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He pulled his hand away and I rose, brushing my lips across his forehead. Hugo was already asleep, still so young he wasn’t fully aware what was happening. He’d cried, Enza had told me, and begged for Olivia. But she’d managed to distract him and the twins for most of the afternoon.
I peeled myself from the chair, my back slick with sweat. I’d put on a pair of Duran’s sweatpants he’d dropped off, but otherwise I was naked. I hadn’t packed any clothes, but luckily Enza and Iris were able to run out and buy some things to keep at the safehouse for the boys.
Silently, I moved into the adjoining nursery. The twins were sleeping in the same crib, one on each end. They slept like little frogs, legs cocked and heads to the side. Drooling and oblivious to the horrors going on around them.
My throat caught.
Fuck, I needed a drink.
I let myself into the hallway. The safehouse was a single story with a bunker below it. The hallway was lit with bright lights that cast the white rugs in a florescent haze. I moved barefoot up the slanted hall and let myself into the living space upstairs.
Enza and Iris were on the couch, talking in low voices. When I walked in, they fell silent and Enza jumped up. Her thin hands wrung together as she hovered nervously by the couch.
“Lucien, what do you need?”
“A drink,” I said flatly. “I’ll get it.”
Iris rose and crossed the room to me. We had never been friends, but we were no longer such potent enemies. Now, there was nothing but compassion in her eyes.
“Did you eat?” she asked.
“I can’t…remember,” I said.
She exchanged a glance with Enza, who turned on her heel and disappeared into the kitchen. I stood there, unsure what to say or do. Enza appeared a moment later and put a pack of cigarettes, a lighter, and a shot of whiskey into my hands.
“Go have a smoke,” she said. “I’ll make you something to eat.”
“I’ll have a cigarette with you,” said Iris quickly.
They were afraid to leave me alone. Numbly, I took a cigarette from the box and put it to my lips. The lighter fumbled and hit the floor and irritation flooded my chest.
“Fuck,” I said.
Iris scooped it up and took my elbow, turning me and ushering me out onto the back deck. Outside, the night was warm and the stars were breathtaking. Without light pollution, they hung heavy the way they had in Russia on my honeymoon. Like a glittering net cast across the world.
Iris flicked the lighter and I inhaled, holding the smoke in. The slow tingle of nicotine moved through my body and my shoulders sank.
“Are you okay, Lucien?” she whispered.
I kept my eyes turned to the faint, glittering line of the river. Far away, dusted blue with starlight. Olivia loved the sight so much she had an enormous portrait of the river at night hanging in the library at home.
“Fuck if I know,” I said.
“What are you going to do tomorrow?” she asked.
I shook my head. “Find her and keep her safe.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” she said.
She lit a cigarette and we smoked in silence although I could tell she wasn’t inhaling. She’d never smoked before now. Enza came out and put a plate of steak and vegetables onto the patio table. She joined us, her jaw set and her arms crossed.
“Um…there’s a will,” I said.
They exchanged a wide glance.
“Just if something happens to me and Liv. There’s a will. Iris, you and Duran get the house and some money…Enza, you and Cosimo get some assets and you raise the kids. And Cosimo takes over for me until Marco is of age. And the boys….they all have an inheritance set up.”
“Oh, Lucien,” Enza whispered, a little sob going through her body. “I swear, we’ll get her back. You’ll both be okay.”
