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The old man makes a ghastly noise, a cross between a cough and cackle. He owns me and knows it. Gerald knows he will die before he tells me anything. I curse him as I storm out of the room.
Chapter 15
Paige
Natasha stubs out her cigarette quickly as I walk toward the garage. She grabs an old plastic five-gallon container that once held paint and places it so I can sit down. I wave my hand in front of my face, dispersing the smoke. I thank her, and then we say nothing to each other. The silence is comfortable as we stare at the garden and the woods behind it. I notice then that, from the garage, one can see the entrance to the maze.
Emma darts around the corner, excited to find me. “Andrei is looking for you. He has a box.”
I clench my jaw to keep from shuddering. But it can’t be that. He would never let Emma know. I enter the ballroom with Emma and Natasha trailing behind me. Andrei has a black leather box in his hands, and I smile more with relief than pleasure. He holds it toward me.
Eagerness hums around me as I open the top. My shock conceals my disappointment when I see what’s inside.
“Oh, it’s a gun,” says Emma.
I glare at her, uncertain if she’s being sincere or sarcastic.
Natasha grabs the small gun out of the case and compliments Andrei. “This is good for her. She will be able to handle it.”
“Yeah,” chimes in Emma. “A real practical gift. Can’t wait for Christmas. Is it engraved?”
On the handle, it reads, “To my wife, for giving me joy, A.B.” The weirdest shower gift ever received, but I can see the necessity of owning one when your husband is a pakhan of his own Bratva.
Andrei pecks my forehead with a quick kiss. “You can’t be a pakhan’s wife if you can’t aim straight.”
Natasha mutters something under her breath. Instead of going to lunch, Natasha drives Emma and me to a shooting range.
***
Sipping coffee, Emma and I sit on a bench behind bulletproof glass, watching Natasha shoot. She keeps her nails short and polished, and her aim is perfect as she makes a flawless circle around the center target before blasting the center out with one shot.
“It’s a nice gift,” Emma says, her eyes glued to Natasha as she reloads.
“It’s a bit creepy.”
“You’re Andrei’s wife,” she reminds me. “You should be able to defend yourself … and your child.”
I hadn’t thought of it in that way. Emma continues to watch Natasha closely, eyeing her moves. She points her fingers and imitates the way Natasha holds her gun. “Do you think she’ll teach me how to shoot like that?”
“Emma, I don’t think you should get caught up in this life.”
Emma frowns. “Too late for that. Like it or not, we are forever linked to the Barinov Bratva.”
“I want you to finish school and go to college.”
“You’ve said that,” she replies with a huff, “and I will … in time. So, you obviously have had sex with him. And I guess it was willingly.”
I nod. “But I didn’t choose to gowithhim. I was locked in the same bedroom you’re in, with a guard at the door … How close are you to Viktor?”
Emma smiles and then scoffs. “We’re friends in an odd sort of way. We both have to deal with people telling us what to do. And he knows not to touch me. I set boundaries.”
I blush and concentrate on Natasha with fake interest as she changes the paper target.
Emma shakes her head. “It’s okay, Paige. Andrei is hard to resist. I hadn’t put you down for the bad boy type. No wonder your past relationships didn’t work out. You need a man that can take care of you.”
“I was taking care of myself, Em,” I snap.
“And Dad and me,” she adds. “I said a man thatcantake care of you, not one thathasto take care of you. You deserve to be taken care of, and if Andrei was the only man showing up to do it … Well, why not?”
