"What do you want to know?"
"Anything you think is worth telling." When Danika tried to drop more grass onto me, I caught in my palm and threw it back at her. She grinned as she dodged, falling down into the dirt beside me. "Stop ruining the grass."
She stretched out beside me, sighing deeply. "Tatiana...I met her when was fifteen. She and Roksana were the mothers I never had. I wanted to be just like them. Tatiana was sweet, warm. She could nurture even the worst parts of us."
I stayed quiet, listening.
"She was the only one who pushed me to finish high school. Everyone else was happy to let me decide, but Tatiana made sure I got my diploma. She dropped me off and picked me up, watched my grades. Roman would get to hang around with the adults but Tatiana made me do my homework." Danika's face was warm with wistfulness. "She really cared about me. She wanted me to have options, to be the best I could be."
"To leave?"
"No, leaving the Bratva was never an option. She wanted me to be powerful within the organization, not just earning power through marriage." Danika shrugged. "It was Konstantin who taught me how to interrogate but it was Tatiana who encouraged me to listen to him."
"It sounds like she believed in you a lot."
She nodded. "She did. Tatiana believed in everyone. I think that's why Dmitri fell in love with her. She had total faith in him and him in her. Though, in hindsight, none of us should've expected any sort of loyalty from her."
I watched her. Sadness flickered in the golden-brown depths of her eyes, revealing a pain she tried hard to keep buried.
"You should ask Artyom or Roksana," Danika said. "They'll know more than me. They were around at the very beginning, when Tatiana was still a young woman."
"I wanted to hear from you." I lay back down on the grass, listening to the giggles of the children. "Where do you think she is now?"
"She could be anywhere," Danika replied. "The wind, the sea, the ground. Tatiana won't be found until she wants to." A sad laugh escaped her. "Actually, that's something I'll never forget about. If Tatiana wanted something, she got it. No matter what."
"I know." I stretched out my legs, shuddering as the tight muscles loosened. "But so do I. So we'll see who gets what they want in the end."
Danika peered at me in interest. "Are you planning something I should know about, Elena?"
"I'm always planning something. This mind of mine never stops," I answered.
"Care to share?"
I smiled at her. "Care to share what's going on with you and Roman?"
Her cheeks went beetroot red. "You're one to talk," she muttered but her embarrassment took away the bite to her words. "Nothing's going on."
"Nothing?"
"The same nothing that is going on between you and Konstantin."
"So nothing at all."
We shared a look of camaraderie. One I imagined thieves and racketeers shared as they opened their mouths to lie.
A loud crash caught our attention, followed by the cries of Evva. I sprung to my feet and darted to where they were playing. Evva was on the ground, a nasty scrape stretching over her knee. Niko was beside her, tears running down his cheeks.
"What happened?" I crouched down beside Evva.
"She–she tripped." Niko blubbered.
I brushed the hair off her face, soothing the crying toddler. "Neither of you needs to cry, my darlings. It's going to be okay." I looked to Niko, checking for any injuries. He was fine, just upset Evva was hurt. "Okay, Evva, darling, let's get you inside."
Evva banded her arms around my neck as I scooped her up. Her tears soaked my shirt. Niko grabbed onto my leg, holding tight as I wobbled into the house. When Danika tried to fuss over him, he fell into another collapse of tears.
I rested both of them on the kitchen counter, feet in sink. Danika grabbed the first aid kit before going to find Evva's parents.
I tore open the wipes. "Okay, Evva, this is going to hurt." She whimpered. "But you're a brave girl, aren't you?"
"No," she said.
"Yes, you are," I insisted. "You have to be brave to feed the loshadi."
Evva thought about it, her tears stopping for a second. "I feed the horses."
"You do! Because you're very brave."
She shared a pleased look with Niko. He asked, "Am I brave too, Mama?"
"Yes, you're both exceptionally brave. Braver than me."
"Nooo." Evva shook her head. "You're big."
I swallowed down my laugh. "I am big; you're right. But I'm not as brave as you." I held up the wipe. "Now, I have to clean out your cut to get rid of the bad bugs. It's going to sting but that's just the bad bugs dying. Is that okay?"
Evva nodded tearfully. "I'm brave," she decided.
"Very brave." I tapped the wound gently. She hissed but didn't move her leg. Pride filled my heart. When I was her age, I would've pulled my leg away screaming. "All done!"
"Band aid?" she asked.
Grazes did heal better when they were left alone but she had been so brave. I pulled out two band aids, one pink with princesses and one green with frogs. "Which one do you want?"
"Pink, please."
"Very good manners." I sent Niko a meaningful look. He just grinned, tears forgotten. Evva watched as I gently applied to band aid to the top of her cut. "There you go! All done."
"Gross bit." She pointed to the graze. "Another band aid?"
"Just one band aid, darling. Grazes heal faster when they are alone."
Evva looked thoughtful. "Bye-bye, bad bugs," she said finally.
"Bye-bye, bad bugs." I smoothed down her dark hair. Strands had escaped her pigtails, giving her a half-wild hairdo.
"Can I have one?" Niko asked.
I laughed. I had never understood the obsession with band aids. "Did you hurt yourself?"
He grinned. "Nooo."
"Well, then no band aid." I pointed a finger at him. "That is not an invitation for you to hurt yourself, wild boy."
My son's answering smile didn't comfort me in the slightest.
"EVVA!" Artyom came skidding into the room, eyes wide. He beelined straight for us.
"Daddy! Look!" Evva showed off her band aid. "It's pink!"
Artyom didn't calm down until he checked Evva for injuries. When he saw the graze, he paled. "What happened?" His voice had darkened significantly.
I stepped closer to Niko. "Evva tripped over and hurt herself. But she was very brave and let me clean out the wound. She'll be okay."
"Braver than Auntie Lena," she supplied.
Artyom didn't smile. His dark eyes cut to me. "Thank you," he said.
"There's no need to thank me. You would do the same for Niko."
He nodded.
"Can I head off now then?" a familiar voice said from the kitchen doorway.
My brain blurred for a second. I knew that voice...
Dr Melrose, my nosey boss from the pharmacy, stood in the doorway. He wasn't wearing his glasses or white coat, but I knew his face the instant I saw him.