Page 113 of Immaculate Corruption (Romanoff Bratva)

She laughs and assures me she’s kidding, but it isn’t a bad idea. I owe Lauren everything.

“We are totally friends. Absolutely,” I tell her. “If you ever need anything, I’ll be in Chicago in a flash. No questions asked.”

Lauren looks around the room again. “I’m sure you will be. I try not to make assumptions, but you and Dima seem like live a pretty comfortable life here. I bet you could both afford to go anywhere you wanted at the drop of a hat.”

I’m not used to being wealthy or having people comment on it. My whole life, I scraped by. I made do. I worked my ass off and saved pennies. This will take some getting used to.

“We are definitely comfortable.”

Lauren takes another sip of punch and then turns to me, eyes wary. “Is it rude if I ask you what he does for a living? I’m really not trying to be nosey, but I’ve grown up around doctors my whole life, and I’ve still never seen anything like this.”

“You aren’t being nosey,” I assure her. “We invited you to the house and it’s a normal question to ask. Unfortunately, it’s not a question I can easily answer.”

She sighs. “I thought you might say something like that.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, but I mean, you know what happened with Lukas. There are risks with our lifestyle. I wouldn’t want to… involve you anymore than you already are.”

Lauren holds up her hands in surrender. “Enough said. I’m happy to live my life in ignorant bliss. As long as you are taken care of and Lukas is safe. And from everything I’ve seen here, he is more than taken care of.”

“Really?”

Lauren looks at me, brows knit together, like I’m crazy. “Of course! It’s obvious he is surrounded by people who love him, and that is all any kid could ever hope for. Believe me, I see all kinds of kids at my practice, and money doesn’t mean anything. The happiest kids are the ones who have loving parents at home. You and Dima are certainly giving him that. You’re doing great.”

I squeeze her hand. “Thank you.”

Lauren excuses herself to the bathroom and I sneak away to check on Dima. He hasn’t been gone too long, but he has certainly been gone long enough for me to miss him.

I pad down the hallway and go into our room, but they aren’t in there. Then I go next door.

My hand is on the doorknob when I realize there are voices coming from inside. Not just Dima’s, but Gennady’s, too.

I press my ear to the door, trying to hear what they are saying, but their voices are soft. I have to strain until I can make out some of the words.

“…There’s no way to do this… covertly. You’ll have to announce what you… did,” Gennady says.

Being the klutz that I am, I promptly lean too hard into the door. It squeaks under my weight and I have no choice but to pretend like I meant to do it on purpose.

I walk in with a fake smile plastered on my face. “Playing hide and seek?” I ask innocently.

Gennady spins around and grabs a tall slender gift bag from the top of the dresser. “I, uh, got you this gift. I didn’t want you to open it at the baby shower. It’s a special gift. Just for the two of you.”

I take it from him, feeling distinctly like I’m missing something. Dima seems hesitant to meet my eyes.

“Another gift? You already got Lukas the bouncer seat.”

“Like I said, this is for you,” he says.

I pull a ball of crumpled tissue paper out of the top of the bag to reveal a liquor bottle. I grab the bottle by the neck and pull it out of the bag.

The bottle itself is shaped like a skull with intricate detailing around the teeth and the nose. There are even manufactured chips in the bone around the eye sockets. The liquid inside is clear.

“It’s vodka,” Gennady explains. “Goodvodka. Lukas will love it.”

“Gennady!”

“Just kidding. It’s for you, obviously. For when Dima really pisses you off.”

I chuckle. “Thanks, Gen.”

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