Page 7 of The Bratva’s Monster

She waves me off. “No, not dropping out… I don’t think, anyway.” She sighs and looks down at her cup pensively. “It’s just this month has been a lot. With the boys playing their reindeer games and disrupting my life in the process, I just feel like I’ve lost the plot a little bit. You know?”

“I do know,” I say with a snicker. “Probably better than anybody. I was supposed to be a model, remember? Moved here from Iowa to chase my dreams.”

She scoffs. “You were never going to be a model, Lizzy. You’re too short. Models are, like, six foot four, minimum.”

“There are short models.” I laugh. “I’m sure there are somewhere.” Yeva purses her mouth skeptically. “Okay, so five foot five isn’t the standard on the runway. The point is, my life was going in a different direction before Gedeon. And now he’s gone and…”

I have to pause. My stomach lurches suddenly and my mouth snaps shut. This has been happening all week. These weird bouts of nausea. I take a drink from my coffee cup to force it back down.

“He’s gone,” I continue, “and here I am trying to figure out what’s next in my life. Actually, maybe I ought to come with you.”

She laughed. “Come with me, where? I’m just talking about taking a break.”

“So, take a break outside of Manhattan. Outside of New York, even. We’re very privileged people. We can go anywhere in the world we want… You know, so long as things are good with the men and their reindeer games.” I lean in a little, lowering my voice. “And with the whole change in leadership I heard happening on the other side, there probably won’t be a better time to skip town.”

She shrugs. “I hear you,” she says. “Alex and Nona are all wrapped up with wedding planning⁠—”

“Wedding… I thought they were already married.”

“It’s a vow renewal or something,” she says with a dismissive wave of her hand. “It’s a whole thing. Anyway, you might have a point. Right now is like the eye before a storm. It would be wise for me to get while the getting is good.” She takes a drink, then wipes a little bit of the foam from the corner of her mouth. “You know, I’ve always wanted to backpack through Europe.”

“You?” I glance down at her designer blouse and manicured nails. She cuts her eyes at me.

“Don’t, okay,” she says. “I might be a Bratva princess, but I’m just as tough as Alex and Rikki if I need to be. I can rough it for a few months.”

“Your brothers do a little more than rough it and you know it. Have you ever even been camping?”

“Stop it,” she says as we laugh. “It’s not a bad idea, you know. I mean, here we are talking about finding ourselves now that the status of the men in our lives has changed. What better way than to hop around in Europe and see the sights? You know what I mean?” A slow smile spreads across her face and I try to smile with her, but another stomach lurch comes up, harder this time. The bitter taste of bile coats the back of my throat.

I cover my mouth and turn away as I swallow it back. The feeling passes.

“Hey, you all right?” she asks.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just… God, I’ve been feeling gross lately. I think I might be coming down with something.”

She leans back a little. “You should get that checked out.”

“I am. I will.” I hadn’t even considered it, actually. But she’s right. I should talk to a doctor. It’s been going on for almost a week now.

“So, if I go, you should actually come with,” Yeva says. “I mean… Well, I know I said that we should cool it on talking about tragedy, but between my dad and your husband, you could probably use the change of scenery just as much as me.”

It’s a nice thought. Especially given that your husband is a rat notes are floating around the Bratva circles. Leaving the country might be smart…

Or stupid, actually. If some of the Rostovs think that Gedeon betrayed the brotherhood, then I’ll bet that someone has eyes on me. Leaving town might not only be a bad idea, but a fatal one.

“I’ll think about it,” I say, and Yeva scoffs.

“It was your suggestion. Are you really flaking?”

“I’ve got a lot to take care of with Gedeon’s stuff. I still haven’t touched his office yet…” Yeva just stares at me, one of her eyebrows arched. “I’m not saying no. I’m just saying that you shouldn’t wait on me if you’re going to go. That’s all.”

“All right,” she says, and she downs the rest of her coffee. “That said, I should probably get going.” She stands and leans across the table, giving me a one-armed hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Call me later. Don’t be a stranger, yeah?”

“I won’t. Take care.”

Yeva leaves and I watch her walk out of the shop, then through the window, I track her as she jogs to the parking structure next to the mall just across the street. In this moment, I’m a little jealous of her. We’re both women within the Bratva world, yet her level of freedom has always been on a different plane from mine.

My stomach churns again and this time, the bile shoots fast up my throat and hits the back of my tongue. I cover my mouth and get up hastily, rushing to the bathroom.