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But there was an agreement brokered within days of his birth.I did what I could to save him.
Still, to be this close…
“Just go, Kirill.” I slump defeated against the mirrored wall.
“Da,” he sneers, waving me away. “It was a waste of time coming here. Lastra got out of jail three days ago. If his love for you was so great, he would have contacted you already.”
Frankie’s been in jail?
“Goodbye, wife.” He clears his throat, aiming a parting shot of contempt at my feet, mottling the toes of my black leather dance shoes with his spit. “O’Sullivan has ordered you to join us at Ashton Racecourse on Thursday afternoon. One of his horses is running, and there are…variousbusiness reasons that require your attendance. I suggest you obey unless you want us to burn this studio down to the ground.”
“Kirill—”
“Here.” Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a cheap red lighter and tosses it onto the floor between us. “Next time there will be a flame, eh?”
“Fine,” I whisper. “I’ll be there.”
I’m dreading every minute of it already.
When the door slams shut, my aching legs give way, and I end up a crumpled, unwanted heap on the floor.Time breeds false hope, but it always ends with doubt.
Hugging my swollen knees to my chest, I think about butterflies crushing their once-beautiful wings against that glass. I picture all the other women he’s been with, faceless beauties with no surgical scars who can offer him the lightness he deserves, when all I have is weight. I tumble headfirst into a pool of self-pity until I feel a gentle tap on my shoulder.
“Miss Rivers? Um, are you okay?”
One of my eleven-year-olds from my next class is staring down at me, aghast, like I’m a puppy she’s kicked by accident.
“Oh, my God, is that the time?” Reaching for the ballet barre, I pull myself up and brush away my cracked composure. “I thought I’d lost an earring, Candice. I’m so silly. Are the rest of the girls ready?”
“I’m early, Miss Rivers. No one else is here yet. By the way, this just came for you.” She holds out a slim brown package to me.
“What is it?”I say, taking it from her.
“I don’t know. There was a man on the pavement downstairs. He gave it to my mum. Said you’d dropped it a while back and that it was time to return it. We figured it must be something for the studio. I’ll go and get my dance shoes on, shall I?”
“Yes, do,” I murmur, running my fingers across the paper shell. There’s no name on the front, and the back is just as empty. “And don’t forget your water bottle.”
“I won’t, Miss Rivers.”
Slipping my thumb under the tape, I open the package. The first thing I see is a faded red blemish, then the creased spine, and then the five words of a book title I thought had finally abandoned me.
Oh my God.
I know what the stain is. It’s the blood of my old bodyguard, Seamus, who Frankie killed to set me free. It’s the book I meant to return to the librarian that day, but I’d been in such a hurry to meet with him that I’d rushed straight past her desk.
This book was our excuse to escape back then, so maybe…maybe…
“Candice!” I cry out, limping quickly towards the changing room.
Her pretty, round face appears in the doorway. “Yes, Miss Rivers?”
I wave the book at her. “The man who gave this to you. What did he look like?”
Her eyes widen at the urgency in my voice.
“He was really tall.”
“Dark hair?”
