AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I nod.
“Then he must have a social worker.”
I nod again. “They’re loaded down with cases.”
“We will hire a private social worker to help your family, and money will be given to them. No strings attached. You are legally my wife, so I am helping my wife’s family.”
The tension drains from my body but not quite entirely. It’s a good compromise, but something leaves me uneasy still. Andrei always has a motive. He has something to prove, even in bed. Something else must be happening.
An expression flits over his face—one that I can’t exactly pinpoint before it’s gone. But whatever it is that I just saw, I know he’s not about to tell me, even if I ask.
He moves closer and softens his tone. “Why only your father and your sister, Paige? Why not your mother?”
His question catches me by surprise. A memory floods my mind and I can’t speak. The bitterness is as fresh as if it had only happened that day. I see myself as a little girl again, crying in that filthy kitchen as I held onto Emma, who didn’t understand why Mommy and Daddy were so angry. She asked me if she had done something wrong.
That was the last argument of many before their inevitable divorce.
My mother’s hate made Dad sick.
And then, another image rushes to my mind. The way Eva held her daughter’s hand. Oh, what I would give for that same gesture from my mother. But she has never once contacted us since the divorce.
Not a visit. Not even a letter.
But Andrei has no right to know any of this. So, my back straightens and my tone turns calm.
“You have your secrets, Andrei,” I tell him evenly. “And I have mine.”
Chapter 28
Andrei
Her cryptic answer only makes me want to dig deeper.
So far, no one has been able to tell me anything worth knowing about Gerald Reyes. He’s a common man with an ordinary life and unfortunate problems. But a deadly assassin lurks in his past. Something isn’t adding up.
Sonya taps on my office door, holding her phone as she enters. “I saw your text. What do you want to talk about?”
“Paige.” I’m sitting on the couch where Paige left me, still admiring her reaction. She left the office with grace and walked out like the queen she resembled at our fake wedding—with her head held high and dignity in each step.
Sonya sits down beside me, rests her elbow on the back of the couch, and faces me. “She’s not what I was expecting.”
I quirk an eyebrow. “What were you expecting?”
“A woman that can kick ass.” She shrugs. “She seems a little frail.”
“She has hidden talents,” I reply, avoiding her gaze. “And secrets that I need your help to find out, Sonichka.”
Sonya sits up and tosses away a short laugh. “Shouldn’t you have found out about her before the wedding? Mama adores her. She says you’re in love.”
“Why would she say something like that?” I ask, staring hard at her.
Sonya laughs again, not easily intimidated by me. “She says only people in love fight the way you two do.”
I get up quickly and grab a glass from the bar. Dmitri finished the scotch, so I settle for whiskey. “Love is not a possibility—a pakhan has no time for love.” I pour it neat. “I’ve seen how that ends up.”
“You are not Vasily, no matter how much you think you are.” Sonya sighs and shakes her head as she gets up to sit at my desk. “There’s no need to act like him, and every time you do, it breaks Mama’s heart.” She runs her hands over the smooth teak. “Maybe you should be more lenient with your bride. A few freedoms will make her feel less like a prisoner, more like a wife.” She smirks as I tighten my jaw and glare. “Mama told me.”
The whiskey goes down smooth and leaves a slight sting in my throat. Vasily is dead, and I’m competing with a ghost. Sonya spins the chair around and gracefully leaps to her feet. She snatches the glass out of my hand and drains it in a single smooth motion, wrinkling her nose. She never came here when Vasily was alive. Mother feared what would happen if he ever saw her.
