Page 15 of Trapped By the Bratva

I shook my head. “I dropped out after the…” I swallowed. “The incident. When Emily was taken.”

Even though this topic was bothersome, I got excited.I can ask her who that man was!Just knowing his name would help somehow.

“Are you serious? Why?” She grew alarmed.

“Well, my head hurt for a while and it was hard to read and study.”

“Are you okay now?” She leaned closer, peering at me with concern.

“Oh, yeah. From that, I’m fine. It just took time. Recovery always does. I was patient with the headaches and mental fog, but my professors were not.” I shrugged. I wished I had finished becoming an RN, though. I could make more money faster.

“I was told you were okay, and it’s been… hectic. I am so sorry I didn’t reach out sooner.”

“No, hey. It’s fine. I’m fine. I’m not your responsibility.”

“Of course, you’re not my responsibility. But youaremy friend.”

I forced a quick smile.

“And as your friend, I expect to know the real reason that’s making you so close to tears.”

I pulled my lips in my mouth and hesitated. She was always so easy to talk to, though, and I couldn’t keep it all bottled in. “I just… I just want a new start on life. You know?”

“I did know.” She nodded.

Before that fateful night when she didn’t come home and Emily was almost kidnapped, Becca had been in a similar position as me. Overworked, without support.

“Not anymore. You look amazing. New job? Are you not making art anymore?”

“No. No art for now. Not while I’m pregnant and Emily is determined to run me off my feet.” She smiled.

“I can see it.”

She cleared her throat, sobering up. “But that’s why I’m here.”

“Huh?”

“I had to wait a while before I could try to reach out to you, Han. I have a new job—that of being a stay-at-home-mom—but I’ve met someone too. Someone very special.”

“Aww. You deserve a good guy.”

“And he is. The best. The best man for me. But…”

“Oh, no. Abutshouldn’t follow that statement.”

She smiled. “Butmy boyfriend, fiancé, actually,” she said as she showed me a ring, “can be… protective.”

The man standing nearby grunted a laugh. She smirked at him.

“Protective, huh?” That didn’t sound so bad. I could use some protection from the cruelties of the world, like my sister. The last time I saw or met a protective man was that guy who’d shown up the night of Emily’s kidnapping. I supposed I couldn’t say Imethim when I didn’t even know his name. Becca’s cryptic words confused me. What wasn’t she saying?

“But he is very,veryloyal and generous,” she added.

“He’s good with Emily?”

She grinned. “HeadoresEmily.”

“Good. That’s good.”