His gaze stays on me for several long beats before he turns back to the board.
I remain seated on the edge of the desk, watching him.
A cop with integrity. A brother with honor. And an ally, perhaps, if fate sees so fit to make that of us.
I think of Amalie, of Sasha and the baby.
I will not fail them.
CHAPTER 46
AMALIE
“What’s the deal?” I ask Andrei as he pulls out of the driveway. “Why was it so important that we get out of the house right in the middle of our lesson?”
Andrei keeps his eyes on the road. He’s wearing a pair of dark sunglasses, so he’s even more unreadable than usual. “Orders from the boss. Said you two needed to get out, take a field trip.”
“But—”
“That’s all he told me.”
There’s no doubt in my mind that Andrei’s bending the truth, if only a little. Roman likes things to be nice and orderly around the house, especially with Sasha. A spontaneous “field trip” is unlike him.
I glance at Sasha, the little man bundled up next to me, his expression placid.“What do you think?”
“This will be fun,” he says.
We’re off to the Museum of Contemporary Art. Under normal circumstances, I’d be thrilled about a field trip there. Butthe whole thing is tainted by the idea that Roman’s hiding something from me.
Or maybe I’m just being paranoid.
We reach the museum, a sleek, perfectly symmetrical building with the letters “MCA” stacked on pillars located on either side of the door. Despite everything, a tinge of excitement runs through me at the idea of getting to check the place out.
Andrei heads to the underground garage, and I find myself mentally charting out the course I want to take when we’re inside.
“Okay,” I say to Sasha as we head toward the elevator. “This is going to be awesome. The art here is a little different.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I watch as Andrei forms up at my side, body tensed and ready, as always. He places his hand on his earpiece, then speaks quietly. There must be other guards posted about.
“Different?” Sasha asks. “What do you mean?”
We step into the elevator, and as the doors shut, I find myself struggling with how to describe the concept of abstract art to a kid. “Okay, so some artists, when they draw a picture of, let’s say a person, it looks like a regular person, right?”
“Yeah.”
“But some artists like to use different things to represent what they’re making. So, a person could be something else altogether.”
“That’s weird,” he says.
“But it’s so cool. You’ll see all of these amazing ways to make art that you’ve never seen or thought of before. And then when we get home, we can try it ourselves.”
He smiles. “Cool!”
As the elevator rises, I put all the spontaneity of the trip out of my head, determined to enjoy the outing.
“Why didn’t Papa come?” Sasha asks Andrei as the doors open.
“Bank business,” Andrei explains. “Lots of work to do.”
