Abbie wags her eyebrows. “Like Nikolai Vetrov.”
I check the containers, and finding my ribs, I take a bite of one. “You really have the hots for him, don’t you?”
Abbie nods. “Yeah, but he doesn’t think of me that way.”
“How do you know?”
She shrugs. “It’s clear I annoy him during every class, and he’s always snapping at me like I’m some punk kid.”
“Maybe it’s the age gap. Not everyone is into that kind of thing,” I say, trying to make her feel better.
“Yeah. Still sucks, though.”
“What about one of Misha’s friends?” I ask to take her mind off Nikolai.
Abbie gives me a have-you-lost-your-mind look. “Alek is batshit crazy.” She takes a bite of her garlic bread, and after swallowing, she continues, “Armani is hot as fuck, but he’s too serious for me.”
Changing the subject, she asks, “How do you feel about going out?”
“Tonight?” I gasp, so not in the mood to get dressed up. “It’s already past nine.”
“Not tonight.” She laughs at my shocked reaction. “Next week? Maybe the week after.” She shrugs. “I need a change of scenery. But our parents can’t find out, or we’ll have an army of guards.”
“How about shopping next Saturday? During the day, we should be fine in Geneva. No one will expect us to leave St. Monarch’s grounds. Right?”
Abbie’s face lights up. “Yes! No changing your mind.”
“As long as you don’t drag me to a nightclub, I’ll go anywhere,” I joke.
She breaks a piece of garlic bread off and throws it at me. “Hey, you met Misha because I dragged you to that nightclub.”
“Yeah, I did.”
She raises her eyebrows at me. “Thank you, Abbie.”
Giving her a warm smile, I whisper, “Thank you, Abbie.”
We spend another hour outside, eating and talking about the most random topics. After gathering the containers and shoving them in the paper bag, we walk back to the castle.
“You’re my best friend,” Abbie says as she hooks her arm through mine.
“Ahh…I freaking hope so,” I laugh.
“No, I mean it, Ra-Ra. I’d die for you.”
“I’d die for you, too.”
Chapter 24
Misha
For the past two days, I’ve been thinking about what to do, and I’ve come to the conclusion that if I don’t talk to Victor, I won’t know where I stand.
Stopping outside Director Koslov’s door, I tell the guard, “Can I speak to the director?”
Using a two-way radio, I hear him say, “Misha Petrov is here to see you, sir.”
It takes a moment before the vault door opens, then Director Koslov gestures for me to enter his office.