AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“But how long?” Ania asks.
Oh, right. I didn’t answer her question. “A few days,” I say.
Ania’s eyes pop open. She tilts her head as though she can’t believe it. “A fewdays?”
“Is that surprising?”
“If you know Dimitri, it’s the most surprising thing ever. He doesn’t look like… that.”
“Like what?”
“Young? Happy? Smitten? Excited? I think he really cares about you.”
“I can’t afford to care about anyone,” I tell her. “If I rely on people, I’ll just be disappointed. I know how that sounds, me sitting here, drinking his coffee, but it’s not like I’ve got a choice.”
I wonder if that’s technically true. If I tried to leave the property, would Dimitri physically stop me? I’m not even sure I want to leave. After the shock of the gunfight wore off, running seemed pointless.
“Maybe you’ll like it here,” Ania says. “We have a dance studio in the main house.”
“I’m not much of a dancer,” I murmur.
“What are you then?”
“A painter,” I say. “Or I enjoy it, anyway. It’s the only thing I’ve ever really enjoyed.”
Well, until I felt Dimitri hugging me, the strength and support in his body, before I heard the passion in his groan, his touch smoothing over me.
“A painter. Wow! That’s cool.”
“Ballet’s harder on the body, though. It’s like you’re painting with your performance, right?”
She beams, looking right at me, and I immediately know ballet has saved her just like painting saved me. “Yes, that’s itexactly.I can tell we’re going to be friends.”
The excited way she says this is disarming. Then she does something weird with her hands, like a little dance.
“What was that?” I say, grinning. I can’t help it.
“It’s nothing.”
“Just a little hand dance?” I ask in a lightly teasing tone.
When she bites her lip, looking down, I reach across the bar and lay my hand on hers. She beams again, squeezing my hand, and I know that’s what she was planning on doing initially. “It’s always so quiet around here, but not anymore. This place has become a little village with you and Mila here.”
Her innocent tone breaks and warms my heart at the same time. “Mila is… Dimitri’s future wife, right?” I let go of her hand to take another sip of coffee. I definitely need more caffeine to deal with the idea of him with anybody else.
“If her dad gets his way, sure,” Ania says, “but my big brothers aren’t as weak as he thinks.”
“He thinks they’re weak?” I ask. “I seriously don’t know anything about the Bratva. I only remember watching this movie where they’re all covered in tats. I think it was the Bratva, anyway.”
Ania nods. “Yeah, the tattoo thing is pretty old, but Dad always thought it was stupid. It’s basically telling the cops you’re part of the Bratva, making going legit difficult. Imagine if the CEO of Sokolov Securities was covered head to foot in tattoos.”
“I guess it would make PR stuff more difficult.”
“Yeah, abit,” Ania says, laughing.
“What’s she like?” I ask. “Mila?”
“She’s nice, I think. Tough, but she’s scared. She’s really, really into computers. Whenever Mikhail tries to talk about that stuff with me, I just let it fly over my head. She understands it all.”
