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His outfit drips money. I thought Arsen was ostentatious, but Josh blows him out of the water. His cap-toe Oxford dress shoes look like he took them directly off the sales floor before waltzing in here. His slim black tie, patterned cobalt suit, and onyx cufflinks complete the ensemble.
“It’s okay,” Audrey answers. “We didn’t?—”
“Coffee?” he interrupts, setting his briefcase on the table before grabbing the pot, which none of us have touched yet, off the far counter. Though the basket of individually wrapped muffins and stack of oranges and bananas are tempting, my guts are too unruly to handle food. “These are freshly ground beans from Sea Glass. Amazing stuff, you have to try it.”
I give Audrey a squinty glance. She cringes, mouthing, He can be oblivious, sorry, at me. Turning in my chair, I flash a tense smile at Josh.
“We’re good. I think we just want to get started on everything.”
“Great, the sooner the better!” He slaps himself lightly on the forehead. “I shouldn’t get distracted. I’m a comfort first kind of guy, you know?” He slides his attention over my mother and me. “You two! You’ve been through something awful. I want to get you relaxed, make you understand you’re safe now.”
He’s saying the right things. But why is my stomach clenching?
“Thank you, Josh.”
“Yes,” Mom adds, “we really do appreciate what you’re doing for us.”
“It’s nothing!” Waving his hands up and down for emphasis, he sits next to Audrey. She smiles brightly at his nearness. The way she looks at him, that adoration, makes me pluck at the prayer beads anew. I wish I had what she does. I really do.
Pulling his briefcase closer, he flicks the latches open. “Now then, my colleagues and I want to know everything.”
“Everything?” I repeat.
He starts stacking piles of paperwork, talking all the while. “When did Arsen Isakov kidnap you, where did he take you, how long were you together, how many men he had on his property, and what details did he spill about his business? That sort of stuff.”
“Oh.” Rocking uneasily in my chair, I turn toward my mother. Her forehead is furrowed as she stares back at me. “I thought we were just going to discuss how this witness protection program works.”
“We will!” Laughing, he spins a pen between his long fingers. When he taps it in front of me, I read the name of his law firm along the length of it. “But all of that is straightforward. Blah-blah-blah, new names, a safe house, the typical package. But the most important thing,” Josh leans toward me, eyes lighting up with fervor, “is this city can finally be cleaned up.”
An ice-cold sense of foreboding swims over me. “What do you mean?”
“Isn’t it obvious? The Grachev Bratva!” He flaps his hand, getting worked up by the conversation. “If I can break them up … My God, I’ll get a promotion unlike any that’s ever happened before. It would change my life!” He stops, like he’s remembered we’re in the room with him. Smiling reassuringly, he scoops my hands into his. “And it will change your life, Galina. You won’t have to remain in witness protection. Which, by the way, can be dreadfully dull. Follow my plan, and everything to do with Arsen Isakov will be eradicated entirely.”
Eradicated. I don’t like that word when it comes to Arsen. But I don’t have any power here. Suddenly, my situation with Josh doesn’t feel that different from the one I just escaped. Tugging my hands out of his, I slap on a pleasant grin.
“None of that involves me. I just want my mother and my baby to be safe.”
“Not true.” He’s still smiling, but the kindness is gone. It’s like being face to face with a mannequin. “This is our only chance to get rid of the Grachev Bratva, and you have your part to play in this.”
“I don’t want to be a part of that.”
“You have to, Galina. Either you help us, or you go down with Arsen.”
My spine goes straight as a rake. Audrey gapes across at me. She didn’t know this was coming either. Was this why Josh was slow to arrive? Was he discussing his grand plot with his coworkers or, God forbid, the police? I wonder if there are men with badges outside this room, ready to arrest me at a simple word from Josh.
His attention flicks to my stomach. I slide backward, cradling my belly protectively. “Prison doesn’t care about new mothers,” he whispers. “There’s no special treatment, not like I’m offering you.”
My heart is racing as I read between the lines and hear the words he’s not saying. If you go to prison, you’ll never get to be with your baby. They won’t even let you hold him.
“Galina,” my mother urges, grabbing my shoulder gently. “This is your chance to do for your child what I could never do for you.” Turning me toward her, my mother stares directly into my eyes. Hers are watery with unshed tears. “You can give yourself and your child freedom. Real freedom. Please, malyshka. This will be for the best.”
Her sincere wish stretches beyond my lifetime. Put on the spot by her, as well as Josh’s blunt statements, I lose my voice. I don’t know what to say.
No. That’s not it.
I know … I’m just afraid. Once it leaves my lips, that’s it. I can’t take it back.
Rubbing Arsen’s prayer beads on my wrist beneath the table, I remember how defeated he sounded when he told me he wouldn’t prevent me from leaving. He had to know that this was a potential risk—I’d spent too much time with him, seen too much, to not be of use to people like Josh.
