Page 5 of The Breath Before Forever

“And thank you for doing that,” Vera said, wanting her friend to know just how much she appreciated every little touch Hannah put on her special day. The memories were absolutely everything to Vera. “The music, the breakfast with my mom this morning. Even—”

Hannah lifted one shoulder, interjecting with, “At this point, you’re basically my only friend. And that’s fine. I needed to get away from the noise everyone else makes to figure out who I am. Yeah, Vera, I’d do anything for you. You already kind of did that for me.”

It was that moment when one of the men who had slipped out of the room earlier decided to make a return.

Igor nodded with a tight smile at Vera’s mother and father as he passed them in the entryway. It softened with more kindness when his attention landed on Vera and Hannah. He came to stand in front of them, folding his hands behind his back. Beside her, Hannah instantly fidgeted; she glanced down but it didn’t hide the new wash of color in her cheeks. Vera couldn’t miss it.

Hell, Igor hadn’t even opened his mouth to speak yet.

Yep.

Hannah had a crush.

Vera didn’t know exactly when it started, or where. She didn’t point out that the awkward panic Hannah had first felt around Igor was practically non-existent now.

“Do you want to have a dance with me, sweets?” Igor asked.

Hannah was quick to look up then, but not before tossing a glance at Vera. “Maybe, yeah.”

“Is it maybe, or yeah?”

That question had Hannah smirking back, probably ready with a quippy reply.

Vera decided to leave the two to their verbal foreplay, and whatever else was happening. “I’m going to find my husband,” she said, pushing up from the couch.

The two she left behind didn’t say goodbye.

Or they didn’t have the sense to.

2.

“You’re back to that again, yeah?”

Vaslav didn’t acknowledge the fact that he had heard Igor’s question from the doorway of the den. Instead, he took another swig from the glass filled with ice and cold water. Only then did he spin around on his office chair to face the waiting man. Igor stayed in the doorway, haloed by the brighter hallway lights. He didn’t move past the threshold. A new thing the man had started doing ever since Vaslav drew the invisible line he refused to cross between them.

The Kiril line.

“Say that again?” Vaslav asked, pretending like he hadn’t heard Igor and inviting the man to stick his foot even farther into his mouth. “I didn’t quite catch it, Igor.”

He didn’t actually wait for Igor to respond before he tossed back the handful of pills he’d been hiding in his palm. What liquid remained in his glass helped to wash the pills back.

Bogdan was all too happy to write a prescription if his patient promised to follow directions and show up to appointments—he even made it possible for Vaslav to have his medications delivered.

He didn’t necessarily promise to follow all of the doctor’s rules, even if he did say what he had to in order to make the man more agreeable. It was what it was.

Vaslav was trying.

What more did they all want?

“Does Vera know that you’re back to popping pills and chugging liquor?” Igor asked, getting straight to the point the second time around. “Alone in your den in the dark, I might add.”

Usually, Vaslav liked blunt and straightforward. Igor was lucky that at the moment, Vaslav at least respected the fact that he was both.

“I’m happy to see you’ve found your balls,” he told his oldest friend.

“And that’s not an answer to my question,” Igor returned, still chill where he stood in the doorway with his hands tucked loosely in his pockets.

Vaslav gave Igor credit—if due, so be it.