Page 45 of Alexei

“Lion,” she squealed, smiling widely. “Here, come here. Bears!”

Her enthusiasm earned her smiles from strangers. I couldn’t blame them. There was a warmth about her that was captivating. I hoped nobody squashed that about her. Then I winced, remembering why I was here.

I shouldn’t shatter that happiness. It was a rare thing these days to see. At least for me it was, and as dumb as it sounded, I wanted to bottle it and preserve it. I thought back to the last time I felt anything remotely close to being happy. It was before my tenth birthday.

It wasn’t exactly happiness, but it felt close to it. I wasn’t their son. I called them tetya and dyadya. Aunt and Uncle. Of course, they were neither. Just poor souls that took money they needed to survive, but at least they treated me kindly. They fed me, clothed me, and sent me to school.

Shame and guilt slithered through me. It was because of me that their lives were cut short. And now, I was dangerously close to destroying another family. Fuck, I didn’t want to do it. But I wanted to know the names of my parents. Cut ties with Ivan. I was so damn close to freedom I could almost taste it.

Ivan didn’t tolerate disobedience from his soldiers. Or whatever the fuck we were. His soldiers. His whores. His thieves. His killers.

Another loud giggle sounded and my attention was back on the little girl. Her dark hair was a wild mess by now, but her eyes shone like diamonds.

“Oh my gosh,” she beamed, her cheeks rosy from the cold.

With each minute, little Rora became braver and braver.

“Rora, stay close!” her brother called out. He cared about his little sister. His eyes constantly sought her out. I didn’t know much about the governor’s family, but in the past week as I watched them, I could tell all of the siblings were close. The father was rarely around though.

Twenty minutes later, as the boy stared wide-eyed at the elephants, little Rora took a step back. Another. And another.

Since the boy was with the nanny, I followed the little girl. To ensure nothing happened to her. She made it all the way to the corner of the little water pool area. She wanted to see the hippos.

This area was empty. Either nobody cared about hippos or the elephants stole the show.

One of the hippos opened his mouth and a loud honk, followed up by a grunt, traveled through the air.

She turned her head to me, her dark eyes shining with happiness. Her hand reached for my sleeve, uncaring that my shirt was old and dirty.

“Did you see it?” she exclaimed excitedly. I nodded, my lip tugging up. It was the first time in so many years that anything resembling a smile curved my lips.

“You like hippos too?” she chirped, her whole face beaming like a lightbulb.

“I do.”

She shuffled a step over, standing right next to me. “Kingston likes elephants,” she confided softly. “But hippos are my favorite.”

“Why?” I asked her, suddenly curious. Personally, I would have picked elephants too.

The brightest smile lit up her face. Like a Christmas tree on a cold and sunny December day. And then she started singing.

‘I want a hippopotamus for Christmas

Only a hippopotamus will do.’

I blinked. What was she doing?

Suddenly she stopped and her face fell. “You don’t know the song,” she mumbled sadly, and for some reason, her sorrow hit me right in the chest.

“Sorry.” It was stupid. I apologized to a little girl for making her sad, yet I’ve killed more men than I cared to remember. And I was about to shatter her world.

Her small hand came to mine and she slipped her fingers into my big hand.

“It’s okay,” she whispered, comforting me. Nobody had attempted to comfort me in such a long time, I couldn’t quite remember ever feeling this warmth in my soul. “I can teach you.”

I had to get her out of here. I had to get them all out of here.

“Rora.” Her brother’s voice traveled over the air. The panic in his voice had the little girl snapping her head in his direction. He stood on the other side of the pool pathway, Ivan Petrov and his minion approaching from behind, like a dark cloud that would destroy him and his family. It took no time and Ivan was by the boy. Towering over him, Ivan yanked him by his hair and a small whimper filled the air.