“If I tried to contact her, would you… would you mind?”

“The only way I would stand between you and your family is if they posed a threat to you,” I tell her. “And as you said, despite how misguided Geneva was, I do believe that she had your best interests at heart. She just needs to understand that I do, too.”

“I’ll make her see that. I promise.” She clasps my hand tightly and lays her head back on my shoulder. “Family is hard, huh?”

“The bane of my existence.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“Sometimes, I do,” I say honestly.

Her eyes soften. “You need to find out what happened to your mother, Kolya,” she says gently. “Even if it’s bad, you need to know. For closure’s sake.”

There’s that word again—closure. The ending I never got.

As much as I try to fight it, I keep thinking about her, trapped in a hellhole that her own husband helped forge. Chained in a sick circus that was built for ugly people and their dark desires.

I hope, wherever she is now, that there’s a piano for her to play.

“I know,” I agree. “And I intend to find out exactly what happened to her. And that means…”

“You have to talk to Adrian.”

She gets it. I don’t need to answer. Her silence is heavy, but I don’t impose. I leave her to her thoughts and let myself do the unthinkable in her presence.

I relax.

I have every certainty that tomorrow will bring a fresh batch of complications. But for right now, with June in my arms—it’s simple.

37

JUNE

“This is insane.”

I’ve never seen such a glittery façade to a store before. It looks like a dream palace, shimmering gold and silver in the sun.

“You did promise to let me take care of you for a change,” Kolya reminds me.

“I don’t remember promising anything of the sort.”

“Humor me then,” he laughs, taking my hand. “This is the first time I’ve been able to get out of that damn suite in days.”

I bite back my own smile and let him coax me into the store. “I’m not sure how buying me a bunch of expensive things I don’t need is humoring you, but okay. Proceed as you wish, Mr. Uvarov.”

“I always do.”

The doors open with a tinkling chime and the onrush of lavender. It’s broad and open in here, every surface spotless, every item hanging on a rack of its own. Even the mannequins have their chins raised haughtily, as if they’re turning their noses up at every customer that walks in.

I look down at the purple dress I’m wearing and suddenly, I don’t feel quite so chic anymore. It’s pretty and all, but it’s alarming how fast I go from feeling cute and summery to dowdy and unprepared.

“Is it possible to be intimidated by a mannequin?” I mutter as Kolya and I pass one wearing a gorgeous blush tulle skirt and a black crop top with an open back.