Deceitful Lies by Brook Wilder
Chapter 40
Paige
“We could race them in this car.” Emma watches the passenger side mirror, looking at the Rover following us in my new Mercedes coupe.
It arrived the day after I said I wanted one. A slick white two-seater, all shiny, new, and mine. The beige leather interior is like warm butter to the touch, and the new car smell welcomes me whenever I open the door. The fob has an attached monogram key ring—a metal P in a fancy script on a beige leather tab that matches the interior color.
Is this another bribe to keep me happy? Probably, but I don’t care anymore. I would’ve been happy with a ten-year-old beater that ran. Any car of my own gives me back my freedom.
But instead, I received yet another golden cage.
I grip the wheel in red leather driving gloves and tap the gas pedal, racing forward. “We need them to stay with us,” I remind Emma.
“It’s a joke, Paige.”
This morning, I found Emma upstairs, watching Viktor from a window in an empty bedroom. The Bratva had been out all night, but you couldn’t tell by how they were waiting and ready.
Dressed in a black suit and tie, Viktor stood in the front driveway by a Rover, his hair buzzed off and dark sunglasses obscuring his eyes. Emma’s eyes were rimmed in red, and her nails were chewed down to the pink.
I decided to take her somewhere away from him. She needed to go out and be reminded that a better world exists away from this place.
We head to the outskirts of Twin Rivers to the Key City Diner along the river. Key City is famous for its huge all-day breakfasts. The building is a double-wide, resembling an old-fashioned railroad car with its painted red metal and silver trim along the corners. It’s set far back from the road, surrounded by a potholed parking lot packed with vehicles.
The food is the reason for the crowds, not the decor.
I park near a Lexus and feel at ease that everyone eats here. My guards park across the street in the spillover parking lot. The four burly men don’t stand out as much since my insistence that they wear athleisure when they’re out with me. They might grumble among themselves at being forced to dress in the bad stereotype of Russians in Adidas, but they comply nonetheless.
They fit in with the rest of the people eating from to-go containers in their cars and on the grassy field near the water on a hot day like this.
I don’t want to be followed around like I’m attending a perpetual wake.
Music from a car speaker floats over to the diner, and the breeze off the water cools my skin as Emma and I go inside. I pick a booth where I can see the Rover from the window, so they can easily see us. My gaze scans the noisy room, and I check for recognizable faces, eager to avoid anyone I might know.
But the packed diner looks harmless, young parents out with their kids. Elderly couples in deep conversation with coffee and pie by their elbows. Teenagers share plates of gravy fries while checking their phones.
Nothing but the norm I was used to.
Nothing but the norm I can’t ever return to.
I try to relax and pretend that I’m back home again. No one is interested in me. Nobody knows me. I’m nameless here among everyone else. I can be nobody here, and not the pakhan’s wife.
I toss my purse down on the long wooden bench beside me while Emma sits on the opposite side of the table. I shift in my seat, trying to get comfortable, staring at my menu and debating on pancakes or a BLT.
Emma skims her menu, placing it down on the table. She glances outside at the Rover, rising above the other cars. “Don’t you trust Kenney to keep me safe?” she asks, finally broaching the real topic at hand.
Kenney sent me a text a few days ago, and I was surprised to receive it. One, I didn’t know he had my new number. Two, I hadn’t seen him since my mother’s death. I asked Kenney if he had found out anything, but he apologized for not having any new information. He assured me the investigation was ongoing and wanted to see how I was doing.
I must’ve changed my clothes twenty times before leaving the house to come here. I still remember how Kenney looked me over that day in the bar, calculating the cost of every item I wore. Today, I do my best not to stand out, and avoid wearing anything worth more than the surrounding real estate.
I don’t bother to hide my wedding ring.
There are other women in this place flashing big rings like mine. I glance around again and sigh, realizing that I don’t fit in here anymore. No matter how hard I try.
Emma could not care less if she fits in. Her nails are perfectly manicured in pale blue, and her flimsy surf sandals cost several hundred dollars. She taps at her new Apple watch while thin gold bangles slide up and down her arms. Each bangle has a precious stone embedded in the center. Gifts from Andrei after Viktor’s initiation. She spent a whole day badmouthing Andrei behind his back until Natasha convinced her to forgive him.
“I’m trusting you not to run away,” I finally respond.
She tilts an eyebrow. “While I’m out with our cousin the cop? How far could I even get?”
I catch her eye. “I know you’d rather find your friends and be with them. But it’s not safe yet.”
Shrugging, she smooths out her tone. “It’s okay, Paige. I appreciate this. Getting out to go anywhere is nice.”
“Have you talked to him?” I ask quietly, hoping that talking about Viktor isn’t taboo between us.
“No, I have a new guard.” Emma scoffs and looks out the window at the Rover. “Older, fatter, hairier. One that I’ll never have a crush on.”
We both laugh, but the conversation lags as Emma slips deep into her thoughts and stares at the view outside the window. I stare at my menu again, not wanting to think about her heartache.
My mind leads me back to Andrei again as my gaze lands on a pair of young parents in a booth diagonal from ours. The father has dark hair like Andrei, and the mother is a honey-blonde. The father holds their adorable baby—dressed in yellow—as the little girl fusses and reaches for her mom.
They look so happy and normal, and I don’t want to think about my decisions.
There was a time I wanted a different life from the one I had. I wanted money so I wouldn’t have to grind away just to keep my family barely getting by.
And now that I have money, all my heart wants is to return to my normal life and all its burdens.
The bell on the door rings, and cousin Kenney steps into the diner. He stands motionless for a moment. I’m uncertain if he’s checking the place out or letting the diners check him out.
