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Hot water poured out of the tap and sprayed across my hands, streaming a pink hue into the sink. I scrubbed at the dry blood there—a mix of the Balakin goons’ and my own. Watching as it swirled down the drain, I scoffed to myself at how absurd it all was.
Not too long before, I was cracking skulls, only to turn around and take my wife and child to an aquarium.
Chapter 9 - Mila
I was more thankful than ever to have Kat by my side while we stood with Nikolai, waiting for whatever vehicle to pick us up and take us to the aquarium. At that moment, I didn’t have much to say, and she seemed to ease the awkward tension away.
She stood there with her stuffed dolphin, waving it through the air as if it were swimming. She looked happy, and it put my mind at ease.
Finally, a black limo pulled up, to my surprise, and I gave Nikolai a strange look. “Is this really how we’re traveling? The aquarium is only fifteen minutes away.”
A satisfied look became of Nikolai’s face, and he nodded, already opening the rear door. “Only the best for our daughter.”
Kat giggled as she hurried over to the limo where her father held the door for her. “Mama, come on!”
“I’m right here with you,” I said gently, crawling in behind her.
Kat sat in between the two of us, excitedly looking out the windows once she was buckled in. She chanted about seeing the dolphins, and I could only hope the aquarium Nikolai chose didn’t disappoint.
“Are we there already?” Kat asked after a moment, straining in her seat to get a good look.
“We’re at a drive-thru, sweetheart,” Nikolai said, rolling the window down. He unbuckled Kat for a moment and brought her onto his lap so she could get a better look at the menu screens. “Whatever you want on there. You say it, and we’ll get it.”
Kat giggled and gave her order, which Nikolai helped with. I was surprised by how sweet and kind he was to her, never getting frustrated by her unclear words at times. It was obvious he wanted to give her the world, and I appreciated that.
However, Nikolai asked what I wanted with a slight bristle, and some of my hope for things to go well between us fizzled away. I told him what I wanted, and he repeated it to the employee. He gave his own order, and soon enough, we had a makeshift picnic in the limo.
By the time we neared the aquarium, Kat was surging with energy from her milkshake, and stumbling over her words.
“Is Kat short for anything? Katelyn? Katie?” Nikolai asked her, to which Kat swallowed what was in her mouth and thought hard before she spoke.
“It’s Kat…Kater…Katerina!” She finally said, beaming once the name came out as a coherent sound.
Nikolai’s brows shot up in surprise, and he aimed his look in my direction. “Is it Russian?”
Nodding, I put our garbage together and set it aside. “Yes, it is. I wasn’t trying to run away from my heritage.”
Interest spread across his face immediately. Nikolai scratched at his chin absently. “I’d like to know your father better. I’m not so sure he and my father were as close as he claims.”
Shaking my head, I dismissed his inquiry. I gestured to Kat carefully. “I don’t want to talk about him now.”
Thankfully, Nikolai nodded slowly, catching on to my concern. “No matter. We’re here anyway.” Nikolai helped unbuckle Kat’s seatbelt, and he smiled at her. “Ready to find some dolphins?”
Kat exclaimed her excitement, and before long, she was an eager cyclone, wanting to see anything and everything she could. Everything she pointed at, Nikolai ordered the bodyguard to buy it, and he and the driver trailed us with the various bags dangling from their grasps.
Kat bounded from enclosure to enclosure, cooing over the cute animals in the arctic section.
Nikolai fell into step with me, arms crossed as we both kept a close eye on her. His shoulder lightly brushed against mine, and a chill ran through my body.
“How did you find yourself in America, then?” Nikolai asked, steps slow and pensive as we followed Kat’s quick attention span.
I threw him a look, silently questioning why he was suddenly so interested in my past.
He shrugged. “We’re married now, aren’t we? I should know something about you, Mila.”
He made a good point. Sighing, I dropped my tense shoulders and walked alongside him as if we were on perfectly normal terms.
“I convinced my dad it was the prestigious decision for me to go to an American college. He agreed since he was looking to expand in the states anyway. I didn’t plan on ever going back home to Russia, but then I got pregnant, and I just wanted to be with my aunt. She told me my father would be furious, since he had promised me to you without my knowledge,” I began, releasing a heavy breath to steady myself. “If I didn’t run, my father would’ve had me give up Kat, or terminate the pregnancy, and I couldn’t let either of those things happen.”
