Before Viktor returned home, he thought about getting some flowers to go along with the bracelet, but he decided against it. He didn’t know how Jane would react to the present, so he didn’t want to overdo it by adding anything to that.
He unlocked the door and was immediately greeted by a grinning Jane. She came running up to him and hugged him fiercely. Luckily he didn’t feel pain anymore, because his ribs had healed nicely.
“Congratulations on the job,” he said, putting his free hand on the back of her head, smiling to himself. “I got you a little something.”
Slowly Jane looked up, tilted her head to the side. “What? Why?”
“To celebrate your new job.”
“How did you know?” She let go of him and took a step back so that he could take off his jacket and shoes. That was when she saw the small box in his hand.
“Well, they told me, but I had to keep quiet about it.” He handed her the box and watched her open it. Her eyes lit up when she saw the bracelet.
“It’s beautiful!” She looked up at him, bit her bottom lip and snapped the box shut. “I can’t accept that, Viktor.”
“Yes, you can. I saw it and had to think of you. I know that you don’t wear a lot of jewelry, but this one suits you really well.” He took her hand in his, ran his thumb over the back of her hand. “It’s nothing special, just something to celebrate your new job, okay?”
Jane stared at him for a moment, ignoring her racing heart. In the end she sighed and nodded her head. “Okay. Thank you, Viktor. It really is beautiful.” She rose to the balls of her feet and kissed him.
Viktor opened the box for her again, took the bracelet out and fastened it around her wrist. He then guided her hand towards his lips and pressed a kiss to the inside of her wrist.
“You’re very welcome.”
He wanted to wrap his arms around her, bury his hands in her hair and slowly lead her towards the bedroom, but they were interrupted by Jane’s phone. She excused herself, looked at the number and scrunched up her face. It wasn’t a number she knew, so she answered with a “Hello?”
Viktor watched her on the phone while he put the box aside. He saw all the color drain from her face. Her hands started trembling and she had to sit down. Something was wrong. Really wrong.
She thanked the person on the phone, got up from the sofa again and practically ran to the bedroom.
“What the…?” Viktor mumbled to himself and went after her. She started pulling the things she’d kept at his apartment out of the drawer and piled them on the bed. For a moment Viktor was shocked, but then he carefully wrapped his hand around her wrist to stop her. At first, she tried to rip her hand free to keep on doing what she was doing, but then she stopped.
She was biting down on her bottom lip hard, but avoided looking at him. Her hands were still trembling. Viktor let go of her wrist, brought his hands up to her cheeks and turned her to face him. Tears were brimming in her eyes and he could see how scared she was. Okay, he had a pretty good idea what this was about, but he had to make sure, so he asked.
“It’s my Dad,” Jane said with a weak voice. Her whole body was now shaking, and she was clinging on to his hands. “He’ll be released next week.”
“What? How come they’re only telling you now?” Viktor’s eyes widened. He pulled her against his chest and wrapped his arms tightly around her. This was his way of trying to give her a feeling of security. He didn’t know whether it worked or not.
“They send me a letter, but I never got it.” She sniffled and tried hard to control her breathing. Tears were plopping down on his shirt by now.
“He said that he’ll find me when he gets out back then.” Jane raised her head. “I have to go, Viktor. I have to go somewhere he can’t find me.”
“No, you don’t. Viktor brushed her tears away with one hand. “You’re not a child anymore. You’re a strong woman, Jane. I saw you stand up for a child that couldn’t defend itself. You built a life for yourself and you have people around you who love you.” He brushed his lips over hers. “I’m here for you. And so are Patrick and Abby. They don’t know about your father, but maybe it’s time you told them.”
Jane squeezed her eyes shut, inhaling deeply, before she nodded in agreement. He was right. She’d known them for years now and she could trust them.
“Do you want me to talk to them?”
“You’d do that for me?”
“Of course. I’ll see Patrick tomorrow and then I’ll talk to him. He’ll be relieved when he finally knows what happened in your past.” He ran a hand through her hair, leaned his forehead against hers, still looking in her eyes. “You probably haven’t noticed this, but not knowing has been gnawing at him. You’re practically like a sister to him.”
“Oh…” was all she could muster up.
“We’ll protect you, okay?”
Jane looked him in the eye and nodded ever so slightly. Then she closed her eyes again and kissed him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight, afraid that when she let go, he’d vanish into thin air and would leave her alone. He meant more to her than she’d admitted so far.
Viktor wrapped his arms around her once more and guided her towards the bed, so they could lie down. He had a feeling that she wouldn’t let go for some time.