I turned to Maverik with wide eyes. I wasn’t sure if he was helping or hurting me right now. Yes, it would be great to get away from Nina for the rest of the summer, but did I really want to be trapped at Bedford Academy? At least here, I had some semblance of independence. I guess it was better than a rehab facility.
“That’s not a bad idea,” Richard said thoughtfully. “Katya, you’ll be able to focus on your studies without too many distractions.”
Nina didn’t know what to say. She glanced between Richard and Maverik indecisively. It was clear she didn’t want to agree with Maverik, solely on principle. However, I also knew she didn’t want to be stuck pretending to have a fake mother/daughter relationship with me all summer. If I were sent away to school, she’d be free of her unwanted child.
“I’ll call over to Bedford tomorrow,” Richard told me. “I’m sure they can find room for you in the dorms. And you can always come home on weekends to spend time with your mother.”
I nodded, but it felt a lot like I was being abandoned all over again. Yes, I knew from the beginning that this was a fake family, but at some point, I’d started to feel something more than just disdain for Richard and my ‘brothers.’ It was my fault for letting them past my defenses, but that didn’t stop me from being resentful. They made me feel things, then dropped me as soon as it was convenient for them.
I vowed to harden my heart. I couldn’t afford to be pulled in like that again. These guys might not be gunning for my destruction anymore, but they could still tear me apart. I needed to forget they even existed. I excused myself from dinner as soon as possible and scurried back to my room to grab my ballet things. Maverik’s eyes were heavy on my back as I left, but he was the last person I wanted to talk to tonight.
Sergei’s demands were still weighing on me. I hadn’t made any progress in finding the map he wanted. Despite my suspicion that it wasn’t in the house at all, I still went back up to Nina’s closet to search the next day. I went through every single drawer, handbag, and pocket, but found nothing.
Maverik’s assurances had been on my mind all week, but I wasn’t ready to trust him. I certainly wasn’t ready to trust myself around him, not when it seemed he might be open to being friendly. An angry, hostile Maverik I could handle. But what about the new version of him he’d shown me? How long could I keep the protective version of him from worming his way into my heart and playing with my emotions?
Maverik had more resources than I did, and if I came clean about the map, he might even be able to help me find it. But at what cost? I could lie about what I wanted it for, but what would happen when Sergei came after it? I was trapped in a horror story that I couldn’t find my way out of.
Instead of sitting down and trying to come up with a plan to escape this mess, I grabbed my ballet bag. I did what I always did when life became too much for me to handle. I blocked it all out and went to dance.
Chapter 39
Katya
I walked nervously down the street as Abby chatted beside me. Alex trailed behind us discreetly, close enough if we needed him, but far enough not to be intrusive. Abby had convinced me that we needed to visit the shops to find cute stuff for my temporary room at Bedford Academy. I was using our trip as an opportunity to meet with one of Sergei’s men. I needed to convince him to give me more time.
“Let’s go in here!” Abby said brightly as she tugged on my arm.
I blushed when I saw she was leading me into a lingerie shop. Like most young ballerinas, my barely-an-A-cup meant that I could get away with wearing just a bralette or cami most of the time. Pretty underthings weren’t something I’d ever indulged in before.
Thankfully, Alex took up a post outside of the shop to wait for us. The saleswoman greeted Abby, and the two of them struck up a conversation. I wandered through the shop, but stopped at a section meant for girls my size. I picked up a pretty aqua lace bralette that felt soft and stretchy in my hands.
“Did you find anything?” Abby asked cheerfully as she appeared next to me with her arms piled high.
“Maybe,” I said noncommittally.
“Find some stuff to try on,” Abby ordered. “I don’t want to be the only person in the dressing room.”
I shook my head and laughed, but picked up a few things I wouldn’t mind indulging in.
The saleswoman eyed my selections critically. “We have some lovely padded bras that would help enhance your shape.”
I chuckled. I’d spent so much time with other dancers that I sometimes forgot how people in the real world thought. Growing breasts would be a nightmare for me, but the opposite was true for most girls my age.
“I’m fine with these,” I told her with a smile.
The saleswoman brushed me off as a lost cause, and I trailed after her and Abby as they led the way to the fitting rooms in the back.
Abby and I stood next to each other in the mirror so we could compare our first selections. The bralette I picked out was soft and comfortable – so that was a yes for me. Abby was modeling a red pushup bra that made her curves even more pronounced. She turned left and right to examine the fit.
“I don’t really like the
