Guilt coils in my stomach. “I’m sorry. I told you I’d talk to Viktor, but I just got … distracted.”
“It’s okay,” Hannah says, folding her hands in her lap. “I hate asking for handouts anyway. You know I wouldn’t if I wasn’t in trouble.”
“I know. You helped me when I had no one else, so I owe you.”
She gives me a nervous smile, her eyes going glassy, and then she blinks away the emotion and leans back in the cushions. “How is your sugar daddy, anyway?”
I quickly battle with myself, trying to decide how much I can/should tell Hannah about my situation here, before I decide I’m keeping track of too many lies as is. I might as well be consistent.
“He is my husband now.”
Hannah’s mouth falls open, and I’m tempted to reach out and close it for her. “Shut up.”
I nod. “A week ago. It was a small ceremony.”
The baby is my secret. Mine and Viktor’s. It’s too soon to be telling people, anyway. Plus, I’d like to wait until Fedor has been neutralized before I tell anyone else. He will be sure to strike where Viktor is weakest, and if he knows I’m pregnant, he’ll come after me.
I quickly talk Hannah through the justice of the peace, leaving out any mention of the loyalty ceremony with the Bratva, and then turn the questioning back to her.
“You still haven’t explained how you are here,” I say. “How did you know I was living here?”
“Do you promise not to be mad?”
No. I nod. “I promise.”
Hannah sighs, her shoulder sagging forward. “I guessed your Find My Phone password.”
I blink, stunned at the admission, and Hannah holds up her hands as if to physically stop my train of thought.
“I guessed the secret question to your account and got access. God, I know that’s terrible. I could have just texted and asked to come, but I was desperate and, if I’m being honest, afraid you’d say no.”
I would have. It feels terrible admitting it to myself, but I would have turned Hannah away. I would have told her things were too crazy, and I couldn’t handle guests right now. It would have been true, but only partially. The other reason would have been that she might end up involved with dangerous people who could kill her to get to me.
I wonder if I shouldn’t still refuse her. If I shouldn’t call the guards to escort her out. Even if she never spoke to me again, at least she’d be safe.
Hannah slaps a hand over her forehead and shakes her head. “I’m an idiot. I betrayed your trust and now I’m sitting here asking you to let me crash with you for a while. What was I thinking?”
“You weren’t.” I pull her hand from her face and look into her eyes. As soon as I do, I recognize the same desperation that used to be in my own eyes. “When you are living day to day, you don’t think long-term. You do what you have to do to survive. I understand.”
Once again, her eyes go glassy.
“Stay,” I insist before I can second-guess myself. “I have a guest room, and you are welcome to it. Stay.”
“Oh my God, Molly. You are an angel. An absolute angel.” Hannah throws her skinny arms around my neck, and I pat her sleeve, cringing away from the sour smell coming from under her arms.
“Two things,” I say. “First, don’t hack into my accounts again, okay? Not cool.”
She nods in agreement.
“Second.” I peel her arms from around my neck and push her up from the couch and towards the stairs. “Go take a shower. You stink.”
She sniffs herself and then wrinkles her nose, laughing in embarrassment. “It has been a few days. No showers on the bus.”
I give her some clothes and a fresh towel and leave her to shower, hoping I can figure out what I’ll say to Viktor when he arrives later this afternoon.
“Who the fuck is that?” Viktor asks. His voice is quieter than normal, but he is practically hissing in anger.
Hannah was playing with Theo in the living room, getting to know him when Viktor arrived. I’d planned to tell Viktor I’d invited Hannah to stay with me later when we were alone, but Theo said it before I could.
“Mommy’s friend is living with us now.”
The second the words were out of his adorable little mouth, I could see Viktor’s forehead wrinkled in confusion and then his eyes turned to me, narrowed and serious. I dragged him to my room before he could make a scene like the one he is making now.
“You let someone come and live in my apartment without asking me first? Who is she? How do you know her? What were you thinking, Molly?”
“My apartment,” I correct him. “You pay for it, but you told me it was mine to do with as I wish. And right now, I wish to help out a very dear friend of mine.”
“I’ve never even heard of her. How dear could she be?” Viktor snaps.
I place my hands on my hips. “You don’t know everything about me, Viktor.”
That wounds him more than I thought it would and some of the anger leaves his face, replaced by wistfulness. A second later, he blinks and it is gone. “Who is she?”
“Her name is Hannah, and she needed help. She came to me with no place to stay and no money. She just needs somewhere to crash while she gets back on her feet.”
“How did she find you?” Viktor asks.
“I told her where I was living,” I lie, thinking quickly. If I tell Viktor how easily Hannah gained access to my location, he’d lock me in a cage and throw away the key. He’d never let me out of his sight again. If I want any semblance of freedom, I have to lie to him. Besides, I’ll change my passwords later. It won’t happen again, so there is no need to worry him.
He folds his arms over his chest. “What else did you tell her?”
“I told her you’re my husband.”
His eyes flick down the length of me and then away. He nods. “Have you told her about the Bratva or … Fedor?”
It’s hard for him to even say his brother’s name.
I shake my head.
“Good. Keep it that way.”
I cross my arms to mimic his posture. “Is that an order?”
Fire flares behind his eyes. “It is. And it’s for your own safety and hers. The less she knows, the safer she is.”
I know Viktor is right. It’s why I didn’t tell Hannah about everything immediately. I don’t want her getting tangled up in this. Still, Viktor’s command chafes like a collar around my neck. I don’t like being told what to do.
“Plus, the less she knows, the less she can pass on to our enemies,” he adds.
“She wouldn’t do that,” I insist.
Viktor shrugs. “You never know.”
“I do,” I say. “I trust Hannah. She has always been there to help me when I need it. I know her better than you.”
I regret the words the moment I say them. Mostly because they aren’t true. Not anymore, anyway. I have only spoken to Hannah a handful of times over the last few years. I don’t know much about her life at all anymore.
Viktor turns away, waving over his shoulder. “I won’t spoil your fun, then. Good night, Molly.”
I hear him say a short, but sweet goodbye to Theo before the door closes and he is gone.