Page 229 of Barinov

“She didn’t only survive this time, l’ombre,” Sabine’s voice had been quiet over the speaker. “Our girl won. And you boys helped her. For the first time in her life, tragedy didn’t end in more tragedy. It led to this family finally being somewhat whole for a change. So you boys let her run with it. If she wants to dance until her feet bleed, then you wrap those ankles, kiss those bruises, and let her dance.”

We barely make it through the door of the studio before Josh damn near tackles our girl.

“B!” he screams, hoisting her off her feet.

“J!” she shrieks as he twirls her in the air.

“What the—” I start, but Cade hooks an arm around my waist and yanks me backward before I can end Josh’s dance career.

“Breathe, babe,” he mutters against my neck, pulling me down to our seat next to Briggs.

The next few minutes become a test to my sanity as each of the Trifecta’s stunt dudes take a turn hugging our girl. I can practically hear Sabine’s voice in my head reminding me to let her dance.

“Alright,” Javi yells, tapping his clipboard from the top of a folding chair. “We’re all very excited that our girl, Bella, is back.”

A few cheers break free.

“But like my sparkling little diva said in the group chat, we have work to do.” He snaps his fingers. “Rez! Bring them out, por favor.”

“Did he just say Rez?” I ask, leaning forward.

Rez’s blinding white hair catches my attention from the corner as he ushers out eight dancers all looking like they’d rather be anywhere else than here.

“Trifecta,” Javi beams as the dancers get closer. “It gives me the greatest joy to announce that this year we will be joined by the Russian Ken doll with the muscles of—”

“Can it,” Rez pipes up. “I told you I’d help with dancing, not be your eye candy.”

“Well,” Javi snaps, waving him off. “We will most definitely need to work on your attitude later.”

“Wait… what the hell?” Bella screeches, running to Rez.

“Surprise,” he says, lifting her off the ground.

“Jesus Christ Rez,” I swear under my breath.

Briggs leans over, bumping my shoulder. “You didn’t know?”

“That my cousin signed up to be Javi’s little bitch?” I gripe. “Absolutely not.”

“Not my bitch,” Javi corrects, dramatically waving his hands toward Rez who is holding our girl way too tight. “Assistant to greatness.”

“Ahh!” Ellie and Haley squeal in unison as they rush Rez.

“All we need now is that ginger-death-daddy to join us,” Rico adds, aggressively fanning himself. “And this team will be complete.”

“Keep it in your pants, baby,” Javi laughs.

“How did this happen? And why didn’t you tell us?!” Bella exclaims as Rez finally sets her ass down.

Rez steadies her before running a hand over his neck. “Turns out your coach is annoyingly persistent and no is a word that apparently doesn’t translate well.”

“¡Por supuesto que no! My vocabulary is strictly elite, cariño, and no is far too negative for this brand,” Javi retorts, crossing his arms with a dramatic roll of his shoulders. “Plus, I know talent when I see it.”

Rez just laughs it off. “Anyway, I figured since I helped Ellie win a World Championship, I should probably do it for my cousin’s girl too,” he admits, throwing a lazy smirk my way.

“Yes, yes,” Javi says, rolling his eyes as he claps his hands together to recapture the room’s attention. “We’re all thrilled with your ever-growing knowledge of dance. Now can we get back to business, please?”

The girls laugh as they drift back toward their places beside Javi while the freshmen shuffle nervously into formation on the floor. Bella folds her arms, her expression shifting from the excitement of Rez’s news to team captain in a single breath.