Page 71 of The Lies Between Lovers

No doubt, she just found her newest babysitter. She couldn’t decide whether that made Vaslav better or worse than her father, in a way.

Goddammit.

Kiril chugged back the cup of water, and while Vera was still stunned at the table and desperately trying to catch up to speed, the young man climbed in through the kitchen window. There was nothing graceful about the way he used the edge of the large sink basin as a foothold, and the floor shook when he jumped from the counter down without hesitating. He straightened up to his nearly six-foot height with another confident smile, fixing his worn, black leather jacket and brushing off his dark wash denim before setting the cup neatly into the sink with a soft clink.

Then, he clapped his hands and focused on her. “So, what are we doing?”

Finally, her shock decided to wear off. “What are we doing—what are you doing?”

Kiril smacked his lips and passed a glance back at the window she had stupidly opened earlier to cool the room when the longer she sat at the table, the hotter it became in the kitchen. “I mean, you just saw me climb through the window, so—”

“What are you doing here?”

Her shriek was the only thing that really seemed to get a reaction from Kiril that wasn’t sarcastic or equally annoying. He made a scrunched face and turned back on her with a shrug. “My job.”

Her shoulders deflated. “Right, I should have guessed.”

Well, she had ...

Kiril dragged a hand through his dark, shaggy hair and moved to sit at the chair opposite to Vera’s at the table. “Blame Igor. He had the bright idea.”

“For you to keep an eye on me?”

“Guess nobody else is ... preferred.”

“What?”

Kiril’s nose twitched, and he muttered, “That’s what I was told.”

Huh.

She got the feeling he left something out, though.

“At least they cleaned the spot on the sidewalk, yeah?” Kiril asked, his whole face brightening.

Vera’s brow dipped low. “What spot?”

That had the young man cringing. “Never mind.”

Oh, God.

“Where they found Mr. Anatoly?” she pressed.

Kiril completely avoided her gaze. “That’s not what I said and—”

“I don’t think you have to, really.”

She wasn’t stupid.

Kiril sighed, then. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“I’m not upset!”

“Getting shriller there.”

Vera dragged in a long, deep breath that rattled on the way in as she tried to blink away the blurriness from welling tears. “I’m not upset.”

“Right.” Kiril stood from the chair, and pointed back at the window. “I’m gonna go, yes?”