Page 109 of The Bratva King

My heart pounds. I remind myself that he’s fine with Kylie. He doesn’t always need me.

I look at Luke. He’s lining up the toys on the table by size. Smallest to largest.

“Okay,” I say quietly.

Rebecca stands. “Luke, do you want to come play with me for a bit?”

He looks at me.

“I’ll be right outside,” I tell him. “Miss Rebecca is going to play some games with you. And then we’ll go home.”

He considers this. “Okay.”

I kiss the top of his head and watch him follow Rebecca out of the office and into another room down the hall. She leaves the door open. I see her pull out a bin of toys and start talking to him in the same calm, easy voice.

I force myself to walk back to the waiting room.

There’s a woman at the front desk now. She sees me and smiles. “First time here?”

“Yes.”

“Rebecca is wonderful. Your son is in good hands.”

I nod, not trusting my voice.

She slides a brochure across the desk. “We also have a school program. It’s a small class setting, designed specifically for kids with different needs. If you’re interested, the information is all in there.”

I take the brochure. “Thank you.”

I sit back down and flip it open. The photos are beautiful. Small classrooms. Kids engaged in activities. Teachers who look patient and kind.

Then I see the tuition.

I close the brochure and almost laugh.

There’s no way. Even if I worked double shifts for the next year, I couldn’t afford that. I won’t tell Nik about the school. He’ll offer to pay. I can’t let him take this on, too.

Maybe they have scholarships. Or financial aid. I’ll ask before I leave.

I put the brochure in my purse. My old purse, since the asshole stole my good one. I walk over to the wall to take in the other programs the center offers. Playdates. Group settings. A place that offers equine therapy.

I pour myself a cup of coffee from the refreshment bar and sit in one of the armchairs near the window. Through the glass, I see Luke in the therapy room with the OT. She’s showing him blocks. He’s watching her carefully, that serious expression on his face.

He looks okay. He looks engaged.

I let myself imagine what it would be like if we really stayed and this became our life. Luke in a school where they understand him. Me with a job I like. A home that’s safe.

Nikolai.

I push that thought away before it can take root. I can’t think about him like that. I can’t let myself fall any deeper than I already have.

But God, it’s hard.

I’m halfway through my coffee when a woman sits in the chair across from me. She’s maybe forty, well-dressed in that casual-expensive way. Designer jeans. Heels. The whole Real Housewives look.

“Excuse me,” she says with a friendly smile. “I’m sorry to bother you, but you look so familiar.”

There is zero chance she and I have ever encountered each other in the wild. “I get that sometimes. I work at one of the casinos on the Strip. Maybe you’ve been there?”