Page 88 of The Bratva Sinner

“Are you?” she asks quietly. “Losing?”

I turn to look at her fully. There’s no cruelty in it. She genuinely wants to know.

“Not yet,” I say.

She tucks herself against my side, with her head on my chest, and her hand flat over my stomach. I reach down and push the hair from her face. She exhales slowly.

“I’m sorry,” she says.

“Stop apologizing. Did you see your surprise?”

She laughs. “I did. How did you know what I bought?”

“Receipts.”

Another laugh. “Thank you. I was so bummed about losing the boots and jacket. The rest was nice, but those boots were everything.”

“You spent all that time shopping; I wanted to make sure you got what you picked out.”

“Did you have to pay for it all again? I’m guessing that a Good Samaritan didn’t turn over bags of expensive clothes to mall security.”

“Actually, some of the bags were recovered. You had one hell of a shopping spree. I’m sorry it ended the way it did. I wanted you to have everything you spent time picking out. Mike told me you struggled in the beginning. You deserve all those things, Lila.”

“Thank you. I’d never been on a shopping spree. Is it weird that I didn’t know how to shop?”

“No. You’ll do it again soon.”

She groans. “I’m not sure I have that kind of energy.”

Mike had told me how worried she was about spending my money. I know her well enough to know she would hate the ideaof all that money being wasted. Once the dust settled, I sent Mike back to the mall to try to get everything she picked out.

I needed to tell her one other detail. I didn’t know how she would take it, but she needed to know.

“The saleswoman called the Albanians,” I tell her bluntly.

She exhales again. “I had a feeling. She couldn’t stop staring at my ring.”

“I’m sorry. That ring is supposed to keep you safe, not make you a target."

“What’d you do to her?” she asks.

“Nothing.”

“You’re lying, but that’s fine. I don’t need the details. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Sleep. I'm hosting investors tomorrow night. I need you there."

“The party.”

“Yes.”

I wait for an argument that doesn’t come. Soon, I hear her steady breathing. She falls asleep much faster now. In my arms. Trusting me.

23

Lila

There’s a dress hanging on the back of the bathroom door when I wake up. I stare at it, confused.