new protection.”
“I told you,” I hiss. “I said, he looked like a boy I used to know. That’s the boy. He died.”
I pray there isn’t anything about Bohdan out there in public for Jasper to find. There could be for all I know.
“I thought you were away on business.”
“I was. I came back early and went to talk to your mother, but when she wasn’t there, I did some investigating.”
“You mean snooping,” I say.
“I want him gone, Dasha.”
“Fine, get rid of him. I don’t care. You damn well hired him.”
I hang up, but I’m trembling. I’m in for a beating. Jasper isn’t stupid, and he knows there’s something going on. He’ll talk to Mother, and I don’t think I can trust her to keep her mouth shut.
I need to talk to Bohdan. Tell him he’ll be sacked soon. I wonder who Jasper will pay to protect me, if anyone?
There’s still a threat out there.
Shit, everything is falling apart. All of it.
I open my bedroom door to see Bohdan at the end of the hallway, pacing up and down in a tight circle. I hang back and listen for a moment. He looks livid.
“I owe you one,” he says. “Thanks for fronting the money. The transfer will hit your bank in a day or so.”
There’s a pause and then I hear, “I don’t know what the fuck I’m going to do with her.”
Does he mean me? Am I safe with anyone?
He hangs up and punches the wall, making me gasp. He is so caught up in his own head, though, he doesn’t seem to hear me and turns to race down the stairs. I follow, knowing something major is up. He hits the landing and storms into the living room, me on his heels.
Mother looks up in shock as Bohdan rushes to her and hauls her up by her arms roughly.
“Bohdan,” I exclaim.
“Why did you fucking do it?” he demands.
My mother shakes her head, her eyes wide.
“Do you know you could have gotten me killed?”
What the hell is he talking about?
Mother shakes her head again. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I know, you fucking bitch,” he says.
That’s enough. I cross the room to him and shove him hard. “Let go of her.”
“She’s the one who did it.”
“I haven’t done anything,” Mother says, and I know. Whatever this is about, she’s lying.
“Don’t fucking lie!” Bohdan shouts. “I just found out for sure that you told Igor what my Uncle Roman and I were doing.”
He takes his trousers down, and I have no idea what he’s doing. He takes hold of Mother’s chin and forces her to look at his thighs. “Take a good look at your handiwork. I hope you’re damn proud of yourself.”
She pulls her chin out of his grasp and storms out of the room. A moment later I hear her on the phone. “Jasper, come now. The man you hired isn’t who you think he is; he knows Dasha, from before.”
She hangs up and storms into the room with a triumphant smile.
“You don’t know what you’ve just done,” I say, shaking so hard my teeth chatter. “Mother, seriously, Jasper will send Bohdan away, and then he’s going to kill me.”
“Don’t be dramatic.”
“I’m not! I’ve got to get out of here.”
I head to the door, heart pounding, as I think what I’ll need for a few nights in a hotel. Bohdan says he can get me a lawyer; well, I need him right now. Before I exit the room, I pause and look back at my mother. “How could you?”
She purses her lips and clenches her small hands into fists. “He broke your heart and would have dragged you down into the gutter with him. I did it for you.”
“No, you didn’t. No matter what Bohdan did to me, I’d never have wished that on him.”
Bohdan has fastened his trousers, and he’s staring at my mother with pure hatred. I know, though. Deep down in this moment, I know he won’t harm her despite her evil act. It seems there are people I trust after all, to a degree at least.
“You’re lucky the woman I’ve always loved is your daughter,” is all he says as he brushes past my mother. At the door he adds, “In my world we kill for less.”
I hear him slamming about in the room next to mine. I don’t knock; I just walk in. “What are you doing?” I ask.
“Packing,” he says. “I suggest you do the same. And fast.”
My heart sinks. Although I