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There’s a reason Galina and Audrey stepped away from this room.
They’re going to talk about something.
Something they don’t want me or Josh to know.
Just what the hell could they need to talk about in private?
10
GALINA
The mansion has a surplus of rooms that are decorated but unused. Lately, the whole place feels like a ghost house. Things moving, being rearranged, but no people actually seen. I haven’t spoken to any guards or much of the staff since being back. It’s like they’re avoiding me.
Or maybe I’m subconsciously avoiding them ... I haven’t been the most approachable person. My mind is fixated on my mother, my baby, and nothing else. I’d avoid me too, I think.
Audrey glances around, then locks the door. We’re alone, but her voice is a whisper.
“Okay.” She pats the small, double-seated brown leather couch, sitting once I do. “What’s so important that you pulled me away?”
Preparing myself to rattle off a hundred things, I’m surprised when I can’t manage a single word. There’s too much to discuss, and it’s all tangling up on my tongue now that the chance to speak is finally here. Breathing out a few times, I try to calm myself.
“It’s funny. I don’t even know where to start now,” I say, laughing weakly. “So much has happened.”
“Why don’t we start with you getting taken from the safe house,” she urges. There’s more than interest in her face.
From the way her brow is puckered, I know she’s feeling guilty.
I put my hand on her knee and shake my head. “It’s not your fault that I was taken. It’s like Arsen said—Yevgeniy had a mole in Josh’s office. One way or the other, he was going to take me and Mom.”
She chews her lower lip. “Your mom, is she …”
“Still with him, yeah.” My shoulders sink. “He’s been hurting her. It’s awful.” Making fists, I bite back frustrated tears. “Waiting around to save her is killing me.”
“Is that what you wanted to talk about?” she asks. “About how we can save your mom?”
I want to say yes. But that’s a lie. I check her eyes, trying to read her. That’s when I realize she’s trying to read me. She knows I’m holding something back.
And I know exactly what that something is.
Pyotr Grachev.
Even though she’s my best friend, I can’t forget that Josh tried to use me to advance his own career.
“No, that’s not it.” I shake my head again. “It’s something else. But I don’t know if I can tell you. I don’t know if I can tell anyone.”
Audrey shoots a glance at the door. “Does Arsen bug his own home?”
I shrug. “He has cameras all over the place. His men are probably watching us right now.”
“I see.” Audrey nods. “Is this something that you don’t want him to know about?”
“No,” I sigh, flooded with fresh shame. “I’m pretty damn sure this is something he already knows about.”
Taking my hand in hers, she makes me look at her as she smiles serenely. “Nothing you tell me will leave this room. But you don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.”
The tears I’ve been holding back start to well up in my eyes. Releasing her hand, I wipe them away. “No, I want to talk about it.” I need to talk about it. “But it’s just …”
Audrey bends closer, her voice a low hush. “It’s bad.”
