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Collector ignores her barbs and turns on the charm, taking my mother’s hand and kissing the back.
“It’s wonderful to meet you, Mrs. Lombardi. My name is Tomas,” he croons, his Russian accent thick. It sounds like honey being poured over fried dough. It’s almost enough to distract me from noticing that he knows my last name, even though I never gave it to him.
“Likewise,” she says in response. “I thought you were making him and Ani slum it all the way over to the bakery to pick them up?” Her voice is accusatory, and I cringe.
I don’t know why I’m so nervous for them to meet. He isn’t even my real boyfriend… right? This all ends after the threat is neutralized.
“No, I think Noel misunderstood me. I said we have to stop at the bakery before we leave. I love your son’s donut holes,” he says with a chuckle, wrapping his arm around me and kissing me on the forehead. I think back to when he ate me out in the shower and my face heats. “Noel must have been preoccupied with thinking of what to pack and planning out every moment of our getaway.”
“He was always a planner,” my mom muses fondly. She takes in his three-piece suit, a million thoughts swarming behind her eyes like buzzing bees. “What do you do? Noel’s never mentioned you before, just that you met in the bakery.”
“I work in the business sector. I take down useless entities and neutralize threats to profit for large corporations that mainly focus on imports and exports.”
I mean, he’s technically not lying…organized crime is a business…and hetakes downuseless people…I’m sure the Bratva imports and exports a lot of things. She doesn’t need to know most of them are illegal.
“Hello!” Ani shouts cheerfully, running into the living room.
She changed into a winter green tracksuit with Santas on it and rain boots. Her crazy curls are tied to a top bun and she has shimmer powder all over her face. The girl is a fashionista, just like her mother. It’s the only trait she got from her, fortunately.
He bends down so he is eye level with her. “Hello,zayka. My name is Tomas, and I’m so excited to meet you.”
She turns her head as if she’s assessing him, then looks at me as if to say‘What do you think, Dad’. I smile at her, giving her a silent‘He’s good’, and she smiles back. Ani and I have always been able to have silent conversations. I think it’s a product of being a single dad since she was four months old.
“What doeszah-kamean?” She tries to sound the word out, butchering his native tongue.
He laughs good-heartedly, before saying, “It’szay-ka,and it means bunny in Russian. It’s something you call a very special, adorable child.”
She giggles, and just like always, the sweet sound makes my chest warm with how perfect she is. “I love bunnies! They’re my favorite! Dad says you’re taking us to the mountains?” she asks.
“I am. We’re going to hit traffic if we don’t leave soon,” he reminds me, looking at his watch. “It was wonderful to meet you, Mrs. Lombardi, and I hope we can all spend the new year together.”
My mom hugs Ani, then me. “Call me or your brother if you need anything. He’ll come pick you up in a heartbeat if you want to leave.”
She hugsTomas, whispering something in his ear low enough that I can’t hear it. I do hear his response though.
“I’ll always take good care of them,” he assures her.
It’s going to be rough leaving him when this is all over.
* * *
“Your name is Tomas?” I ask him in a low voice as we walk to the elevator.
“Yes, it’s Russian for Thomas,” he says as he squeezes my hand. He has such a serious tone normally, that I’m not sure if he’s being sarcastic or not.
The minute we leave the apartment building, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Grabbing Ani’s hand, I look at Tomas, and he steps in front of us, scanning the streets and windows around us. My whole body trembles. He said the Bratva doesn’t tolerate insubordination, and that they would come looking for us.
He taps my arm, then pointedly looks at an idling black SUV across the street, a few buildings down from my own. The windows are tinted, making it impossible to see inside. But we both know someone is watching us from inside it.
“Okay,zayka, it’s time to get in the car,” he says firmly, with no hint of fear or urgency in his voice. You’d never know that anything was amiss with the tone he uses.
Tomas sets the car seat in the back, and I shove him away gently. I’ve always been a bit of a nervous wreck and want to make sure it's installed properly. My nerves have me fumbling with the buckle and a drop of sweat beads at my temple before it snaps in place. I triple-check it's in tight then, help get her in while Tomas places our bags in the trunk.
When we pull away from the curb, the SUV follows us from a few cars behind, and I start to panic. What if they follow us all the way to the cabin, and kill us? What if they hurt Ani? I know it wasn’t one hundred percent safe for her at home, but maybe it’s not safe for her at the cabin either.
“Ani, how old are you?” Tomas asks in a strangely calm way as if he isn’t worried that an assassin could be following us right now.
“I’m five,” she replies.
