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“I fell.”
She doesn’t believe me, glances at my empty hands but, without another word, sits me down and cleans my wound with peroxide.
Maybe I should get injured more often so I can feel her hands on me again. My disappointment washes away as I relax under her touch.
“What was your friend saying?” I ask.
“Uncle? Nothing much. He came to apologize for disappearing that night. Said he got a phone call and left abruptly, not knowing that I wasn’t feeling well.”
Bullshit.
“He’s not my uncle actually.”
I know that. “No?” Here I am, trying to get intel. Such an asshole.
“He’s my mom’s friend of over twenty years since she used to live in Brighton. He used to come visit all the time. Why are you so interested in him?”
“Just another friend of yours. It’s nice to know people who are close to you.”
When she steps away from me and gazes down at me with tenderness, I feel like a dick again for trying to weasel the info out of her.
My phone beeps with a message.
Roey: Lost him and his bodyguards. The surveillance team will need several hours to track back the public cameras in Dumbo. We’ll get him.
I’m trying to calm my nerves, because ten minutes ago, I freaked out for a difference reason—afraid Reznik would do something to Lu.
And now I’m worried about the fact that all these lies will eventually drive Lu away from me.
1 “?? ???. ? ? ?? ????????. ???? ??????, ???” — (Russian)“Nah. I’m in Brighton. Say hi to Mom, yeah?”
36
LU
He’s back!
And he’s…injured.
I’m not sure what just happened. Uncle took off abruptly. Jace followed and came back with empty hands and an injury—obviously, he didn’t make it to the convenience store.
But the suspicious thoughts quickly dissipate.
I’ve missed him. Even being silent, he fills this giant place with soothing comfort.
“It was boring her without you,” I say, studying him as he texts.
“Was it?” He raises his eyes from the cell phone, smiling softly as he rubs the corner of his lips with his thumb. “Hey, I have something for you.”
He gives me a small jewelry box.
“For me?” I smile like a goof as I pull the little golden bowtie and open the lid to find a pair of gold earrings with tiny pink stones that form hearts.
“Jace!”
He gets on his knees to play with Pushkin, who wears a blue patch with a yellow smiley face and excitedly sticks out his pink tongue to lick Jace’s hands.
Jace shrugs, not looking at me. “Saw it in one of the shops in West Palm, figured it would match your famous pink coat. Roey dragged me there.”
