Page 17 of Mafia and Scars

She offers me a grin as we step onto the ice together. “Maybe.”

“We’ll try it, and if you don’t feel like you can make it, we’ll just have fun.”

She nods as she glides effortlessly. I follow her and skate backwardpast her to watch, more than ready to jump in if she needs me to. But I’m distracted as a shiver rolls down my spine.

My gaze darts around the near-empty bleachers.

There are a few others here, plus some staff and janitors, but no one I would know.And no one who would know me.

“Mama, watch!” Sofia calls, drawing my attention back to her.

“I’m watching, baby.”

She glides down the ice, getting a little more speed before she lifts her foot like we’ve been practicing. She wobbles a little as she twirls, but she doesn’t fall, and that’s an improvement.

“That was great!” I give her a thumbs up. The smile on her face melts my heart.

“It wasn’t like yours though, Mama.”

“I’ve had a lot of practice, remember?”

She skates around me and tries again, a little stronger with her landing this time. By the time we finish and get off the ice, she’s flushed, her cheeks rosy and her button nose red.

We make our way back to our things. The urge to check my phone is unavoidable.

But there’s nothing. No messages. No texts. No phone calls.

Maybe they’re just sleeping or busy or something.

“Mama?”

“Yes, baby?”

“You’re not taking your skates off.”

I look down at my feet and sigh. “Sorry, I’m just a little distracted because I’m missing Leon.”

Sofia nods, tucking her skates back into the bag.

I try Geliy’s phone, but it goes straight to voicemail. Perhaps he forgot to charge his phone—that’s not unusual for him.

Maybe I shouldn’t have left Leon with his father. But what choice did I have? It was either take this short job in Russia and the money it was offering, or we end up losing our Vegas apartment and be left on the streets. I can’t rely on Geliy for money. He no longer lives with us, and even when he did, his work was sporadic and unpredictable. We already received the eviction notice from the landlord. I sit there for asecond, looking at my phone again. I know that Geliy isn’t the best at regular contact, but I really wish he wouldn’t go silent when he has Leon with him.

And no matter how much I try to reassure myself, I can’t displace the feeling that something might be wrong with Geliy and Leon.

CHAPTER FIVE

VIKTOR

TWO AND A HALF WEEKS LATER

I’m going to regret this, I can feel it bone deep.

But there’s no going back. I’m a man of my word. And paying back a debt of someone saving my life is worth whatever chaos is about to disrupt my life for the next couple of days.

My SUV idles along the curb as I scan the crowds for Geliy’s unruly mop of hair. A hand startles me as it slams on the side of my door. My hands tighten on the steering wheel as I turn to see Geliy’s grinning face.

“Viktor!” He shouts too loudly even through the glass.