promised my parents I’d help with my little brothers tonight.”
“Don’t worry. I can clean up,” Anastasia told her as she sat down with us. “Have fun with your siblings. See you tomorrow?”
“Absolutely.”
Sergei got up and walked Sonia out. He’d tell her not to come back until it was safe. If she can travel, he’d send her to his St. Petersburg’s home. One of his men would see to it that she made it there safely.
Tomorrow, we’d leave too. I would have preferred we left tonight, but I knew we all needed some rest. Especially Anastasia. The exhaustion was written all over her face.
Sergei was back and gave a quick nod. Luckily Anastasia kept staring at her phone, focused on its screen. She was intent on ignoring us, probably still digesting what she’d witnessed today. She had been through a lot of violence in the past month and violence wasn’t part of her regular life while it was a normal course of our lives.
“What are you doing?” Nikolai asked her before taking a bite of his food.
She eyed him suspiciously. For a second I thought she’d dig in her heels and spit at us, declaring we weren’t worth talking to. But then she exhaled as if she resigned herself.
“Trying to figure out the Russian alphabet,” she murmured.
“Are you still mad?” Sergei blurted out. He could be a scary badass, but around women, he was over the top charming. Sometimes I felt all he had to say was a vowel and they took their panties off.
Anastasia met his eyes. “I’m not okay with killing people,” she replied in a soft voice. “But I think I understand why. And I appreciate you guys keeping me safe.” She continued after a deep sigh, “I guess it was unexpected. Not that you can ever expect to see something like that.” Her eyes shifted to me and I imagined she was probably picturing in her mind the scene where I killed the man earlier today. “It sucks that because of me you guys got dragged back into the life you were trying to leave behind. I’m sorry.”
If there was anything I expected, this wasn’t it. I would have been less surprised if she told us the sky was falling. I anticipated her demanding we not speak to her for the duration of our time together. I thought she’d snub us but certainly not apologize for dragging us back into the world we’ve been trying to leave behind.
“Don’t apologize,” I told her and my voice sounded a bit harsher than I intended it. “It’s not your fault.”
And I meant it. It wasn’t her fault. It was Boris’ fault. He always had a fucked up unwillingness to let go. Whatever happened that got him hung up on Anastasia, he should have let it go. She was a ten-year-old kid fifteen years ago. She couldn’t have possibly crossed him to obsess over torturing her and going after her ever since.
Anastasia felt like warm sunshine on my skin. Her whole personality echoed warmth and made me want things I had not wanted in a long time. Not since I was a rugged little kid in the orphanage, hoping for a family of my own. Fuck!
“Agreed,” Nikolai added in a softer tone. “This wasn’t your fault at all.”
She gave him a soft smile and I almost growled demanding she only smile for me. Definitely not fucking good!
“Now tell us, how is your Russian studying coming along?” Nikolai asked.
“It is hard and ridiculous,” she replied in a frustrated tone, her eyes darting back to the phone screen. “I swear each symbol looks similar to me.”
“Why do you want to learn Russian anyhow?” Sergei asked her although we all heard her conversation with Sonia.