Page 17 of The Bratva’s Monster

I’ve maybe met her twice before this and the first time was at her wedding to Alex. Apparently, she and Yeva have gotten pretty close since then.

She rolls her eyes at Yeva’s little fit and says, “If Liz doesn’t want any, leave her alone. Some people aren’t raving alcoholics like you.”

I just keep a smile while Yeva sucks her teeth distastefully. She doesn’t know about this pregnancy, and as close as we are as friends, she’s still Alex’s sister. I’d be nuts to tell her thinking she’d keep this secret.

“I really just wanted to celebrate with my sisters,” she mutters as she pours another glass of wine. “You know, I’m going to be gone for a while. Two, three months. Maybe longer.”

“Not too much longer, I hope,” Nona says, stepping out of the closet. She pats her belly. “The wedding, remember? You promised you’d be there for us.”

She waves her off. “And I will. Somebody’s gotta watch the little spud when it comes out.” She sits on the bed next to me and says, “One glass won’t kill you, Liz. Come on.”

I sigh and take the glass from her. “One glass. But that’s it.” I glance down at the gold liquid in the wine glass and the twinge of guilt picks at me, but I take a small sip and set it aside. Yeva smiles, appeased, and turns back to the clothes on her bed. She’s already half into that bottle, anyway. I doubt she’ll even notice if I don’t drink any more of it.

“I should have gone shopping,” she says, holding up one of her tops with distaste. “I’m going to look like a bag lady tromping through Europe.”

She gets up and grabs the other wine glass sitting on her dresser, then fills it with wine. “Somebody tell me why I’m doing this again?”

I’m trying to stay focused on this conversation, but I can’t. My mind is still stuck back in time. Stuck on that street corner looking up at one of who knows how many men who might be out to kill me soon.

It’s insane that I’m supposed to be normal at a time like this.

I keep thinking of my father, hugging me just a few minutes before, making me promise to stay safe. How can I stay safe when the ones out to get me know exactly where I am at all times?

That’s the thing that bugs me the most. That guy knew exactly who I was. Was he sent to watch me? And if so, by whom? Is he Rostov or Irkutsk?

He seemed to know a lot about ‘taking sides’ and all that. God, what a fucking mess.

“Earth to Lizzy. Come in, Lizzy.”

I look up to see them both looking back at me, the same worried look on their faces.

“Sorry,” I say. “I guess I was miles away.”

Nona and Yeva exchange a silent look, then Nona says, “You know, we’re here for you if you need anything.”

“Right,” Yeva says. “Anything at all.”

I scoff. “You’re about to go to Europe.”

“I have a phone,” she says with a smirk. “You can call me. No matter what time it is. I mean, I know it’s probably hard to sleep these days. If you need somebody to talk to at three in the morning, I’ll more than likely be up having breakfast thanks to the time change.”

I smile and nod thankfully. “I appreciate it. I’m sorry, guys, I don’t mean to bring the party down. It’s just been a hard couple of days, that’s all.”

“You want to talk about it?” Nona asks.

I do. I really, really do. I can’t risk it, though. Both of them are just too close to Alex.

“I think I just need time, that’s all. Just something to get me through the day-to-day stuff. I’ll be fine.”

They both go silent. Nona’s looking mournfully at me while Yeva takes a big gulp from her glass of wine. Finally, Yeva says, “You know what I think? I think you need a night out.”

I raise an eyebrow. “A night out? Like to a club or something?”

“Sure.” She gives Nona a sly glance. “Or maybe a party.”

“Yeva,” Nona says, her voice full of warning. “I don’t think a party is what she needs.”

“Bullshit,” she says. “A party is exactly what she needs. A few hours of fun, just to forget things for a while. Maybe some drinking, some dancing… Maybe meet some hot, dangerous biker and screw his brains out?”