Deceitful Lies by Brook Wilder
Chapter 15
Paige
Natasha stubs out her cigarette quickly as I walk toward the garage. She grabs an old plastic five-gallon container that once held paint and places it so I can sit down. I wave my hand in front of my face, dispersing the smoke. I thank her, and then we say nothing to each other. The silence is comfortable as we stare at the garden and the woods behind it. I notice then that, from the garage, one can see the entrance to the maze.
Emma darts around the corner, excited to find me. “Andrei is looking for you. He has a box.”
I clench my jaw to keep from shuddering. But it can’t be that. He would never let Emma know. I enter the ballroom with Emma and Natasha trailing behind me. Andrei has a black leather box in his hands, and I smile more with relief than pleasure. He holds it toward me.
Eagerness hums around me as I open the top. My shock conceals my disappointment when I see what’s inside.
“Oh, it’s a gun,” says Emma.
I glare at her, uncertain if she’s being sincere or sarcastic.
Natasha grabs the small gun out of the case and compliments Andrei. “This is good for her. She will be able to handle it.”
“Yeah,” chimes in Emma. “A real practical gift. Can’t wait for Christmas. Is it engraved?”
On the handle, it reads, “To my wife, for giving me joy, A.B.” The weirdest shower gift ever received, but I can see the necessity of owning one when your husband is a pakhan of his own Bratva.
Andrei pecks my forehead with a quick kiss. “You can’t be a pakhan’s wife if you can’t aim straight.”
Natasha mutters something under her breath. Instead of going to lunch, Natasha drives Emma and me to a shooting range.
***
Sipping coffee, Emma and I sit on a bench behind bulletproof glass, watching Natasha shoot. She keeps her nails short and polished, and her aim is perfect as she makes a flawless circle around the center target before blasting the center out with one shot.
“It’s a nice gift,” Emma says, her eyes glued to Natasha as she reloads.
“It’s a bit creepy.”
“You’re Andrei’s wife,” she reminds me. “You should be able to defend yourself … and your child.”
I hadn’t thought of it in that way. Emma continues to watch Natasha closely, eyeing her moves. She points her fingers and imitates the way Natasha holds her gun. “Do you think she’ll teach me how to shoot like that?”
“Emma, I don’t think you should get caught up in this life.”
Emma frowns. “Too late for that. Like it or not, we are forever linked to the Barinov Bratva.”
“I want you to finish school and go to college.”
“You’ve said that,” she replies with a huff, “and I will … in time. So, you obviously have had sex with him. And I guess it was willingly.”
I nod. “But I didn’t choose to go with him. I was locked in the same bedroom you’re in, with a guard at the door … How close are you to Viktor?”
Emma smiles and then scoffs. “We’re friends in an odd sort of way. We both have to deal with people telling us what to do. And he knows not to touch me. I set boundaries.”
I blush and concentrate on Natasha with fake interest as she changes the paper target.
Emma shakes her head. “It’s okay, Paige. Andrei is hard to resist. I hadn’t put you down for the bad boy type. No wonder your past relationships didn’t work out. You need a man that can take care of you.”
“I was taking care of myself, Em,” I snap.
“And Dad and me,” she adds. “I said a man that can take care of you, not one that has to take care of you. You deserve to be taken care of, and if Andrei was the only man showing up to do it … Well, why not?”
“He’s a criminal,” I reply.
Emma shrugs. “Who’s perfect?”
I gawk at Emma’s cavalier attitude, but she ignores me. “Why shouldn’t you be allowed to indulge in being taken care of? After all, wasn’t this what you jokingly told me you wanted? And now that you have this opportunity, why should you feel guilty about it?”
“I don’t know if my conscience will allow me to accept his lifestyle. And that’s a big problem.” I sit up straight because I know I have to say something important to my sister. “Emma, you have to be careful. There’s a very dark reality beneath the gilded surface of this life, and the veneer of luxury is just that. A flashy surface that hides the ugly truth.”
“I understand, Paige.” Emma takes my hand in hers. “We’re sitting here watching your husband’s hitwoman practice her aim. I’m along for the ride too, but after Dad is gone, I plan to disappear somewhere your husband can never find me.”
“What about me?” I ask. “Will I be able to find you?”
Emma doesn’t respond as she takes a sip of her coffee.
I change the subject. “You haven’t mentioned Eva and that man.”
“I hardly talk to Andrei. He’s not warm and fuzzy. He nods at me and tells me there’s food in the kitchen if I want it. That’s the extent of his comfort zone around me. I don’t plan on marrying one of these guys.”
“Just don’t pry into his business, okay?”
Emma laughs. “You sound like your husband when he’s bossing around Viktor.”
Natasha opens the door, cutting our conversation off. She smiles, but doesn’t question the sudden silence or guilty looks. “This is a good gun,” she says, balancing it on her hand. “It’s time for me to show you both how to shoot it.”
Emma jumps off the bench first and hurries over to Natasha for her lesson. I’ll take my time.
