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“What are we going to do about Axel? The funeral?” Bri asked, watching me dump both ingredients in a small bowl and whisk them together before drizzling it over the salad.
“I’ve got it covered, don’t worry,” I replied quietly.
“Funerals are expensive.”
“I know. I’ve got it.”
“What about Crystal?”
“What about her?”
“Are you going to tell her?”
Shit…How the hell was I going to explain what happened? I couldn’t tell her Misha fucking killed our worthless mother, no matter how justified he was. But I didn’t want to lie to her, either. She’d see right through it even if I tried.
“So… after we left the other night…” I fumbled for the right words, trying to stick as close to the truth as I could without getting into specifics. “Um, there was an accident.”
“What kind of an accident?” Her dark eyes narrowed. She was a miniature version of me, through and through, so I’m sure her bullshit meter was dinging away.
What the fuck did Misha say?I cleared my throat, buying time. “There was a fire at the house and she… she didn’t make it out.”
“She’s dead?” Bri gasped.
I nodded slowly, preparing for an outburst or crying.
She stood still for a moment, eyes wide and breathing hard, before she threw her arms around me and hid her face against my chest.
“It’s ok,” I said softly, stroking her hair. “It’s gonna be ok. I’m going to take care of you. For real.”
“I know,” she said with a sniff, pulling away to look up at me. A few tears slipped down her cheeks but she was nowhere near as upset as I thought she’d be. Definitely not like she had been when I told her about Axel. “It’s just… I’m happy we don’t have to go back there. Does that make me a bad person?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Are we going to stay here with Misha now?”
“I… don’t know. We haven’t really talked about it yet. But no matter where we go, you two are staying with me. I have a meeting with a lawyer next month and now that Crystal is gone… I’ll have no problem getting guardianship.”
“What are we going to tell Ezra?”
We both glanced at the living room where the little sneak was sitting on the couch, a plate of pasta balanced on a pillow in his lap. Nadia was at his feet, at the ready for whatever morsel would inevitably fall. So help me God, if he spilled marinara all over Misha’s cream-colored couch, I’d lock him in his room for a month.
“I don’t know,” I sighed at the same time Bri yelled, “Ezra! Get off the couch!”
“Can you watch him while I talk to Misha? And don’t tell him about… the other thing. Not yet.”
She nodded and darted into the living room, scolding Ezra the entire way.
I, on the other hand, slipped down the hall with a thousand questions swimming in my head.
Misha was already in his office by the time I got there, standing in front of his whiteboard, scowling at the various pictures and maps.
“Can you please explainwhyyou’re concerned with a rival drug ring when your boss is basically planning to kill you right now?” I asked, too tired for the bullshit.
“Don’t worry about my boss. I have someone flying in to deal with that. In the meantime, solving this problem gives me the leverage I need to take care of some other complications.”
“Ok. What do you want to know?” I asked, crossing my arms and perching on the edge of his desk.
“This is the encrypted app you use to communicate?” He held up a screenshot of my home screen with a giant red circle around the app in question.
