I swallow hard, realizing he’s talking about the blackmail and our deal. Did he really expect me to tell anyone about it? No matter how close my friends are, I can’t have anyone else find out about my connection to the Morozov Bratva in Moscow.
I trust Adrianna and Camilla implicitly, but one slip of the tongue to their families could mean devastation for my brother and the Gurin Bratva. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He tuts, shaking his head. “Natalya and I have an arrangement for the year.” The look in his eyes is one of pure, sadistic delight as he glances at Camilla and then Adrianna. “In effect, she’s mine, and that’s all you need to know.”
Camilla’s brow furrows as she gives me a quizzical look, but remains silent.
His eyes return to me and he smirks. “Perhaps you should stop lying to the people closest to you, or you might end up with no one.” His arm wraps around my waist and he pulls me closer, leaning into me and pressing a kiss to my cheek. As he moves away, he whispers, “Careful, Natalya. You’re playing with fire.”
The threat in his tone takes my breath away as he turns his back on me, glancing over his shoulder. “See you around, Gurin.” He waves and then strolls down the corridor, leaving me to pick up the pieces with my friends.
“What the fuck was that?” Adrianna asks.
I shut my eyes and press a hand to my forehead as an ache start in the center. “He’s at his usual games again.”
“That doesn’t really answer the question,” Camilla presses.
I meet my friend’s suspecting gazes. “I don’t want to talk about it,” I say, hating that Elias is isolating me from my friends. The risk of the information he holds over me getting into anyone else’s hands is too great, and yet I want to tell them the truth. It kills me not to.
“Fair enough,” Adrianna says, linking arms with me. “Lunch, now,” she says, making me laugh at how impatient she is, but I feel so damn thankful for her.
Some girls would hold it against me that I don’t want to tell them what this arrangement between us entails, but not my two best friends. We walk in silence to the cafeteria, and I can tell Camilla is irritated that I won’t tell them what’s going on with Elias. Normally, I tell them everything, but even if they swore to never breathe another word about our family’s true name to anyone, I know what a motormouth Camilla in particular can be. She can’t keep anything from her brothers and certainly not from her sister, Mia. The two of them are basically inseparable.
Once we’ve got our food, we sit down at our normal table and Adrianna fills in the silence, talking about how much of a pig Coach Daniels was in combat class. Apparently, he tried to proposition her after class, which doesn’t surprise me at all. Adrianna’s quiet and reserved, the kind of girl Coach Daniels always tries to corner.
“What are you going to do?” I ask.
She shrugs. “I’m going to keep telling him to fuck off.”
I bite my bottom lip. “Not sure Coach Daniels takes rejection very well.”
Camilla nods. “I heard he can make girls’ lives a living hell if they reject him.”
Adrianna’s expression turns furious as she crosses her arms over her chest. “What are you saying? I’m not sleeping with him because he’ll get angry about being rejected. He can fuck himself for all I care.”
I nod in response. “Fair enough.” I spoon the delicious pasta into my mouth.
“He’s hot, though. Don’t you think?” Camilla asks.
Adrianna looks at her as if she’s clinically insane. “Yes, and a complete and utter man whore. There’s no way I’m giving my virginity to a man like him.”
I swallow hard, as at least she has a choice who she gives it to. It turns out mine is going to be passed over like some fucking trophy to a guy who has bullied me for years. He’s the least deserving of it, and yet I know that I’d give it over in a heartbeat to save my family, particularly Mikhail.
My brother is my world. In a way, he’s been both my father and my mother, since Father died ten years ago. And although he is often busy, he still finds time for me when I’m not at the academy. I know this is my way of paying him back, even if he’d probably murder Elias if he knew about the arrangement or the blackmail.
Camilla gets up and heads for the bathroom, and Adrianna gives me a look that tells me she isn’t going to drop what Elias said.
“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” she asks.
I clench my jaw. “I told you, I don’t.” I tear off a piece of garlic flatbread and stuff it in my mouth. “Just drop it.”
She sighs heavily. “I know you well enough to know you won’t tell us if you don’t want to. I just worry about you is all.”
I smile at her, but it feels forced. “I know you do, and I love you for it.” I reach for her hand and squeeze it. “But I promise you, this is something I just don’t want to talk about.”
She holds her hands up in surrender. “Got it.” She mimes zipping her mouth shut. “I won’t say another word about it.”
“Thank you.”