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“He worked with Vasily for many years,” I note.
“Exactly.” Alexei smiles. “One can only imagine the things he might know. Just give me a few more days. Let me see what I can do to draw him out.”
I nod, accepting that this will take time. But right now, time isn’t on our side. And I can’t even begin to imagine how this news will go over with Kat when she finds out. It’s unlikely she is even aware of it yet, but at some point, it will need to come out.
“There is something else.” I close the folder and tuck it into my jacket for the time being. “I haven’t had the chance to tell you, but I found my mother’s trinket box in Andrei’s garage. When I confronted him, he claimed he was the one who killed her.”
“Do you believe him?” Alexei’s brows pinch together in uncertainty.
“I do,” I confess. “But he claims my mother was going to turn on Vasily. That she was giving information to a neighbor.”
“Perhaps the neighbor on the list?” Alexei ventures.
“That was my first thought.”
“I will see if I can make a connection.”
“Thank you.” I reach out to shake his hand. “I don’t know where I’d be without you.”
Before he can reply, Magda and Kat appear in the doorway, with Josh still tucked against her side. She must be exhausted from holding him, but I know there’s no prying him away from her right now.
“Josh ate a snack,” she says softly. “But he’s very tired, and I think we need to get him settled in somewhere. Can we go now?”
“Yes, Katya.” I offer her a pained smile. “We can go.”
* * *
Kat tests the water in the bathtub with her fingers, her face heavy with exhaustion as Josh wiggles around in her grasp. She can barely hold him at this point, but I know she’s trying to keep a sense of normalcy for him.
“I had a bath already,” Josh protests, his bottom lip quivering. “I want to watch TV.”
“You did have a bath this morning.” Kat glances at his clothes and cringes at the blood that’s been transferred from her. “But you need another one.”
A slamming door down the hall in the hotel causes Kat to flinch. Josh cranes his neck to look up at her, his tiny hand coming up to her face. “What’s wrong, Mommy?”
She chokes back a sob, and I gather Josh up into my arms, pulling Kat up beside me. “Mommy is very tired. She’s going to go rest while I get you cleaned up. Okay, buddy?”
Josh still doesn’t seem sold on the idea, and Kat already has a protest on her lips. But I need her to understand that she isn’t doing things alone anymore. This might be the biggest clusterfuck of her life, but it’s mine too. We’re in this together.
“Just go sit down,” I tell her. “Grab a drink from the minibar. Eat something, please. I’ve got this.”
When it dawns on her that she’s too tired to argue, she nods and pads out of the bathroom. A minute later, the television turns on, and I turn my attention to Josh. The first order of business is disposing of these clothes, but luckily for us, Talia was kind enough to give us a few of her son’s outfits to see us through until I can buy some more.
I rifle through the bag, finding a pair of pajamas and hold them up for Josh to examine. “What do you think?”
“Minions?” He smiles his approval. “I like Minions.”
I strip him down, and after a few more feeble protests, I get him into the bathwater. While I was terrified this morning that Josh would never calm down, it seems he’s starting to get back to his normal self. Other than picking up on Kat’s emotions, his main concerns right now are comfort and cartoons. He’s young, and I can only hope that the events of today will be long forgotten over the coming weeks, but I have no way of knowing that.
After I get Josh washed up, I drain the tub and start a new bath while I dry him off with a towel.
“Another bath?” His face pinches in concern.
I chuckle as I kneel before him and help him into his pajamas. “That’s for Mommy.”
“So, I can watch TV now?” he pleads.
“Yes, you can watch a little TV now.”
When he slips his hand in mine, something in my chest gives way. It feels like a brick wall with twenty years of repressed emotion crumbling under the weight of this one simple gesture.
My son.
It’s still difficult to wrap my head around the fact that I’m a father. And right now, at this moment, I want more than anything for him to understand that. Whatever happens, I will protect him. I will take care of him. Even if that means going to war with Vasily.
