Even though she showered this morning, I wash her hair again and comb it away from her face with my fingers before I tug her against my body and kiss her neck. She melts into me, and for a while, we just stand there, until the spray of the shower goes cold, forcing us to evacuate.
I towel her off and brush her hair as she stands before me, numb and silent. She’s trapped inside her own mind right now and asking her to function would be too much. So I take on the burden without regret, smearing some aloe lotion into the welt marks on her ass and dressing her again. After I’ve dried her hair and secured it with an elastic band, I remove my own towel and dress myself as her eyes rake over my body, pausing briefly on my cock before her cheeks flush and she turns away.
“It’s okay.” I smile behind her. “You can look at it if you want.”
She clears her throat and crosses her arms as I rifle through her closet and find another jacket. She seems confused by the gesture until I remind her that she left her other one at school.
The nerves return to her face, and when she reaches for the jacket, I don’t let it go just yet.
“I’m sure I don’t have to tell you this, Katerina. You’re a smart woman. But if you think about making a scene at the school, or anywhere else, you may want to consider how far Vasily’s influence stretches.”
“What does that mean?” she asks.
“That list of names on the drive?” I return her gaze. “That was just one of many. Cops, politicians, government employees. They can all be bought, or they can disappear. The moral of the story is that without me, there isn’t a place on this earth you’ll be safe. It’s something to think about.”
Her jaw flexes, but she nods her understanding. I release the jacket, and she slips it on.
“What am I supposed to say if someone asks who you are?” she questions.
“Tell them I’m an old friend. The same for Josh. At least until he’s had some time to get to know me. Then we can tell him the truth. Together.”
Kat frowns and doesn’t respond. Together, we walk out of the house, and I lock the door with the spare set of keys from my pocket. She stares at me in disbelief as I lead her around to the passenger seat of her Jeep and secure her seat belt. Just like old times. When my arm brushes hers, she looks away, but it doesn’t change the fact that she still shivered like it was the first time.
The Jeep takes three attempts to start, and it bothers me that she’s been driving this piece of shit around like this.
“I’ve been meaning to get it fixed.” She stares out the window.
“I’ll take care of it.”
I pull out of the driveway and turn onto the main road. Kat doesn’t bother to give me directions. By now, she’s aware I don’t need them. The chatter from the radio is the only sound between us, and I don’t like it.
“Can you just tell me one thing?” she croaks.
I glance at her across the seat. “What?”
“Did Nina suffer?”
My fingers tighten around the steering wheel as I consider how much to tell her. I meant what I said about honesty earlier, and I know that goes both ways. It might hurt her to hear the truth, but if I expect the same from her, I won’t be a hypocrite.
“I know she put up a fight,” I admit. “She bit the man who was there with me. I was downstairs, and I didn’t see it happen. But it happened quickly. Five, maybe ten minutes. He shot her before I could get to her.”
Kat releases a painful sob and more tears begin to spill down her cheeks before I reach over and touch her arm.
“I am sorry, Katya. I’m sorry that I couldn’t save her.”
She squeezes her eyes shut and shakes her head. “I should have taken her with me.”
“It isn’t your fault,” I assure her.
We pull into the parking lot of the school, and I kill the engine and turn to her, wiping away the evidence of her tears.
“No more tears today,” I say. “Josh wouldn’t like to see his mother upset.”
At this, she nods, attempting to gather herself together as she pulls down the visor and looks at her reflection in the mirror. “I’m a mess.”
She digs through her purse and finds a compact, which she uses to dab her face with powder. After a couple of minutes, she grumbles that it will have to do and shuts the visor. I walk around to help her from the car, and it happens naturally that we fall back into this rhythm. She waits for me and doesn’t protest when I place my hand against her back, but I wonder if she’s considering my warning as we walk inside the building.
“We still have a few minutes,” I inform her. “Let’s go to your desk first.”
Her shoulders tense, but she allows me to lead her in the direction of her room. She goes through the process of unlocking the door and smiles at another teacher as they walk down the hall.
But once we’re inside and the door shut behind us, she seems less certain. I don’t doubt that she’s still weighing her options, but she is too smart to disregard what I told her earlier.
“Log in to your computer.” I gesture to the chair in front of the desk.
She sighs and takes a seat, reaching for the mouse. But instead of stirring the screen to life, it loads to a blue screen.
“What the…?” Her words drift off as it occurs to her what’s happening. Alexei has already come through as promised.
“Everything is gone,” I inform her. “Just in case you doubted what I told you earlier.”
The bell rings before she can speak, and I gesture her toward the door.
“Come. Let’s go see our son.”
Josh glances up at me with a curious expression and eyes so much like my own it hurts to breathe. My son.
“Who is this, Mommy?” Josh asks.
“He’s a friend.” Kat offers him a watery smile as she watches our exchange take place. “His name is Lev.”
“Lev,” Josh repeats.
I kneel before him and resist the natural instinct to pull him into my arms. He doesn’t know me. A fact that’s still difficult to swallow. We just need some time.
“Hey, buddy.” I offer him a pained smile. “How was your day?”
“Good.” He shrugs before looking at Kat. “Mommy, can we get pizza?”
Her expression tightens when she looks at me.
“I like pizza,” I tell him. “What’s your favorite?”
“Pepperoni,” he chants triumphantly.
“He likes the Village Pizza shop,” Kat explains. “It’s his favorite.”
“Village Pizza it is then.” I wink at Josh. “How about a lift?”
He flashes a dimple at me and nods enthusiastically before I throw him up onto my shoulders. Kat looks like she’s going to have a heart attack as we walk out of the school like that, and her face pales completely when we run into douchebag Luke on the way out.
“Hey, Katie.” His smile fades as his eyes roam over me and Josh beside her.
“Hi, Luke.” She forces the words through stiff lips. “I’m sorry, I can’t really talk right now. We’re on our way out to dinner.”
His eyes narrow in my direction, and I smirk. That’s right, asshole. My family.