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Because I don’t know how I might be able to explain it to her if she does.
I’m afraid that if I tell her, she’ll want to leave.
And that’s the last thing I want.
“Good morning to you, too.” She flips over, her perky breasts glistening with sweat as she pulls the thin sheet over herself.
Before I can respond, a knock comes at my door. I’m tempted to shout at them to leave, but the knock comes again.
“Kostya! It’s me!” Sima barks behind the door in Russian.
“Go,” Emily says. “We’ll pick this up later.”
Smiling, I press my mouth around her soft lips before I reluctantly get out of bed and slip on a pair of slacks fromthe chair nearby. Emily lies back still in the faint glow of the morning outside my window.
Opening my door, I slip into the hallway. Sima stands there, a grim expression on his face. He also looks like he hasn’t slept this entire week.
But for less happy reasons.
“Glad to see you’re still willing to take the time for the rest of us.” He picks at the inside of his palm, toying with an old burn scar.
I wipe my hand over my mouth. “What do you need?”
“It’s best if we discuss all this in private.”
I cast a glance at the door behind me, knowing that Emily is waiting for me to return. Well, she’s going to have to wait. I’ve wasted enough time already.
Without another word, I follow Sima as he leads me towards my office.
“We needto talk about the aftermath of your wedding,” he says as soon as the door closes behind us. “And funeral arrangements for the dead.”
And in an instant, my good mood is chased away and replaced with guilt. For a whole week, I’d been so enamored by Emily, so obsessed with her, that I’ve been neglecting both my duties as pakhan.
“What’s the final body count?”
“With or without the guests?”
“Without.”
“Nine of ours, and thirty of theirs.”
“And with?”
“Thirty.”
One for one.I hiss. “Not exactly the trade I’d been hoping for.”
“The good news is that none of ourfriends have seen fit to turn their backs on us yet,” Sima says quickly. “But the longer we wait …”
“In that case, send them my condolences,” I tell him. “Pay out any widows in accordance to the years of service their husbands gave us, and offer to take care of any children who are now fatherless, motherless, or both.”
Sima nods. “That should suffice for now.”
“Is that all you wanted to talk about?”
“No.” He sighs. “There’s more. I have both good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?”
“Let’s start with the bad news.”
