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I agreed, curious, and she bounded away to the kitchen. She was just pulling the whipped cream from the fridge when Dmitriy came out of what looked like their bedroom. He dipped his chin at me in greeting before turning to his wife with a frown.
“??????? ???, what are you doing?”
Her focus was on the waffles, as she shook the whipped cream can lightly. “Putting on toppings. Are you going to be out all day?”
Dmitriy looked concerned, and I had no idea why until Gabi’s attempt at using the whipped cream can went haywire. I had been glancing between the two of them, trying to figure out why Dmitriy was so worried, and suddenly, there was whipped cream everywhere. Startled, I stood, moving as quickly as I could to come help her clean up before she got into trouble.
She stood there frozen for a moment. My hands started trembling as I grabbed a towel and wiped up the mess, thinking Dmitriy was inches from losing his temper. So when he burst out laughing, I jumped so hard a pain shot up my side. I masked the feeling, spinning around to face him. His normal scowl was gone and his eyes were dancing as he strode over, plucking the can from Gabi’s grasp.
“You are a menace in the kitchen, ??????? ???.”
She snickered, wrinkling her nose. “I’m getting better.”
He kissed her lightly and shook his head. “Let me do this part. Go sit down.”
Other than handing her another towel to clean herself up, he made no mention of the mess, nudging her towards the couch. The interaction was so vastly different from what I was used to that I stood frozen. Gabi had to take my hand, pulling me along until we were both seated at the couch. She wiped the whipped cream off her hands, pursing her lips.
“I swear, I’m cursed in the kitchen. I’ve used whipped cream before. My finger slipped.”
Dmitriy just chuckled. He brought over two plates of waffles, tugging a lock of Gabi’s hair after his hands were free.
“You have some in your hair.”
She batted his hand away, laughing. “Shut up! I’ll take a shower later. You never answered my question.”
He glanced at me for a moment before switching to Russian. “I do not know yet. We are looking for Koslov. His interest in your friend has grown.”
Terror swept through me and the few bites of food I’d taken turned to lead in my stomach. There wasn’t a chance that I was mistaken about what he said. Dmitriy spoke slowly, using simple words. Gabi mentioned the other day that she was still learning.
Like he felt my eyes on him, he turned toward me and frowned. Gabi spoke first, though, sparing me the explanation of why I understood him.
“So I guess that means we can’t go see Jo, then?”
Dmitriy’s eyes stayed narrowed on me for a second before he turned back to his wife. “No, ??????? ???. Not today.”
She pouted, but didn’t argue, taking a big bite of her waffles. Once again, Dmitriy glanced back at me, squinting at me suspiciously. I ducked my head automatically, frowning at my plate. I couldn’t stomach another bite, but I played with it until Dmitriy left.
“Is everything okay?”
I nodded quickly. Gabi didn't have any suspicions like Dmitriy did, and she left it alone after a minute. She chatted about ideas of what we could do for the day, since the plan she had was canceled. I only half listened to her. I felt close to panicking and when it got to be overwhelming, I excused myself to use the restroom.
Gabi and Dmitriy’s bathroom was a lot bigger than the one in my apartment. It had an amazing view of the city with the tub directly in front of the windows and an all glass shower taking up one wall. I didn’t actually have to use the restroom, so instead I sat against one wall, my knees hugged against my chest. I thought having one monster after me was bad enough. Now there were two, and the urge to run was suffocating. It was only the thought that it’d upset Viktor that kept me in the apartment. Gabi was kind. If I told her I wanted to go lay down, she’d leave me alone and I could find my way out of the building. I was certain once I got out of here, I could disappear again. I did it once. Maybe if I stayed closer to this side of town, I’d be harder to find. It was busier, and there were a lot more alleys to hide in.
I bumped my forehead against my knees a few times. I should go. Take the opportunity while I still have the chance. Viktor was kind, yes, and very sweet. But I couldn’t rely on him forever. We’d hit the point where I needed to leave eventually. Maybe it was better to do it before I got too attached.
I’d made up my mind on the matter when I pushed to my feet and headed out of the bathroom. I had to cross through Gabi’s room to get back to the living room, and I tried not to gape at the massive bed facing that gorgeous view. I tiptoed into the living room, twisting my fingers and biting my lip as I edged toward the door.
Gabi was back in the kitchen, putting the dishes into the dishwasher. Her back was to me and she was humming to herself. There was a distinct possibility that I could slip past her unnoticed and avoid an explanation all together. I felt guilty doing it. Viktor had asked her to watch over me, and I didn't want her to get into trouble. But I reminded myself once again that I couldn’t get attached to these people, and I needed to get out while I could.
I was maybe ten feet from the door when it flew open with a bang. I screamed, which startled Gabi. No one expected her to react by throwing a pan, though, because she hit the intruder square in the head and he dropped to the ground.
“Yuri!”
She darted over to him, kneeling on the ground by his side as she looked him over. He groaned, one hand pressed against his head.
“Dammit, Gabi. What was that for?”
“You scared me! How many times have we told you to stop throwing the door open like that?”
