Page 45 of The Bratva King

We’re standing in a massive foyer with a curved staircase that leads up to the open second floor. Everything is white and gray, with pops of black. There’s art on the walls that I’m certain is real. Clean lines. Nothing fussy.

Galina is moving toward the staircase. “I was not expecting guests,” she says. Her English is good and lightly accented. “I will prepare rooms. Come.”

“One room,” I say. “Please. Luke stays with me.”

She pauses on the second step and looks back.

“He’s not used to sleeping alone in a new place.” It’s true, but it’s also not the whole truth. The whole truth is that I need him within arm’s reach at all times. I need to hear him breathe. I need to know where he is, especially in a place this big.

Galina nods and continues up the stairs.

I follow with Luke’s hand in mine. He’s looking at everything. His head swivels to take in the staircase wall. He reaches out and drags one fingertip along the shiny black banister as we climb.

“Pretty,” he says quietly.

“Yeah,” I whisper back.

The upstairs hallway is wide and runs in both directions, with doors spaced generously apart. Galina leads us to the right, past two closed doors and then opens a third. She steps aside to let me look.

The room is bigger than our apartment. The en suite bathroom is visible through a half-open door, and even from here, I see that it’s enormous, all white tile and what appears to be a separate soaking tub.

I stand in the doorway and tell myself it’s only temporary. Two nights, and then it’s back to tiny, roach-infested apartments.

“The kitchen is open,” she says. “Whatever you need. I will make sure our cook has dinner ready for you at seven if you want it.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

She looks at me like I’ve said something mildly confusing. “It’s our job,” she says simply.

Right. Of course it is.

“Is there anything the boy cannot eat?” She looks at Luke.

Luke is staring out a window I haven’t had a chance to examine.

“He’s not a big vegetable person,” I say apologetically. “But he’ll eat most meat. He loves chicken.”

“I’ll pass that along to the cook.”

Wow. How many people does it take to run one man’s house?

The men bring our bags. Galina once again speaks in Russian. They leave them inside the room and scurry away.

“We’ll get you settled later,” she says. “Come, I’ll give you a tour. There is a cinema with a snack machine. And a game room. I think the boy will like it.”

"Thank you." My throat tightens. I don't know what to do with kindness.

She holds out her hand to Luke. I start to tell her he won’t take it, but my son proves me wrong. He puts his little hand in hers, and off they go.

It takes me a few seconds to process what just happened. He allowed a stranger to touch him. Willingly took her hand. In all the months Carla watched him, he never allowed her to touch him.

He feels safe, Gabby.

Suddenly, two nights doesn’t feel so simple.

12

Nikolai