Til Death Do Us Part (Kornilov Bratva Duet #2) - Nicole Fox Page 0,25

been keeping his distance. Lunch today is the first time I’ve seen him for longer than half an hour in days. I would never admit it out loud, but I’ve missed him.

Theo is coloring a picture of a dinosaur, decimating the wax point of his crayons, and Hannah slides back to lean against the couch, giving him some space. “What is Viktor like? I only saw him for like a minute two days ago. Since I wasn’t invited to the wedding, the least you could do is give me the inside scoop.”

“No one was invited to the wedding,” I remind her. “It was kind of rushed.”

“I wouldn’t have been able to go, anyway,” she says with a dismissive wave. “But I don’t even know what he does for a living.”

I’ve avoided the topic because, yet again, I have to lie. Everything in my life feels like a lie these days. I wanted to have just one person I wasn’t keeping things from. Apparently, that won’t be possible.

“He is a business owner,” I say. “He has a few motels around town. Nothing fancy, but they bring in good money.”

A partial lie, but if Hannah knew the truth, she’d recognize it as a lie by omission. Viktor’s main source of income is far from legal.

“I’d say so,” Hannah says, gesturing vaguely to the apartment. “He has enough money to set you up in a place like this, and he must have his own place, right? He hasn’t stayed here the last few nights.”

There is a question behind the words: why aren’t you and your husband living together?

“He has been busy with work lately, and we just haven’t consolidated our stuff. Then, I asked him to keep his distance for a few days to give us girl time.”

“You don’t have to do that on my account.” Hannah checks to make sure Theo isn’t listening and then holds a hand to her mouth, whispering to me. “I would not want to be a cock block to the newlyweds. Trust me, I’m a hard sleeper.”

I laugh and it feels genuine. Just like it did today at lunch. In the scheme of things—especially recently—today has been a good day. Maybe I should invite Viktor over for the night.

Just the thought has heat pooling low in my belly.

“That is very good to know. I’ll be sure to let Viktor know he can come over whenever he wants.”

Hannah nods, pleased. “Okay, so he is a rich businessman, but what is he like? Funny? Generous? Sarcastic?”

“Serious.”

Hannah winces. “Ouch.”

I shake my head. “No, it’s a good thing. Viktor takes everything he does seriously. If he makes a promise, he’ll keep it. Maybe ‘focused’ is a better word? He puts all of himself into the task at hand.”

Hannah raises a racy eyebrow. “I’m sure that is a very good thing when you are the task at hand.”

I suppress a smile, warning her with a wide-eyed glare. “You are bad.”

“I’m horny,” she whispers. “I haven’t been with anyone in months. It’s hard to find the motivation to get out and date when you can’t even find a job, you know?”

The stark realities of Hannah’s life—the realities I knew all too well only a few months before—sober me.

“I’m sorry.” She groans. “I really killed the mood. We were having fun.”

I nudge her with my socked foot. “We are still having fun.”

“I’m having fun,” Theo says, holding up a picture of a purple and yellow dinosaur for us to admire.

“Look at your little Picasso,” Hannah says, oohing and aahing at the photo, making Theo feel special. “Can you make me a dragon? I want it to breathe green fire.”

Theo sets to work, excited to draw his first commissioned picture, and Hannah smiles at me, a tinge of sadness around her eyes. “I hope you know I’m happy for you. Even if I sound bitterly jealous, I’m happy you’ve found this.”

I nod, unable to say anything. My pregnancy hormones have made me especially weepy lately, and having one of my only real friends congratulate me on my fake happy ending is enough to push me right over the edge.

“You have a great kid, and Viktor seems like an awesome father figure for Theo. I think this is a good thing you have going here.”

I wonder what Hannah would say if she knew who Theo was to Viktor. If she knew he was actually Theo’s uncle and the brother of my rapist.

I want to tell her, desperately. I want someone to understand the complexities of our