I’m not the only one who has changed. His off-the-rack suit jacket has been replaced with better-quality threads. Not as costly as Andrei’s suits, but definitely not from a strip mall. The jeans are still Levi’s, and the aviators on his nose are Ray-Bans. I sigh, staring hard at Kenney until he lowers his shades and looks back at me.
Emma leaps up when he reaches our booth and gives him a smothering bear hug. They sway against each other before letting go. Emma doesn’t remember Kenney the way I do. She didn’t go to high school with him like I did. Kenney looks at me, his warm smile slowly disappearing into a tight grin. I offer him my cheek, which he pecks before sitting beside me.
“So, what do you have planned for today?” I ask Kenney casually.
Kenney lightly drums his fingers on the table as he speaks. “We’ll stop by the apartment, then head over to the old neighborhood. See old friends.”
“Good, I need some things from the house.” Emma’s eagerness is quickly doused when she looks at me. “I mean, do you want anything from the house, Paige?”
I deny any interest with a shake of my head. “Are you sure going to the apartment is the right move, Kenney?” We don’t mention Mom’s name, and I’m thankful Mom isn’t discussed in front of Emma.
Kenney shrugs nonchalantly, addressing the unintended slight. “I’ll be with her, Paige. She’ll be fine. I promise.”
“I didn’t mean any … never mind,” I hastily add. “Of course. Thanks for dealing with the apartment.”
“Not a problem,” he replies. “I’ll keep going over there until you can clean it out.”
Kenney flags down the waitress, who takes our orders. I ask for coffee. Emma wants a short stack of pancakes, and Kenney orders toast with his coffee. My appetite was shaky when we arrived, and now it’s completely gone.
Emma starts the conversation again. “It feels like a waste to toss everything in the house, Paige. We can go through Dad’s things and get rid of whatever is junk instead of waiting.”
“No!” My nerves are showing, and my loud voice cuts off conversations as people turn to look.
I clear my throat and look down at the table, waiting for people to mind their own business again.
I can’t tell them we can’t get rid of anything until I search that house.
I can’t let either of them know Dad’s secrets. Or Mom’s.
“Sorry,” I mumble. “I just can’t think about it right now.”
The ambient noises start again as the waitress serves us in silence. Kenney decides to charm the woman with corny small talk, making her smile. But I sit there, not daring to look out the window, hoping Kenney won’t notice the Rover.
Emma starts and stares at the door, and I hope it’s nothing. She jumps up from her seat and runs over to a group of kids her age. She hugs a girl dressed in a pink tank top and matching shorts. The boy hangs back and then touches Emma’s back, giving her a slight hug. She motions toward us and then walks to an empty booth with them.
“She hasn’t seen her friends in a while.” Kenney’s expression is shrewd, as if his mind is keeping a detailed list. “Where has she been staying, Paige?”
“With me, Kenney.” I press my lips together, not offering any more.
“And is there anything you want to tell me?” he asks softly.
For a moment, I wonder if I should. Kenney might be my best chance. But my best chance to do what? As long as I’ve known Kenney, he’s never done anything to be kind or nice. There’s always a motive, even if it’s just to feel superior over everyone else. I shake my head.
And then I remember what Dad said. Why did you go to your nephew? Why did you have to tell him anything?
I won’t repeat Mom’s mistake.
“Do you need protection?” he whispers. “Just say the word.”
“Like you protected my mom?” I reply sharply.
“We did our best.” His expression becomes defensive with a touch of arrogance. “We misjudged how much danger she was in.”
I close my eyes to conceal my shock. Dad said she had gone to the police, and Kenney has just confirmed it.
“It was a robbery gone wrong,” I say quietly.
“Paige.” He leans in, lowering his voice. “You can’t be married to your husband and believe that. The Bratva have been hanging around Cynthia’s old apartment. They won’t leave it alone.”
I place my hands in my lap to hide the trembling. “Who? Do you have names?”
He leans back, stretching his arm along the back of the booth. “No. But we know they’re looking for something.”
“Not my husband. He hasn’t been there.” For a moment, I’m tempted to confide in Kenney, even just to get more information.
But the coldly calculating look in the depth of his eyes keeps me wary.
“No, not your husband.” He nods. “But someone is watching, probably waiting for your husband. Your husband is involved in things you don’t want to know about. Trust me, Paige. He’s not the hero of this story.”
My voice hardens. “Thanks for the warning.”
“You need to do more than thank me for it.”
I shift in my seat and have second thoughts about Emma spending the day with Kenney. I look over and watch Emma laugh and act silly around normal kids not mixed up with the Bratva. She needs this reminder of how happy she was before I got her involved in my screwed-up life. It’s too late for me. My heart is entangled with a man I want more than being an honest person, and my brain can’t convince me I’m making a deadly mistake.
“You can head out, Paige.” Kenney takes out his wallet and places his debit card on the table. “I’ll wait here until Emma is ready to go.”
“Thank you, Kenney.” I hesitate, pulling my bag off the seat. “You’ve been a big help since Mom died.”
“We’re still family, Paige,” he says. “Someone has to look out for our interests.”
I don’t like the way he smiles, as if he knows I’ll need him sooner or later. It makes me feel like I’ll owe him a favor. I wonder if he’ll use me to get to Andrei. Show up at our home and drag Andrei away in handcuffs because I said something foolish that accidentally incriminates him.
I glance over at Emma with her friends. She starts to stand, but I hold up my hand, smiling to stop her from getting up.
“Have fun,” I call out as I leave. “Text when you need a ride.”
