Page 177 of Wicked Proposal

Only, I’m not quite certain I’ll be able to rip this one out.

“Not a fan of walking aids?”

“Only when they come in hospital gray.” She makes a gagging motion. “One word:barf.”

Somehow, I’m not surprised. Her outfit may be a little ill-fitting, but it’s curated down to the last detail: black dress, black boots, black studs. A black belt cinched tight around her waist, looking to disguise how loosely her dress hangs. Not a drop of color breaks the pattern.

My gaze wanders to her arms. Black tattoos snake up from her wrists to her shoulders. They’re different from the ones on Yulian’s chest, but they carry the same aura, the same weight of meaning and purpose.

And danger, too.

She was born into his world,I realize.She was born to be Bratva.

But I was not.

Suddenly, I can’t keep it inside anymore. Ihaveto know. No more of Yulian’s half-answers—no more guesswork.

“Look,” I start. “I know it’s none of my business, but?—”

“Love the start of that question,” she says. Somehow, she doesn’t sound like she’s mocking me. “Go on.”

Her eyes fix on me with a bright, amused sort of curiosity. I swallow around a dry mouth and force myself to ask the question that’s been on my mind ever since last night.

“Are you Yulian’s girlfriend?”

It comes out all at once—AreyouYuliansgirlfriend?—which isn’t very dignified. Part of me wants to dig through all fifty floors of the StarTech skyscraper just to find a hole to crawl into.

I can feel Nikita’s eyes on me, burning holes in my face with her dumbfounded staring. I’m on the verge of blurting out an excuse and running back into the fold, Brad danger be damned.

But then…

Is she laughing?

Nikita doubles over. I can hear her wheeze, struggling to catch her breath, holding on for dear life to the railing.

“Fuckno.” She pulls herself together and lifts her face again, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes. “Not in a thousand years. That’d be a fucking nightmare.”

“I… Oh.”

“No offense.”

“None taken.” Then I realize why she’s said that. “I mean, not that I’d have any reason to be— It’s just, we’re not?—”

“Relax.” Nikita waves off my ramblings. “He told me what the deal is with you two.”

“He did?”

“Well, no. Maks told me. He’s way more talkative than our mutual BFF.”

I can’t fight the smile off my face. I tell myself it’s because hearing Yulian being called anyone’s BFF is too ridiculous to ignore, but it’s only half the truth.

The relief is much stronger than anything else.

I let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding. Mentally, I cross Nikita off the list of reasons for Yulian’s weird behavior lately. Itdoesn’t leave me with much, but if nothing else, it leaves me with hope.

I turn back to her, much more at ease now. “Sounds like you’re all caught up.”

“That I am.” She steals two glasses of champagne and hands one to me. “So, wanna get out of here?”