“No, thank you,” Mr. Lee bristles, as immune to feminine wiles as ever. “But I’d like to see the child.”
“I’ll take tea,” Mrs. Deloera chirps cheerfully. “Two sugars.”
Shaking his head in defeat, Mr. Lee heads for Eli’s bedroom. I follow.
And there he is.
Sleeping. Tucked into bed. Hugging his favorite Bluey plushie.
Safe.
A weight lifts from my chest. I don’t care what weirdness is going on right now—my kid is okay. He’s safe.
That’s all that matters. “Satisfied, I hope?” I ask Mr. Lee with a touch of acid.
Mr. Lee grunts his assent and heads back to the kitchen, presumably to swap out my sugar with rat poison.
By the time my two caseworkers leave—one looking very satisfied and the other looking murderous—I turn to Tamara. “Who are you?”
“I’m Tamara,” she repeats, all smiles. “Mr. Lozhkin sent me last night. He said you’d be needing my services. I was to take over from the other girl and stay as long as you needed me to.”
The other girl.That must mean Kallie.“And, um, how did you convince her to go?”
“She wasn’t very keen,” Tamara admits. “She made herself… ah,comfortableon the couch. Left just after dawn, and only once she’d spoken to Mr. Lozhkin.”
So she slept over.Part of me feels guilty, but another part is relieved. Kallie wouldn’t leave Eli with a complete stranger—not unless she knew he was safe. Apparently, she demanded that assurance from Yulian.
Yulian.So this is why he didn’t wake me. Granted, the sitter thing was in our deal, but that was for work. And last night… that didn’t count as work.
Unless it did for him.
“Will you be needing anything else today?”
Tamara’s voice snaps me out of it. Even now, she’s being annoyingly perfect.
For some reason, I can’t stand it. Can’t stand wondering if this is the kind of girl Yulian likes, all tall and flawless and Russian.
“No,” I almost snap. “Thank you, Tamara. You can go.”
With a nod of her perfect head, she leaves.
As soon as she’s out the door, I let out a breath. Yulian kept his word. He saved my ass. He saved my kid from being flushed down the foster system by Mr. Lee.
So why can’t I forgive him?
30
MIA
It’s been a week since I’ve last heard from Yulian.
A week since the best sex of my life.
A week since he broke my heart.
I haven’t been sending in my daily selfies. Call me petty, but I don’t particularly feel like posing for the man who stomped all over my feelings.
Not that I even hadfeelings,but—okay, fine, it’s complicated. Capital C and all.
