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Mollified, Katie goes back to her chopping.
“So, you know how I’ve been agonizing over the baby and what to tell Mishka—whether to tell Mishka, even,” I say, quickly catching her up to speed.
“Right…”
“Well, I decided it was best to let him know and hope that we can come up with a workable plan.”
Her face brightens, as if she thinks it’s the right choice. But she waits as I continue.
“I was working up the courage to tell him, but before I got around to it… he kind of said he loves me.”
“What?” Katie demands, setting her knife down again. A goofy grin spreads across her face. “And? What did you say?”
“Well, we kind of started making out, and one thing led to another…” My cheeks flush as I think about the hot, passionate sex we had right up against the door. Brushing over it, I skip to the next part. “I told him I love him too?—”
Katie releases an excited squeal, dancing in place. “I knew it.”
“But I never got around to telling him about the baby,” I add, dropping my eyes. “He was still in the middle of a job for my father and had to go. But when we went back out into the hall, my father was, like, right there.”
Katie’s hand flies to her mouth as her eyes go wide.
“Right? So, I thought he knew what we’d done?—”
“Wait, wait, wait, Mishka said he loved you and then had sex with you in your father’s house? While he was there?” she asks incredulously, her eyes bulging.
Warmth radiates from my cheeks, and a shy smile tugs at my lips as I nod.
“Wow. No wonder you got pregnant. Your boyfriend must have massive balls of steel.”
That makes me laugh. “Yeah, well, as soon as we stepped into the hall, my father told Mishka to follow him. So, naturally, I went into a full-on panic thinking my dad just might kill the father of my child.”
“Reasonable.” Katie nods sagely.
“So I followed them.”
My father’s words of warning to never speak about the basement flash through my mind, and I hesitate. Even if I trust Katie completely, it might not be the wisest choice to tell her everything I saw. For my family’s sake or hers. So, with a split-second decision, I modify my story, skipping over the details of where they were or what I witnessed.
“Well, I guess they were in the middle of some kind of meeting, and my father didn’t actually think anything of me and Mishka together because he definitely wasn’t about to kill Mishka like I thought…”
“That’s a relief,” Katie says, popping half of a strawberry into her mouth.
“Except rather than joining the meeting, Mishka pulled a gun on my father.”
Katie chokes, coughing to clear her windpipe as her eyes water. “I’m sorry. What did you just say?” she asks after several moments of hacking.
“Yeah. Guy I love, father of my child, had a gun aimed at my dad’s back and looked very much like he would kill him.”
“What the hell, Alina? I think that’s the kind of information you’re supposed to lead with!” she scolds. “Who gives a rat’s ass if he loves you. He tried to kill your father?”
“Yeah, well. The first part is kind of relevant because when Mishka saw me, he lowered the gun. I took off because—you know—a guy carrying a weapon realizes you’ve just witnessed him doing something that could get him killed, you might become collateral damage, right?”
“Right,” she agrees, her snack forgotten as she stands riveted.
“Anyway, he followed me—well, more like chased me down—and explained that the only reason he started working for my father was revenge. I guess my dad killed his brother, so Mishka pretended to work for my family to earn his trust.”
“Holy hell…” Katie’s breathy response makes me feel so much better because my head keeps spinning over what happened.
“Right? Well, he went on to say that meeting me changed everything. When it came down to it, when he finally got his opportunity for revenge, he couldn’t bring himself to pull the trigger because his feelings for me are too strong.”
