Chapter twenty-nine

Irina sat on the kitchen counter, watching Jack make pancakes. He glanced at her and caught her staring at him. Grinning, he asked, "Like what you see?"

"Hmm." She smiled. "How long can you stay?"

"Forever and a day."

Her breath caught in her throat. "Really?"

"If that's okay with you."

"Of course it's okay with me!" She slid off the counter and walked up to Jack, putting her arms around his waist as she leaned against his back. "I was a fool to send you away."

They stood in silence for a moment; and Irina could pretend nothing had changed, that the last year was just a bad dream. "Won't the CIA be looking for you?" she asked.

"The CIA thinks I'm dead." He finished the last pancake and turned to face her. "Jack Bristow was killed by an assassin in Moscow."

"What were you doing in Moscow?"

"Looking for Sydney."

Irina frowned. "Sydney wasn't with you?"

"You have enough pancakes there to feed an army," Katya said from the doorway.

Irina looked from Jack to her sister, then stepped out of Jack's arms to embrace Katya. "Katyusha. It's good to see you."

"You look good." Katya held Irina at arms' length to examine her, then hugged her again. In Russian, she said, "You look happy."

"I am."

"Uh, I'm going to wake Sydney before the pancakes get cold." Jack slipped out past the sisters.

"Were you here last night?" Irina asked. "I didn't see you."

"Yes, I came with Jack and Sydney."

"With Jack? But – an assassin in Moscow. Was that you?"

Katya grinned and shook her head. "Raisa. She owed me a favour."

Irina stared at her sister for a moment, not sure what to say.

"You know, Irushka, I don't think Jack and I will ever be friends, but I have to admit there are certain qualities I find admirable."

Irina narrowed her eyes. "What qualities?"

"He's smart. I can see why you like him."

"Intelligence was never the quality you admired in men, Katyusha."

Katya laughed. "Jealous, Ira? Now this is the sister I remember. I don't think you have anything to worry about, Irisha. A man who gives up everything for a woman is a man who will never give her up."

"And – so the CIA thinks Jack is dead. What about Sydney?"

"A couple of weeks ago, Sydney disappeared from ballet class." Katya sighed dramatically. "Very tragic. The police still don't know what happened."

Irina quickly filled in the missing pieces; naturally Jack would have suspected KGB involvement, which explained the trip to Russia. "Was this Jack's idea?"

"Down to the last detail. You see why I said he was smart?"

"So who was Sydney with?"

"Her favourite aunt." She winked. "Of course, we did some improvisation. I don't think Jack likes it when people don't follow his plans to the letter."

"What do you mean, improvisation?"

Katya's smile widened. "A touch of realism. Sydney wasn't supposed to disappear until the following day."

"Katya, this is my daughter's life you were playing with—"

"Sydney's fine." Katya waved her hand in the air between them. "She handled the whole thing like a star."

Irina felt something twist in her gut. Her voice rose a notch. "You let her think she'd been kidnapped?"

"Oh, Sydney knew beforehand."

"She's seven years old!"

"Morning, Mommy!" Sydney skipped into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around Irina's waist.

Irina switched back to English to address her daughter, but also as an attempt to distance herself from what she'd just learned. "Good morning, sweetheart." To Jack, standing in the doorway, she said, "You let our daughter go off – unsupervised – with my sister? Katya, you don't even like children."

"I like this one." Katya smiled at Sydney. "Must be because she's a Derevko."

"Aunt Katya and I had fun, Mommy. Aunt Katya, can we go on another adventure soon? Can Mommy come with?"

In Russian, Irina said, "I know your idea of fun, Katyusha. What kind of adventure did you take my child on?"

Jack was following the exchange with an amused expression on his face.

"I didn't corrupt her, if that's what you're worried about," Katya said, also in Russian.

"We saw the pyramids, Mommy. And the, umm, the sss—"

"Sphinx," Katya said.

"Yes. It doesn't have a nose."

Irina looked down at Sydney and smiled. Addressing Katya, again in Russian, she asked, "How much did you tell her about what happened?"

"That you were taken away by bad men, and that Jack rescued you. She thinks it's a fairytale."

"When did you tell her?" Irina looked from Katya to Jack. "How much time has she had to process everything?"

Katya brushed her hand over Sydney's head. "She's fine. Stop worrying and be glad that you're all together again."

"I told her two days ago, when we met up with each other again," Jack said.

"I can't understand what you're saying," Sydney pouted.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart." Irina steered Sydney to the kitchen table. "Look, Daddy made pancakes."

Sydney poured syrup over her pancakes until Irina had to take away the jug.

"Okay, that's enough."

Sydney smiled and started to eat. Jack put his arm around Irina's waist and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"She's okay," he said.

"Mommy, Aunt Katya, come eat," Sydney said through a mouthful of pancake.

"This conversation isn't over," Irina said as she sat down next to Sydney.