head back. “You’re very tall.”
“You’re very short,” I replied.
A laugh rattled in his chest and he stepped aside. “Come in, then. Before you catch yourselves a cold.”
Rifat’s shed was…manic. Piles of books and papers littered the space, the air so thick with dust you could barely see your hand out in front of you. There was also the distinct but foul smell of something that had gone off.
Danika scrunched up her nose.
“A rat has died somewhere in here,” Rifat answered before we could ask. “And I can’t seem to find him…”
“He most likely died from contamination,” I muttered.
Danika lifted up a piece of paper and Rifat barked out a warning. “Don’t touch anything! Everything is exactly where it is supposed to be.”
“How can you work in a place so messy?” Danika asked.
“Not all of us can work anytime we please, Danika,” Rifat retorted. “Some of us need materials. Elena understands.”
My eyebrows rose. “I do?”
“Sure, you do. Isn’t it your job to cure Mrs Gribkov?” he asked. “You can’t very well do that with nothing but your charm, can you?”
“I guess not.” I glanced at Danika. “You need a lot of charm in your job, do you?”
Rifat snorted and muttered something, while Danika just laughed. There was a flicker of nervousness behind her eyes, but it disappeared so quickly I could have imagined it.
Danika gestured to Rifat. “Elena and I won’t keep you from your work. I just wanted to make sure you were alright.”
“Fine,” he huffed. “I’m a grown man. I can take care of myself.”
I glanced around the room, past the half-eaten meals and moldy corners. “Clearly not,” I remarked.
“Clearly not,” Rifat mocked. Then he glanced at me, lips thinning. “No offense, Mrs Falcone.”
“I’m not offended.”
“It’s not you I’m worried about,” he mumbled.
Danika interrupted before I could ask what he meant. “You should come by the house for breakfast soon. We worry about you out here all by yourself.”
“I’ll consider it,” he said, but looked secretly pleased that he was wanted. “But only if Dmitri bakes those pastries again.”
Dmitri baked pastries? I couldn’t fathom that human-shaped icicle doing anything so domestic.
“I’ll pass the order along,” Danika confirmed. “Can I get you anything while I’m here? Tea, dinner…?”
“Garbage bag?” I added.
She threw me a smile.
Rifat pointed a knobbly finger my way. He opened his mouth, gearing up to retort, before his expression suddenly closed.
“Take your silver-tongue friend away before I get myself into trouble,” he told Danika.
Danika wasted no time, grabbing my arm and pulling me back outside. The breeze had picked up, chilly air fluttering over my skin and through my hair.
“I knew he would like you,” was the first thing Danika said.
I laughed. “That was Rifat liking somebody?”
“Very much so,” she said. “He might even let you dig into his brain if he likes you enough. He might not seem like it, but he is very intelligent. He might even be able to help you with Tatiana’s illness—or you could help him.”
“Maybe,” I agreed.
Danika affectionately patted my arm. “You’re settling in okay, right?”
“This is not summer camp, Danika.”
“I know that. But...I remember what it was like being new and having to try and find my place within the family.”
My spine straightened. “My place here doesn’t matter,” I reminded her. “I’m leaving as soon as Tatiana is healthy again.”
“Of course, you are,” Danika did not sound convinced in the slightest. “How about everything else? I couldn’t imagine losing my husband and then having to deal with Roman on a daily basis.”
I scanned her expression. “It hasn’t been easy.”
“I bet if you didn’t know what the matter with Tatiana was, Kostya still would set you free.” Her brown eyes lit on me. “But you would have to offer him something really good, you know? Something he doesn’t already have.”
“Is that so?”
She nodded. “Yes. But Kostya already has everything...”
“Except that key he so desperately wants.”
Danika turned her head to me, the brightness in her expression dimming slightly.
“I know you’re trying to squeeze me for information,” I told her. “I don’t mind, but don’t lie to me.”
“Sometimes lying is the only defense we have left,” was all she said. “You know something about that, I imagine.”
She was right. Which was why I said, “I don’t know where the key is. Don’t waste your energy with me.”
Danika smiled. “I don’t mind but don’t lie to me,” she repeated my earlier words.
I found myself returning her smile.
“I’ll tell Kostya you’re unbreakable,” she mused. “I’m sure he’ll be glad to hear it—”
One second Danika was