AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I pull the pendant free and stare down at it. I remember the day we found this worthless scrap of bronzed metal. It stuck out from the usual trash we found in the junkyard. We both pranced around like little lunatics, basking in the glory of our discovered treasure.
“It’s magic, Paige,” Clara whispered to me in the fading light of the sun. “It’s magic. I know it is. We have to hold onto it forever, okay?”
I made her a promise. On the eve of my seventh birthday, I looked my best friend in the eyes and made a vow.
“Of course. Always.”
* * *
By the time I head back to the table, our food has arrived.
“Sorry, did I take that long?”
Misha looks irritable. “When you don’t have to get meat up to a safe temperature, the food comes faster. It’s the only perk of eating vegan.”
I ignore his jab and grab my utensils, even as Misha makes no attempt to pick up his own. In fact, he doesn’t look remotely interested in eating. He keeps his gaze fixed on me.
“Just a little morning sickness,” I lie. “Or night sickness, I guess.”
“Is that right?”
“So do I have another NDA to sign?” I ask, dodging his implied question. It’s not my most graceful deflection, but it’ll do.
Misha raises his eyebrows. “Another NDA?”
“You know, now that I’m your fiancé. I figured there’d be a few clauses to sign.”
He shrugs. “That’s not a bad idea.”
I groan, and his face splits into the kind of smile that makes my ovaries quiver. If I weren’t already pregnant, I’d worry that that smile alone might have the power to do the job.
“No, not much else to sign. Just a marriage license,” he tells me. “But as my wife, the secrets of the Orlov Bratva will be yours to keep. As will the secrets of the Orlov family. You will soon learn that they are one and the same thing.”
“Life and death secrets, I’m sure,” I joke stupidly.
He doesn’t blink. “That’s exactly what they are.”
For a moment, I’m convinced I can see past his expertly crafted mask of dispassion. There’s a loss lying just underneath the coldness. Maybe it’s the whole reason the coldness exists in the first place.
“Who did you lose?” I ask without any real hope that he’ll answer.
I almost choke on my food when he actually answers. “My brother.”
My chest tightens with pressure, like someone sucked all the air out of the room. I feel it acutely: his loss and mine. Two shrouded corpses locked in boxes deep beneath the cold earth. Alone. Decaying. Afraid.
“I’m… I’m sorry, Misha.”
“Don’t be. Sorrow is a useless emotion.”
I don’t take his prickliness personally. I remember the days after Clara’s death. I cursed out strangers and picked fights with all the people who wanted to help me.
Being angry is so much easier than being sad.
“Yeah,” I agree. “You’re right.”
But then, taking even myself by surprise this time, I lean over my plate of food and place my hand on his. He freezes. This is probably the first time I’ve truly caught him off-guard.
“You can talk to me about him. If you want to.”
