“So, Katya,” Brett said casually. “If it becomes well-known around the community that Richard Wilder is going to show up at your performances, it should make it a lot easier to get a spot in a company.”
I blinked in surprise. “What?”
“Not if it’s also well-known that he’s not willing to make donations,” Ryan said snidely.
Brett ignored him and leaned forward to speak to me. “If you did get him to donate regularly, you’d have a lot of influence. You might even be able to get your friends into the same company.”
“That’s not how it works,” I said slowly. “They only want the best dancers.”
Brett shook his head. “Ballet is about money, just like everything else in the world.”
I looked over at Ryan, but I saw a bitter look on his face that I’d never seen directed at me before.
“Are you okay?” I asked him softly.
Ryan shrugged, but his eyes were distant. Something caused him to pull away from me, but I wasn’t sure what it was. Maybe I needed to get Brett to focus his attention away from me and back to Ryan.
The train braked with a loud squeal as our stop was announced overhead.
“This is us,” I told Brett as I stood.
Ryan followed us sullenly, and I wracked my brain for what I should do. I should announce I was going to take a long bath when we got back to the apartment. That way, Brett and Ryan could have some alone time together.
My mood lifted as I developed my devious plan, but then abruptly dropped as my eyes caught on the stalker again. He may have ridden in a different car on the subway, but he’d gotten off at our stop. Our eyes locked as they met through the crowd, but then he was gone.
I kept looking over my shoulder as we walked home, but I didn’t spot him again. Regardless, I didn’t relax until we were back in our apartment, with the door securely locked. Ryan might have the right idea. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to get out of the city for a few days.
My thoughts drifted to the two Wilder boys, and I grimaced. What a choice. Potentially murderous stalker or two psychotic bullies? My only hope to avoid all of them was to have the Logans convince Richard to let me stay here, then never leave the apartment. This was going to be a great summer.
Chapter 9
Katya
Nothing went the way that I hoped. The Logans tried their best to intervene with Richard for me, but he threatened to get his massive team of lawyers involved, so they had no choice but to hand me over. The last thing I wanted was to get Ryan or his parents hurt. They had done so much for me, and I was forever indebted to them.
Ryan and I said our tearful goodbyes, but I was determined to get back to him as soon as possible. He reminded me that there were only two years until I turned eighteen, and then I was free to do as I pleased, but I wasn’t willing to be that patient. We promised each other that we would get into the same dance company after high school, but I couldn’t wait that long. I wanted to spend my last two years with Ryan because, realistically speaking, there was only a small chance we would end up in the same company. I wasn’t ready to deal with the heartbreak of saying goodbye to him just yet.
I was sitting on Richard’s private jet now. I had my headphones on while I ignored my temporary new family. Richard was in the back of the plane, taking a conference call before we took off, and I could hear the two idiots playing Madden or something. They were in seats in the front with the flat-screen TV, and quite noisy even though they were both wearing headsets.
It was absolutely insane that I was sitting on a private jet right now, but I was too furious at being forcefully removed from my home to enjoy it in the slightest.
I scowled when Nina slid into the seat next to me, but I refused to look at her. I wasn’t interested in hearing anything she had to say, not after the shit that she had pulled. The Logans had welcomed me into their home, and Nina had gone too far in threatening them. The threat worked, because I left with her to protect the Logans, but I was done being nice. If they wanted me here, fine. But I wasn’t going to make it easy for them.
“Darling,” she said with a fake smile. “I’m so excited to show you our new home.”
“You don’t live with Richard?” I asked sarcastically.
Her fake smile faded. “I moved in a month ago, after he asked me to marry him.”
Irritation flooded through me. “So, you mean that you can’t wait to show me everything that Richard has worked hard for his entire life? To show me the place you somehow managed to con your way into?”
“Listen up, you little `suka,” she hissed at me.
“There’s the real Nina,” I said sarcastically. “I was wondering when you would make an appearance.”
She wasn’t playing nice anymore if she was going to call me a bitch. I considered turning up my music to drown her out, but I doubted that would make her go away. Instead, I pulled off my headphones to get this over with.
Nina sank her nails into my arm, and I flinched at the pain. “You will not ruin this for me. I’ve worked hard to get to this point, and you are going to cooperate with
