Page 40 of His (Ties That Bind 2)

“Can you wash the black out?”

“Does that mean it’s safe?”

He gives the tiniest tilt of his head as he considers, and I think I have my answer. No. Not yet.

“What did Gleb want with you?” I ask.

He shifts so he’s lying on his back, and it’s like he shutters himself off. He’s done this before, in the very beginning that morning at his house.

“Just some business. Nothing you need to worry about.”

I get up on one elbow and rest my head in my hand. I touch his chest, tracing the muscles over it down to his cut belly. I touch his scars too, and I think about that business. About what he’s done.

“I want to know, Lev.”

“No, Kat. You won’t know that side. Ever.”

I study him, then lay my hand flat against his chest and feel the muscle beneath it, feel the strength. I’m comforted by it.

“Do you have to work for him now?”

He looks momentarily confused. “Your father?”

My father.

“Gleb,” I amend. I’m not yet ready to call him my father.

“No. Once this is done, I’m out. You, me, Josh and…” He puts his hand on my belly. “And the rest of our family will lead normal, boring lives. We’ll move to Colorado if you want to go back. Hell, maybe I’ll buy a pair of khakis like your boyfriend.”

“Luke wasn’t my boyfriend and please never buy khakis.” I lie back with a laugh and close my hand over his.

“Don’t worry, there’s no risk of that happening.”

I turn my face to watch him. “Do you mean it? Will he let us go?”

“You’re his daughter. Josh is his grandson. He’ll want to be a part of that, and I won’t stop him. I think that’s only right. But we’re not in that life anymore. That’s over. As soon as my piece of shit uncle shows his ugly face, it’s over.”

I shudder with a sudden chill.

Lev pulls the blanket up over us.

“He’s still out there? Vasily?”

Lev nods.

“His men?”

“Only someone with a death wish will have anything to do with him now.”

“What about Andrei?”

“Andrei’s dead, Kat,” he says, his tone different. Final.

I’m quiet. I just look at him, not sure what I feel. Because Andrei deserves worse than death for what he’s done. For all the lives he hurt, the lives he took. But it’s still strange to hear it.

“Did he pay?” I hear myself ask because Lev may not want to tell me what he did, but I know. I’ve always known.

He shifts his gaze to me. He’s quiet for a long minute, studying me before he answers. “He suffered. I made sure of that.”

I nod. That’s all I need.

“Let’s get some sleep,” Lev says. “Prepare ourselves for that family time with Gleb tomorrow.”

I roll onto my side, and he draws me against him, tucking his legs behind mine.

“Gleb and family time. I’m not sure what to think about that.”

“What did Josh say, by the way?”

“I think he’s even more confused. I mean, the man did give him chicken nuggets and let him drink a Coke, so that goes a long way with Josh.”

I feel him smile behind me. “The way to a man’s heart is through his belly.”

It grows quiet, and I listen to Lev’s breathing even out.

“Lev?” I ask.

“Mmm.”

I want to tell him I have a bad feeling. Like we shouldn’t be celebrating just yet because it’s not over. Vasily is backed into a corner. Andrei is dead. He has nothing left to lose, and that makes him even more dangerous.

But then I listen to him, and I know he’s asleep, so instead of all that, I tell him that I love him.

19

Kat

After I help Josh dress the following morning, I lift him into a chair to eat his breakfast of waffles with fruit.

Drenched in syrup.

At least there’s fruit, I tell myself. And once we get home, I’ll get him back on a healthy diet. The kid has a serious sweet tooth.

I’m nervously checking the time while Lev showers. Gleb is picking us up soon to have that “family day.” He hasn’t told us what he has planned, but I know we’re going to his house, which is a little way out of the city. I’ve packed Josh’s floats and ball in a bag as he apparently has both an indoor and an outdoor pool. His suit is still damp so I left it hanging in the bathroom to dry a little longer.

I’m not sure what I expected before I met Gleb. A DNA test maybe. But I guess between the birthmark, my resemblance to my mother, and my age, he was satisfied.

He’s not married and doesn’t have other family that I know of yet. Just the sister for whom I’m named, but she’s gone, so maybe he’s lonely.

“Daddy’s singing,” Josh says with an attempt at a chuckle as he shakes his head and spoons a strawberry into his mouth.

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