He offers Isabelle his hand to shake. She’s hesitant. Not because his six-foot-seven height is more notable from this distance but because his hand is covered with blood. “Side effects of the job.”
He drags his hand down his apron, coating it with more blood, before re-offering his hand. Isabelle grimaces but accepts his gesture. Once they’ve finished their greeting, Kwan drops his inky black eyes to Callie. “And this must be Callie, the little rabbit who stole Na-noo from us for almost a month.”
That piques Callie’s interest. I don’t know if it’s referencing the nickname she gave Katarina that holds her interest or the fact he called her ‘little rabbit.’ It could be a combination of both.
“May I?” Kwan waves his hand across a box of sweets sitting beside Katarina’s order. When I dip my chin, he gathers a wrapped sucker from inside and offers it to Callie. “?? ????????, ? ?? ?????? ???? ??????.”
When Callie accepts the candy from Kwan, it becomes apparent she doesn’t just understand Russian, she can speak it. “??????? ?????”
Kwan throws his head back and laughs. “??,??????? ????.”
16
Isabelle
The best things happen unexpectedly.
Istare at the man wearing a bloody apron and name tag that says ‘Kwan’ with my mouth hanging open and my heart in my throat. My Russian is still poor. Other than telling Callie she’s okay on multiple occasions during her first two weeks at Ravenshoe, I haven’t utilized my bilingualism in the slightest.
However, even with my skills lacking, I’ll never forget the words Callie and Kwan just exchanged. She asked him if he was a big mouse after he called her little rabbit. Only one man I know referenced himself as a big mouse. It was my uncle, Tobias.
Kwan has the same bald head like him. He stands almost just as tall, and his accent is just as thick. There’s just one difference—Kwan is thirty or so years younger than my uncle would have been if he hadn’t passed. He’s right around the age Tobias’s children would be if he ever had children of his own.
Oh, god.
Uncomfortable about my prolonged gawk, Kwan dips his chin in farewell before returning to carving up the animal hanging at the back of the open market stall. Isaac’s suspicions are as high as mine, but instead of interrogating me in front of a dozen witnesses, he requests for Angelo to deliver Katarina’s order as he does each day before bundling Callie and me back into the SUV Roger is guarding as if the President is inside.
After buckling Callie into her car seat, Isaac gets set to interrogate me, but I beat him to the punch. “What do you know about Kwan?”
He’s not a fan of the snapped command in my voice, but he takes it in stride. “When he’s not working for Henry, he has a fascination with cutting up meat.”
Isaac’s underhanded way of saying Kwan is a mobster would be entertaining if I didn’t have a hundred theories running through my head. “Does he workwithHenry orforhim?”
My husband-to-be shoots me a suspicious glare. “There’s a difference?”
I nod. “Very much so. My uncle always said he workedwithpeople. He never workedforthem.”
I’m most likely clutching at straws, praying Tobias left some sort of legacy beside me, but I can’t help it. I struggled at the start of my relationship with Isaac because I didn’t want my uncle’s name shrouded with controversy. That burden wouldn’t seem so thick if it were on more than one recipient’s shoulders.
Isaac’s brows furrow in confusion. “What does your uncle have to do with Kwan?”
“Did you see him?” I thrust my hand in the direction we just walked. “He looks just like Tobias.”
“Not all bald men are related to your uncle, Isabelle.” Isaac’s husky laugh is sliced in half when I cut it off with a stern glare.
“When he called Callie little rabbit, she asked if he was a big mouse. I did the same thing with my uncle.” I keep my voice on the down-low to ensure Callie doesn’t overhear us. She’s too busy working out how to get the wrapper off the lollipop Kwan gave her to pay me any attention, but I’d rather remain cautious. “He’d only know that if he’s Tobias’s son or he was—”
A loud tap on the window next to Isaac’s head startles me enough, I stop talking. My heart is praying Kwan has come to confess, so I’m a little disappointed when I recognize the dark-haired woman glancing at the tint as if she can see through it. Roger didn’t stop Katarina’s approach as he’s aware Isaac has always seen her as more of a mother than a threat.
After squeezing my hand, soundlessly guaranteeing we’ll continue our conversation about Kwan later, Isaac slides down the window to greet Katarina with a broad grin. His smile alone soothes the frantic swirls of my stomach.
I don’t know why I’m so tense. If Kwan is Tobias’s son, I should be excited. I guess some of my worries center on how this will impact Regina. She loved Tobias for decades, so discovering he fathered a child with someone else would break her heart.
Once the window slots into place, Katarina bobs down so we can see her face. “You came all the way here, but you couldn’t deliver your package yourself, Isaac. I’m hurt.” She’s holding the basket of food Kwan pointed out earlier. It has a thank you slip attached to the top. “You don’t need to thank me for every donation. The money isn’t even coming from me.” The face she pulls has me suspicious on if she knows the true connection between Isaac and Henry, Sr. Even with Henry having a ruthless underworld persona, he’s very much a father figure to Isaac.
Before Isaac can reply, Callie releases her lollipop from its wrapper. Her squeal of jubilation alerts Katarina that Isaac isn’t the only person in the back seat of his car. “Little rabbit…”
Katarina’s eyes glisten the longer they roam over my face. After dropping her hamper of food onto the ground like it’s garbage, she throws open the back-passenger door of the SUV and slides inside. Once she’s shoved Isaac out of the way, she cups my cheeks and peers into my eyes like she’s certain I’m going to vanish at any moment.
