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“What can I do for you?” I got straight to business. Forget small talk.
Her eyes softened. “It devastated me to hear about your mom.”
“Noted.” There was nothing more to say. Condolences eleven years post-mortem didn’t have that punch she was looking for.
“I never got the chance to say goodbye.”
Why was she going on about this? “I did. For two whole days as I sat next to her body.”
She winced. “Yes, I heard about that.”
Had she now? “You must have had great contacts back then.”
“Your mother and I had made a promise to each other. If anything happened to either of us, we’d take care of the other’s child.”
“Guess you failed at that.”
Guilt clouded her eyes. “You’re not going to give me an inch, are you?’
I grabbed a bottle of vodka from the cabinet. I wasn’t sure why I was making it difficult for her. There was no way I would have gone with her instead of Sokolov. She couldn’t have given me what he had. It just bothered me that after all these years she only remembered having a best friend when she was about to ask me for a favor. Because why else would she be here now?
“Again, what can I do for you?” I poured another glass and held it out to her, but she declined.
“I’m in trouble,” she confessed.
Of course she was. I downed my drink and waited for her to continue.
“Someone’s after me.”
“And you want me to take care of him.”
She shook her head. “You can’t. And even if you could, I’d never ask that of you.”
An odd statement, considering my line of work. “Then what?”
In a sudden move, she grabbed my hand. It felt like hot coals were being pressed to my chest. I almost pulled back. I pointedly looked at her hand. Had it been a man, any man, I’d have decked him.
“I want you to promise me you’ll take care of my daughter.”
I subtly tried to step back, but she didn’t release me. I was seriously reconsidering my position on hitting a woman, when desperate eyes bored into mine. The look took me back over a decade and cracked open the door to some fond memories. To a time when my mother and Inessa had taken me on a picnic, and had made me a birthday cake. No matter their late working hours, they always made time for me.
“Do you know what you’re asking of me?”
Inessa nodded.
I highly doubted it, so I explained. “As my protegé, she will be regarded as a Bratva princess.” Even if it were only for a few days, it could have consequences. Severe ones.
The woman’s eyes became misty. “Sheisa princess.”
I supposed all mothers thought that about their daughters.
“Another thing,” she said with a sneer in her voice. “Keep her away from the Bratva.”
“Keep her away from the Russian mob? I suppose this is the right time to tell you I’m having a Bratva meeting tomorrow night at my house.”
She blanched, and for a split-second looked indecisive. “I…I don’t have another choice. I’ll tell her to keep inside her room.”
“If I were a modest man, I’d say your confidence in me is humbling.”
