Page 126 of Beautiful Secrets

Nah.

That shit barely registers.

I’m terrified of the look in Mika’s eyes.

Confusion. Betrayal. Something that may be hope…but could just as well be regret.

But no fear.

Because my little rabbit has grown strong. She’s not a weak plaything anymore. She stares down the Barisovas and the Vasilievs equally—even Yuri.

That, most of all, is what’s got me shook.

I can’t even imagine what she’s been through in her life, being treated like property. Objectified and traded like chattel.

But despite that, she doesn’t act like the broken thing I expect her to be. It’s as if, in piecing herself back together, she grew stronger. More resilient.

Mika the Indestructible? Sounds like the perfect partner for someone who’s renowned for shattering lives.

But that’s not what this is about.

This meeting. This congregation of criminals.

It’s not about me.

It’s about Mika.

Her freedom.

Dear God, I hope she understands that. I try to mentally force the sentiment into her mind whenever her eyes happen to lock with mine, but I don’t know if she’s receiving the message.

We’re in the Vasiliev estate, in one of the large foyers. Chairs have been put down, but only Yuri’s grandfather is sitting. Everyone else stands at the ready.

Mika is on the far side of the room. Behind her, Derek. To one side, Kill. To the other, Tadgh and Ethan.

Paddy, it seems, couldn’t make it. Or maybe he didn’t think this shit show was worthy of his time. It’s impossible to tell with that mad fuck.

A group of men and boys behind them, looking every bit the backup they are. I only recognize a handful of faces, and that should scare me. How much has changed.

But it’s another thing that barely registers.

Even the stoic mask on my brother’s face fades into the background.

She’s wearing a dress. It’s not white—that would have been laughably ironic—but a pale gray.

I thought the slinky dress she put on in the dressing room was the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen on a woman…but I’ve just been proved wrong.

I know some of the men behind her are staring at her ass.

Can’t fault them.

I would be too.

She’s the most breathtaking creature I’ve ever seen, and it’s a fucking honor being close enough to breathe the same air as her.

But the yard of carpeting between us could have been the Mariana Trench.

And I see that same distance, that same coldness, in her eyes.