Page 66 of The Bratva King

“And you designed it yourself?”

“The concept. I had architects and interior designers for the execution.”

She moves to the window and bends down beside Luke. She puts her hand on his back and points at something in the distance. He follows her finger and then nods.

“What’s that one?” He points.

“That’s where I work,” she says. “You can see it from here.”

He studies the skyline. “It’s smaller.”

“From up here, everything’s smaller.”

He turns and looks at me. “Can we see the pools? You said you had three.”

“Let’s go.”

The pool decks are under construction. The shell of the larger outdoor pool is poured, and tile work has started along the upper edge. There will be a few smaller indoor pools as well.

Luke crouches at the edge of the empty shell of the main pool and looks down into it.

“There’s no water,” he says.

“Not yet.”

“When?”

“A few months.”

He looks at the depth markers that have been painted on the far wall of the shell. He reads them with his lips moving slightly. “Nine.”

“The deep end is nine feet.”

He takes a step back from the edge. Gabby didn’t tell him to be careful, but I see her stance. She’s ready to grab him in a heartbeat.

We move through the restaurant spaces, and once again, Luke has a million questions.

“Told you,” Gabby says with another laugh.

“It’s good,” I tell her. “You can’t learn if you don’t ask.”

“What’s this?” Luke asks when we reach the glass doors that will lead to the spa.

“This is a spa.”

“What’s that?”

I give him a brief description because I honestly don’t think he’ll be interested.

Gabby looks around and sighs. “It’s been forever since I had a spa day.”

I look at her, and she freezes, like she just realized she said it out loud.

She grabs Luke’s hand and leads him out and down the hall to the salon area.

She knows spas. Did spa days, the kind that require money and time to spare. I know her file says she’s almost twenty-five. I want to know what she was before she became someone who counts tips and stretches a paycheck.

Pasha joins us in one of the ballrooms. “Heard you were here,” he says. “I was coming by to check things.”