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Her smile drops. “I ran into him once or twice.”
“So he’s been hiding out here, then? I suppose now that Nina and I have come home, he’s going to find someplace else to run away to?”
“Honey—”
The frustration I’ve been bottling for the last two days rushes out of me all at once. “He left me alone in the hospital without a word, Pol. He held Nina for a minute, maybe less. And then he disappeared.” I punch one of the cushions next to me in the guise of fluffing it. “I thought he seemed weird while I was in labor, butI chalked it up to nerves. I didn’t realize he was busy figuring out how to run out on us.”
“He’s not running out on you. Or her.” Polina gazes down at Nina. “It’s why I’m here. He wanted to make sure you two were taken care of.”
“And I’m grateful you’re here, Polina, I am, but…”
It should be him.
Polina sighs. “I know. Deep down, he knows that, too. He just needs some time.”
“There is no more time! She’s here. Arsen has a daughter, and she needed him starting two days ago.”
“I think watching Nina come into this world was… a lot for him. Arsen has spent his whole life keeping people at arm’s length. You have every right to be mad,” she says. “Far be it for me to defend Arsen here?—”
“But you’re going to.”
She lifts her shoulders helplessly. “I watched that boy grow up. I saw him lose not one, but two parents, both of whom he loved dearly. I saw how much that cost him.”
“But he hasn’t lost us,” I whisper. “We’re right here, waiting for him.”
“No, he hasn’t lost you.” Every line on her face seems to soften as she looks down at our daughter. “But he’s terrified that he might. That makes all the difference.”
48
ARSEN
“I just came from the distillery.” Dominik walks into my office without knocking. “Everything’s looking really good.”
I don’t look up from the mountain of paperwork on my desk. “Good. Everything’s going according to plan, then?”
“Like a Swiss train schedule.”
A few weeks ago, I might’ve smiled. Or offered Dom a drink. Now, all I feel is irritation that he’s still here. “If that’s all?—”
“What’s that?” Dominik nods to the tangle of pillows and sheets lying on the sofa in the corner.
I stare at the work in front of me until the text blurs. Work is the only thing I’ve always been able to make sense of, but it’s felt as hazy as everything else lately.
“Are you sleeping in here?” he presses.
I made it through a week without him or Gedeon catching on. I suppose they had to find out eventually.
I open the finance file on Adamov Liquor despite the fact I’ve already gone through it. “I’ve had a lot to sort through with the opening. It’s more convenient to sleep down here.”
“As opposed to what?” Dominik asks. “Taking two minutes to walk upstairs to your bedroom?”
“Dom—”
“Actually, for security reasons, I know it takes ninety-four seconds to walk upstairs.”
I exhale. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?”
“Probably. Devil knows you’ve kept Ged and me busy with all kinds of bullshit little tasks this week. Even still, we’ve noticed.”
