Page 8
As soon as Ivy realizes I’m about to stand up, panic flashes across her face. “No.”
“Baby, I’m just gonna talk to Mama for one quick minute.”
Her fingers tighten desperately around my arm. “No.”
Before I can calm her, Alexei crosses the room and lifts her into his arms. She clings to him while fresh tears fill her swollen eyes.
“We’ll wait outside for Maggie,” he tells her while cradling her closer. “She’ll only be a few minutes.”
I stand and smooth Ivy’s hair back from her face. “I promise, sweetheart. Just a few minutes.”
A tear slips slowly down her cheek anyway. My heart nearly breaks right there.
Alexei drops a kiss on top of Ivy's head as Luka moves toward the front door and opens it for them without a word. Ivy keeps her eyes locked on me the entire way out of the apartment until the door closes behind them.
Mama continues folding clothes before speaking. “When you called me tonight, I thought I was gonna lose you.” Her voice wavers on the last word.
I stop shoving clothes into the bag long enough to press both hands against my eyes as emotion crashes into me again. “I was scared too.”
Mama moves beside me, wrapping one arm tightly around my shoulders. “Maggie.”
The way she says my name stops me cold.
“You watched somebody die tonight.” Tears fill her eyes, too, now. “You’re allowed to hurt after somethin’ like that.” She wraps both arms around me and pulls me into a tight hug.
I lean into her, holding on just as tightly. “I don’t know what’s happenin’ anymore,” I whisper against her shoulder.
Mama smooths one hand through my hair exactly the way she did when I was little. “Then let somebody help carry it tonight.”
Out in the hallway, Alexei’s voice slips faintly through the apartment door while he speaks with Luka. The words are too low to make out, but the sound sends another uneasy knot through my stomach because every conversation seems to pull him deeper into a world I barely understand.
Mama notices it too. “You trust him?” she asks.
I look toward the apartment door.
“Yes,” I answer. “With my life.”
Mama looks me over before nodding. “Alright.”
Five minutes later, my belongings are packed in my duffel bag. Mama hugs me one last time next to the SUV before cupping my face between both hands again.
“You call me in the mornin’.”
“I will,” I promise.
“And Maggie,” she adds, “you come home if you need to.”
I blink hard against another wave of tears. “Okay.”
She kisses my forehead before finally stepping back.
2
ALEXEI
The drive back to the mansion passes through quiet streets where streetlights slide across the windows and disappear again. I sit in the front passenger seat beside Luka while Maggie and Ivy occupy the back. Every few minutes, I check the rearview mirror. The sight remains the same every time.
Ivy stays tucked against Maggie's side, her small fingers locked around her wrist. She isn't seeking simple comfort but reassurance that Maggie is still here. Each time the vehicle slows or turns, her grip tightens as if she’s afraid Maggie might disappear the moment she looks away.
