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She pointed at one with a cheery lift to her voice. “That’s daddy.”
“You’re right,” I said mournfully with my lips downturned. I was glad she couldn’t see it, or the sadness that surely came through my eyes.
Nikolai looked like nothing more than a teenager in the photo, youthful, yet still recognizable to his older self. He was dressed in a suit with his arms draped casually around a young woman’s waist. It looked like a prom picture.
A small smile took over my lips then, somewhat amused by the idea of Nikolai going to prom, or anything school related. He was handsome, even then.
Flipping the page, I found a group photo of all the brothers. It was more accurate to their current ages, and I pointed at the eldest, making my way through them to make sure Kat wasn’t afraid of them.
Even though she should be.
“These are your uncles. Ivan, Aleksei, and Yuri. Your dad is the second oldest. Ivan is married to Reina, your aunt. He has a baby named Anya too.”
Kat giggled at the picture, seemingly pleased by how our family grew faster than anyone could anticipate. “Will they be with us from now on?”
Something twinged within my heart at the question, and it brought a strange melancholy over me. It was all against my will—Nikolai’s as well—and I couldn’t begin to imagine how life would continue for us.
I couldn’t let us be trapped in this room forever, only to see people as they came and went all they pleased.
“I guess they will be.”
As if on cue, the front door opened abruptly, startling both Kat and me. Looking up, Nikolai was there, closing the door just as quickly. Approaching us, he glared the moment he spotted me, not too shy about his resentment towards me.
The pang of guilt returned to my chest, and it tightened around my throat. I never wanted to keep Kat a secret from him, but I truly had no other choice for her safety. My exact predicament was exactly why I did it.
I wanted to say something, but I could only stand from my place, watching him cut the space between us. Kat crawled off the bed after me.
Nikolai’s gaze softened as he looked Kat up and down in a single sweep, likely to ensure she was happy and comfortable. A small smile settled on his lips.
“How did you sleep, little one?” he asked her, voice warmer and laced with a different pride that could only come with fatherhood.
“Good,” Kat said in a small voice, still somewhat hesitant about the new arrangement. But a smile that matched her father’s spread across her face not long after, bashful from the attention.
“And I hope you’re enjoying the new toys.”
Kat nodded enthusiastically, eyes brightening immediately. I nudged her gently, eyeing her. “What do we say, Kat?”
Putting her arms behind her back, Kat rocked back and forth in place. Her face bubbled with excitement. “Thank you, daddy.”
Hearing that heartfelt title seemed to make Nikolai buckle, allowing the sincerity to show through his kinder gaze. He went to reach for her, but I pulled Kat back into me. Anger flared in my eyes.
Upon taking a closer look, I realized his black button-down was somewhat disheveled. The top few buttons were undone, his collar was off-center, and it wasn’t tucked in like usual. His hair was mused, and there was no missing the blood on his hands, crusted into his knuckles. He had just come back from a hit job, surely.
Nikolai’s brows furrowed from my interruption, but I did the same right back, questioning him.
I bent down to make myself level with Kat, giving her a slight tap of encouragement on her back. “Why don’t you go play for a bit, sweetheart? Your dad and I need to talk.”
“Okay,” Kat murmured, skipping over to where more of the new toys remained untouched since she had been preoccupied with the others.
With her out of sight, I crossed my arms over my chest and scowled at him, gesturing toward the blood on his hands. “What the hell is that?”
While I expected him to at least give me an honest answer, Nikolai scoffed and waved me off. “You know exactly the life you’re getting into. Your father is as ruthless as they come back in our hometown.”
“You don’t need to tell me that,” I muttered, running a hand over my cheek, tired from it all.
Thanks to his reminder, memories of my old life came back to me. The blood, the yelling, the guns. The men were everywhere, always flanking my dad. Every step he took, and every decision he made was political. Not a day went by that dad wasn’t making his threats, planning his hits, and dishing out punishments.
It was a scalding, tough life, and as I didn’t want it to be, Kat was about to be right in the middle of it all. That was exactly why I ran and kept her a secret. To keep us safe. But the moment I became a Morozov, that safety would be long gone.
