Just like your father.
I get up and join him.
It’s late afternoon when I hear Lev’s knock, the three taps, a pause, then one more. I get up from the bed where I’m watching the door while Josh is wholly absorbed by the TV and unlock the bolt from inside.
“Thank God,” I say, melting into Lev’s arms as soon as I see him, that knot in my stomach finally coming undone.
“Daddy!” Josh comes charging off the bed and launches himself against Lev’s legs.
“This might be the best greeting I’ve ever had,” Lev says, lifting Josh with one arm and hugging us back.
We walk into the room, and Lev closes the door behind him. I step backward. He sets Josh down and rustles his hair.
“Did you just take a bath?”
“Mommy and me went swimming.”
He looks up at me.
“I sent you a text. Didn’t you get it?”
“Shit.” He pulls his phone out of his back pocket and walks to where the chargers sit on the table. He plugs his in and puts it down. “I didn’t have my phone on me for most of the day, and by the time I got it back, it was out of charge.”
“Did it go okay?” He’s in one piece.
“Yeah,” he says. “Better than expected, actually.”
“Daddy, look at my suit!” Josh comes running out of the bathroom where I’d hung our suits up to dry. He’s carrying his suit, the ball, and one of the floats, all still soaking wet.
“Oh, those are nice.”
“Minions,” Josh points out.
Lev crouches down.
“And I got a ball and floaties and Mommy got a suit, but hers is only pink.” That last part he attempts to say in a whisper because I guess that’s bro code.
“I bet she looked beautiful in it,” Lev says, standing again.
“I charged it all to the room. I hope that was okay?” I ask.
“Of course. Don’t even think about it.” He comes to me with Josh’s wet things in his hand as Josh returns to the TV. “Come with me and let’s hang these up.”
We go into the bathroom, and he closes the door most of the way, then drops the ball and floaty in the tub and hangs the suit on the heating rack beside mine. He picks mine up, examines the skimpy suit, and raises an eyebrow.
I take it from him and put it back to dry. “It was the least expensive one.”
“I can see why. There’s not much to it.”
“Well, don’t worry, it was pretty much just families with their kids.”
“And I’m sure the dads got a hard-on looking at your ass in this.”
“Shut up,” I tell him, playfully slapping his arm.
He catches me by my waist and pulls me to him, squeezing an ass cheek in his hand.
“You good? You weren’t scared?” he asks.
I shake my head. “It was okay. I was worried about you, though, and I’m glad you’re back. Why didn’t you have your phone?”
“Gleb took them during our meeting.”
“Why?”
“Pretty normal for a man at his level.”
“Tell me about it.” I’m anxious to hear about his meeting with Gleb. I still haven’t quite wrapped my brain around the fact that he’s my father, and I can’t see myself accepting it as easily as Josh has accepted Lev.
“It went well. He got one look at a photo of you, and you should have seen his face. I do think he cared about your mother. I could see it on him and feel it when he found out she’d been killed.”
Tears fill my eyes. “I’m glad. I know it sounds weird, but—”
“It doesn’t sound weird.” He hugs me, then kisses my forehead. “He wants to meet you, Kat.”
I draw back and look up at him. I knew he’d want that. Of course, he would. But I’m not remotely prepared.
“Does that mean he believes I’m his daughter?”
“I don’t know. I mean, he’s done the math, I’m sure, but I guess there’s a chance you’re not.”
He doesn’t want to say there’s a chance my mom had more than one lover. I don’t either, but I understand.
“When?”
“Tonight. Before dinner.”
“Before dinner? That’s now.”
He checks his watch. “Yeah.”
“What about Josh?”
“He’ll come with us. I’m not trusting him with anyone.”
“Maybe Maxim can watch him?”
“I trust Maxim but no. He’ll come with us.”
“Are you sure it’s safe? I mean, what if he thinks I’m not his daughter and—”
“He gave me his word. We have to trust it. And I wouldn’t take you if I didn’t feel it was safe.”
“What about Vasily?”
“He’s MIA.”
“That tip to the cops about the body?”
“Bastard had it cleaned up. The body was gone. No trace of the girl in the ground or in the house. Although there was CCTV footage of Andrei leaving with her so there’s that at least.”
“Will Gleb help us with Vasily?”
“If he believes what we told him today, he’ll more than help us. He’ll put a hit out on my uncle himself.”
“And if he doesn’t believe you?”
“Let’s go meet him. I think we’ll know then where we stand.”
“I’m scared, but I trust you. And…” I pause, remembering what he’d said earlier. “I love you, too, you know?”
He pulls me to him to kiss him just as we hear a knock on the door.
I freeze, but Lev springs into action.
He’s gone in a second, and by the time I get to the bedroom, I see Josh standing at the open door looking up at a woman. Lev is beside him, hand on Josh’s shoulder, one leg almost blocking Josh’s view of the stranger.
“I brought towels, sir. We didn’t clean the room today.”
“Thank you,” he says and takes them.
A moment later she’s gone, and I can breathe again.
Lev turns to Josh.
“When someone knocks, you let Mommy or me open the door, okay?” His voice is tight even though he’s trying to sound more casual than I know he feels.
Josh looks at him in confusion, then his lower lip begins to tremble because he must sense this shift in Lev’s mood too.
“You’re not in trouble, Josh,” I say, gathering him up in my arms. “It’s just that we have to be careful with strangers, that’s all.”
He nods, burying his face against my chest.
Lev straightens, puts the stack of towels on the bed, and looks at his watch.
“We need to go, Kat. The car should already be here.”
16
Kat
Josh and I sit in the back of the SUV while Lev rides in front. I’m anxious as we weave through rush-hour traffic, the driver not saying a word and Lev texting something into my phone. Since his was dead, he left it in the room charging and took mine.
“I’m hungry, Mommy,” Josh says.
“We’ll get you something to eat soon,” I tell him. He hasn’t eaten since our late lunch, and I don’t have a snack with me.