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“Where do you go?” Julia asked, her voice soft.
I knew what she was asking me. She wanted to know what I was thinking about when my mind went far away. My throat felt dry as I thought about telling her what had happened to me that night. Not just because it was the worst thing that ever happened to me, but also, because I knew that I would need to explain to Julia that I wasn’t as good as she wanted me to be.
While I’d never killed anyone, I had inadvertently helped Nikolai bring harm to those that he saw as his enemies. I shuddered as the memory of Sasha Petrov’s husband rushing her towards an EMT hit me. Nikolai and Katarina had punished me for trying to warn her by forcing me to watch the carnage that Nikolai had wrought on the wedding.
“Not all secrets are worth sharing,” I said, softly.
Julia pursed her lips. “I tell you everything.”
I wanted to remind her that that wasn’t the case. After all, she and Mark had broken up, and I was just hearing about it. But Julia didn’t want to hear that. She wanted me to open up and share, but I couldn’t. “Some things are too dark to let into the light.” It was cryptic, but it was the best I could do.
A low sigh came from Julia, and I knew she wasn’t happy about what I said, but she wouldn’t press further. This wasn’t the first time that she’d called out my secrets. When she realized, I wasn’t going to talk, she would let it go. At least, for a few months.
“We need to figure out what we are going to do next,” Julia said. “Do you think that you will be able to get work soon? I’ve got some money stashed away for a month or two of rent, and then…” She trailed off, and I knew that she was trying not to panic.
After all, we were now both unemployed, and if we stayed that way, we would soon be homeless.
But Julia needed to focus on her recovery if she was ever going to be able to dance again. I didn’t even know if that was an option. She got insurance from the ballet company, but I wasn’t sure how it worked with her benched.
Reaching into my pocket, I felt the card that Ezra had insisted on giving me before I ran out on him.Don’t go there,I scolded myself. Ezra Wright might not be part of the Bratva, but he was dangerous in another way. I wasn’t so naive to think otherwise.
“I don’t know what the hell we are going to do.”
I turned the card in my hand over and over again. I should have thrown it away, but I was glad I hadn’t. “It’s going to be fine,” I said.
Julia released a sardonic chuckle. “What are you basing that on exactly?”
Once more I didn’t have something definitive to tell her. I didn’t even know what Ezra wanted from me, or if it was something I would be willing to give.
“We’ve been in worse situations,” I said.
Julia snorted. “Your eternal optimism is appreciated, but also, incredibly annoying.”
I laughed and shook my head. I was as far from an optimist as a person could get, but I was starting to wonder if Ezra Wright could be the answer to all of my prayers. For most of my life, men had used me for their own ends. Now, it was time for me to turn the tables.
CHAPTERTEN
When Annie left my office, I hoped that I would hear from her. I’d been almost sure that she would capitulate when reality set in for her, but I still found myself surprised when I received a text to meet her at one of New York’s most expensive sushi restaurants.
I chuckled. I knew that she wasn’t going to make this easy on me, and it made her more intriguing. Though I enjoyed how docile she could be, I wasn’t interested in a wife who was too scared to look at her own shadow.
As Annie walked in, I took a moment to examine her. She was tall and thin, too thin, I noted. Her hair was a dishwater blonde, almost brown. It was clearly bottle dye as her eyebrows were much fairer.
Her eyes were incredibly blue and striking.
Tonight, she was dressed in a navy sweater dress, which was shapeless on her body. There were a few loose strands that had started to unravel, and the fabric was pilling around the arms.
Even in shitty clothes, there was something about Annie that drew people’s attention. I was banking on that magic giving me the edge I needed it when it came to my campaign. After years of fucking around, New York society wasn’t going to believe that I would be with just anyone. She needed to be special, and with a little polish, Annie would sparkle.
“Thank you for coming,” I said, standing up as Annie approached the table.
I could tell even under her clothing that she was tense. I needed to play this carefully to make sure that I didn’t spook Annie. She had a backbone, but she was also like a mouse. Shine too much light on her, and she would scurry away.
“I didn’t have much of a choice,” she said. She looked at the chair warily.
I gestured towards it. “I won’t bite.” I wanted to add something dirty to the end of it, but I needed to be on my best and most charming behavior.
Annie looked around the restaurant. I wasn’t sure if she was ensuring that there were witnesses present should I try something she didn’t like, or if she was admiring the scene. She’d made an odd request, but I hadn’t questioned it. After all, in four days, I needed her to be ready to go to a society event as my fiancé.
