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“I’m not fucking around. Where’s my Porsche?”
“I didn’t want to fork over all that cash, Roman, so I did a trade-in.” He gives another laugh. “I swear I made the car salesman come in his fucking pants when I handed over the keys.” He sighs and adds, “I wish you could’ve been there to see it.”
“Babe, the doctor said you need to take it easy,” Emily reminds him when Roman looks like he’s seconds away from throwing himself at a still-grinning Vitaly.
“You should definitely rest,” Vitaly tells him. “When you’re feeling better, we can take it for a test drive. It’s pretty smooth.” He looks over at Lev. “It does zero to sixty in what? Like three minutes?”
Lev’s laughing too hard to answer while Roman looks between the two, unwilling to believe that they’ve actually done this atrocity. Matvey slips me another bite before my brother turns his eyes to me.
“Tell me they’re joking, Alina.”
I meet the devilish look Vitaly is giving me and tell my brother, “They did say it was the safest option, Roman.”
“Jesus Christ,” he groans, and I’m afraid he may actually start crying.
Vitaly takes pity on him. “Look, all we’re asking is that you give it a try. If you still hate it in a few weeks, we can get you another Porsche.”
“A few weeks? Fuck that, I’m going to get one right fucking now.”
“Oh no you’re not,” Emily says, locking her arm around his waist and leading him to the bedroom. “You and I are on strict orders to restas much as possible, and if I have to be stuck in that damn bed all day, then so do you.”
Vitaly laughs as they walk by. “I’m sure you can think of something to keep yourselves entertained. We’ll leave food by your door like we did after you got married.”
Roman flips us all off before they disappear down the hall. I look over at Vitaly. “He’s never going to forgive you for this one.”
He just smiles at me. “Sure he will. Once he sees his precious Porsche again, he’ll forget all about how pissed he was.”
“Maybe,” Matvey says, “or maybe he’ll just get in that damn minivan and run you over with it.”
“That’s a good point. I’ll make sure I’m standing by Emily when all is revealed.”
“That’s probably not a bad idea,” Katya says, laughing when he picks her up and carries her off.
Danil and Simona follow shortly after, and then Lev and Jolene leave to pick up some more baby supplies. Once the kitchen is empty again, Matvey feeds me another bite.
“Danil gave me the number to a therapist here in the city. She specializes in sexual abuse and trauma, and I’d really like it if you’d talk with her.”
When I hesitate, he adds, “I may have already called her and set up an appointment.”
“Matvey, you didn’t.”
“I’m sorry,malishka, but you need to talk to someone. Just one appointment, that’s all I ask.”
He feeds me another bite while I think about it. “What did you tell her about me?”
“I told her you were a victim of sex trafficking. I was vague about the details and made it seem like it all took place in Europe so she won’t feel like the police around here need to be involved in it.” He holds up another bite to my lips. “She agreed to speak with you here, but if you’d rather meet at her office, I can drive you there.”
I raise a brow at him and finish chewing. “When’s my first appointment?” I ask, knowing he’s already set one up.
He gives me aplease don’t be madsmile. “Today at three.”
I should be upset that I wasn’t asked about any of this, but I know he’s right. I do need to talk to someone, and I’d much rather it be here at the penthouse instead of in some strange office. He thinks I’m angry, so when I open my mouth to say something, he shoves another piece of biscuit between my lips.
“I’m not mad,” I tell him, mumbling around my food.
He kisses my forehead and pulls me in for a hug. “As much as I want to be the one to make everything better for you, I know that you need a professional who can help you in ways that I can’t. You also need a place where you feel safe talking about whatever you need or want to talk about. You want to spare me certain details, and I understand why you do it, baby, but I don’t want you to have to do that. You need to be able to let it all out.”
“I know,” I whisper against his chest. “Thanks for calling her for me.”
