Page 67 of Devil's Retribution
“I just don’t like lying.” He frowned around the rim of his glass.
“Of course not. You’re a good, honest boy, just like your daddy was. But let me ask you something. If you were to tell them the truth, what would you say?”
“That my great uncle’s a bad man,” he said quietly. “He pretended to be good so people would think he was good, but he was bad all the time.”
My throat tightened. I kept fixing breakfast while I listened, but part of me was simply amazed by how good Viktor was with him. And how Nick responded.
“What else?” Viktor asked him gently.
“I thought you were bad for a while,” he said with a directness that surprised me again. “You scared my mom. You made us stay in that place. But then you started protecting us.” He thinned his little lips, then asked sternly. “It was because of Uncle Charles, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. He is the reason why I had to take you away from your home. And I wish now I hadn’t done it. Any of it. I should have found another way.” Viktor exchanged glances with me over the top of Nick’s head. “But now, we have to go deal with your Great Uncle soon, and after that he won’t be able to try and hurt you or Emma anymore.”
“That man that came here. Great Uncle Charlie sent him.” It was barely a question.
“Yes.”
“He wanted to hurt us.”
“Yes.” Viktor sounded a little tense now. I felt the same. I knew Nick suspected that those noises and the smokey smell hadn’t been from an exploding toaster. But he was so young. He needed to believe, for a little while, that a shootout hadn’t happened only feet from his bedroom door.
Nick sighed, and then nodded. “Do we have to go hide again? I want to stay in school.”
“You can stay in school.”
Nick smiled just a little. “That’s good. I missed my friends.”
“Nick, I need you to not talk about the problems with your Uncle Charles. Not with your friends, your teachers, or anyone but us. I know you don’t like hiding the truth. But bad people are looking for you and your mom now. If you talk about it, they’ll have an easier time finding you.”
I hated that Viktor had to scare him. I’d been trying to keep our reality from Nick as far as possible. He was a smart kid and knew something was up. But in this case, maybe a bit of fear would keep him safe.
It was only a piece of the truth. Talking about where we’d been, what happened and who was involved would cause all kinds of complications for both of us. Especially Viktor.
But apparently even a piece of the reasons why was enough to satisfy Nick. He gave us each a thoughtful look, and then nodded. “Okay. I won’t tell.”
This time the glance that Viktor and I exchanged was full of relief.
“Thank you, Nick. One day, I’ll explain everything to you. But you need to be a lot older before you’ll understand it all.”
And, hopefully, not be traumatized by what he learned.
Chapter 26
Emma
Later that day, after I’d made a hell of a lot of phone calls and answered every email and text, Nick went down for his afternoon nap and Viktor came home to relax and have a drink with me on the couch before supper.
He looked exhausted. The moment he walked in, his cool demeanor came off with his coat and guns, and he came over and sat on the couch heavily beside me. I heard him mutter something in Russian that was probably a curse.
“Bad day?” I reached over and rubbed my hand up and down his back.
“Indeed.” He huffed in annoyance. “Still no sign of Igor, still no idea who has been leaking information to him. We have confirmation that he and your uncle were in contact, and probably still are. But Igor himself seems to have vanished like a fart in the wind. And…”
He trailed off, glancing up at me even as I started working on the knotted muscles in his shoulders. “A friend and informant of mine, a local legend in our organization. Dimitri. I do not think I’ve mentioned him before.”
“Not by name.” Now I was worried. His expression had shifted. Darkened.
“There was an attempt on his life. He hasn’t been answering my calls because he’s been convalescing in a secret location. He finally contacted me today.”