The husband and the dad weren't the same person? And why would a husband shoot his wife? "I'm not the legal guardian."
"No. You're the mother." Before she could protest, Maggy continued. "You had her admitted as you. When she died, you died, the mother of the child." The mother of the child. Tatyana hugged her stomach, the dried blood sticky. A child she'd never have. "It's for the best. You can't go back."
"I wasn't planning to." Because if she went back, death would find her again. It knew where she lived. More people would die. Agitated by the thought, Tatyana pushed her hair behind an ear.
"Good, because you can't." Consideration darkened those green eyes. "Sign the papers. Give the child a home."
A home. A place to stay forever. Tatyana batted down the envy, scanning the words. There were blanks where the adoptive parents' names should be. That was good. She didn't want to know. "Are they good people?"
"The best." A fond smile. "They'll spoil her to pieces. She'll never want for anything."
The baby would be loved. She could give her this, a poor exchange for the mom she'd taken away. Tatyana signed the papers with a flourish. "Is that all you need me for?" She was tired, but she had tasks to complete before she slept, a new life to move to. Tatyana stood.
"You can't go back," Maggy repeated, standing also.
Maggy restating the obvious irritated the hell out of Tatyana. They'd had this conversation before. "I know."
Maggy moved between her and the door. "They'll be looking for you, the husband and his men."
Tatyana didn't ask why because she was so damn tired and she didn't really care. She had bigger concerns. "I'll keep that in mind."
"You'll have to disappear completely." The woman's arms folded. "I can help with that," she insisted. "It is what I do, what I was trying to do for her."
Her. Chai, the dead woman. "I can do it myself." Tatyana had the next move all set up. She always did that. She knew she'd need it.
Maggy fiddled with her wedding ring. "Let me do it for you."
To have someone else handle all that. Tempting. Tatyana blinked, her vision blurry from lack of sleep. But she'd never put Maggy at risk. "I can do it myself." When the woman opened her mouth, Tatyana added, "I'd appreciate a lift to the Crown Hotel, though." Her information was there.
Nik shuffled his favorite pack of cards as the car drew up, Maggy requesting both the use of the casino's private entrance and an emergency meeting with Grandfather. That combination reeked of trouble, which was the reason for Pavel's burly presence behind him.
Nik split the deck. The Queen of Hearts. He'd pulled that card all night.
"Nikolay." He tucked the cards back in his inside jacket pocket as Maggy bounced out of the passenger seat.
"Maggy." They embraced briefly, air kissing cheeks. Maggy preferred not to be touched.
Despite that foible, Nik liked Maggy very much. There was even a time he considered her for a wife as she was the only woman he knew with the balls to stand up to Grandfather.
Respect, in Nik's mind, was very close to love.
He waited impatiently while she greeted Pavel, his number one man. The two exchanged niceties, irritating Nik. This wasn't a social visit. It shouldn't be treated as one.
Domi, Maggy's bodyguard, positioned himself by the rear of the car. He looked especially grim. "Who did you bring with you, Maggy?" Nik broke into the conversation.
"I need to see Sergei."
Why didn't she answer? "I know that." Was it a dead body to be disposed of? It shouldn't have been brought to the casino. Nik opened the back door.
"Nikolay, no," Maggy squeaked.
He peered inside. Nothing. A pile of clothes in the back. No. The clothes moved. Long frizzy brown hair. A small, curled up body. A child. "No kids in the casino, Maggy."
"She's not a kid." His friend stood close behind him.
A girl, then. Now awake. Her head rose. "Are we there?" She swept back the mass of crazy hair, stretched upward, the layers of fabric falling away, revealing a flat pale stomach.
Nik's body stirred inappropriately. She was a girl. A girl. Disgusted with himself, he turned away, letting Maggy handle the situation.
"What is it, boss?" Pavel asked.
"A scared little girl." What did Maggy expect them to do with her? They weren't running a daycare.
"That's no little girl." Pavel's jaw slackened.
Nik pivoted on his heels. His number one man was right. That was no little girl. Although tiny, the frizzy haired creature leaning back on the car was a woman, the bloodstained cotton pajamas clinging to her curves, her nipples pointed, hard.
As he was fast becoming. He forced his eyes to her face. She wasn't pretty, not by Vegas standards, but there was fight and determination in that chin. "Who is she?"
"Someone you're better off not knowing." Dark eyes flashed. "I was to go to the hotel, straight to the hotel, that was the deal." The woman's attention was back on Maggy, ignoring Nik.
Nik didn't like that. He deserved deference, respect, fear. Couldn't she see that? He moved toward her.
"You need protection," Maggy insisted.
"No, you need protection. I tried to warn you. I tried to be nice. But you don't listen. You don't know who I am, what you're dealing with." Brown eyes, Nik was close enough to see the color now.
"And what is your problem?" the girl-woman snapped at him.
No deference, no respect, no fear. "Mind your manners, Brat."
"Bite me."
No one spoke to him like that. A blaze of red hot rage and his mouth was on her, biting her soft skin with lip-covered teeth where her neck met her shoulders.
"You bastard." She swung.
He caught her wrist before her palm made impact. "You will behave," he warned her. They stared at each other. He was wrong. Her eyes weren't brown. They were green. But not poker table green like Maggy's, but a muddy green.
"Tanya."
"My name is not Tanya." She whirled on
