Page 60 of Tarnished Reign

“Wow,” she says as she stares at me unabashedly. “You could make a hell of a lot of money on OnlyFans.”

I fight the urge to cover myself by crossing my arms over my chest. I take the dress as she hands it to me and let it fall over my head. It slides down my body, caressing me.

“Oh this feels gorgeous,” I tell her.

“It's raw silk,” she says. “It's a little bit rougher than refined silk, but it just feels amazing, I think. And it gives such a beautiful depth to color too. It soaks more of it up, you see. I'm learning a lot about fashion. I think I'd like to be a fashion designer. Or a model. I don't know yet. Something in that industry. Or maybe a vet.”

“They’re kind of different,” I tell her.

“I know, but I'm too young to have found my full calling yet. It will come to me in time. What do you do?” she asks.

“I don't do anything at the moment, but I've been looking for work in my field.”

“What's your field?”

“Literature. English literature.”

“Ah, that explains why you went all orgasmic over the bookshelf. What kind of work does that entail? Like working in a bookshop or something?”

I smile at her. “I’d love to own my own bookshop. One of those small, nice little places, with a coffee shop inside. That would be heaven.” I sigh. “It takes money to start up, and that I don’t have. I’ve been spending a lot of time at home with my brother, but I have to get a job, and I need to earn as much as I can … for him.”

“Why for him?” she asks.

“Do you know anything about me?”

“I know you were rescued from some really bad men.” Her face tightens. “They took me once, not the same bad men, but some bastards. I know how it feels.” Before I can say anything, she carries on. “Is that why you need to earn money? To get away and hide, with your brother?”

For some reason, I don’t stop myself from telling her even though I barely know her. She’s a lot easier to talk to than Dimitri. “Sort of, but it’s not just about me. It’s my stepbrother I need to help. His name is Cade. He loves carrot sticks, and the dog park, and he’d adore a puppy of his own. He can’t say my name, so he calls me Dreenana.”

She laughs at that.

“He’s adorable, and my stepmom is a horrible, nasty woman, and I am scared for him. At best he’s neglected. At worst…” I can’t bring myself to put my fears into words.

“You want to save him,” she says softly.

“I do, yes.” I blink away the tears that fill my eyes, not wanting to cry in front of her.

Her face falls. “Is there anyone else who can help while you’re here?” She worries at her lip.

“I could call his dad’s parents. His dad died but his grandparents have been around a couple of times, and they seem to love him to bits. I think they might try to help, but I don’t want to put them in danger. Anyway, I don’t have a phone.”

She glances at the door and then back to me. “I don’t think my brother would want you to make calls in case it alerted the people who are looking for you.”

“I mean, I understand, but I’m so worried. What if I called them with you in the room? I’ll beg them not to let Hana know I spoke with them. I’ll reassure them that I’m okay, but she can’t know I have called. Then I’ll ask them to go visit. You could listen to the entire conversation.”

“I don’t know. Dimitri would have given you a phone if he wanted you to have one.”

“One call?” Now that the idea is planted in my mind, I can’t bear to let it go. “They are on the East Coast and have nothing to do with my stepmother, who is the one embroiled in all this. I really do think they’ll keep what I tell them to themselves.”

I can’t believe I’m doing this. Taking this risk. Dimitri is going to be livid.

“If I let you and he finds out, he’ll kill me,” she says, then quickly adds, “Not literally, but I really don’t want him to be angry at me.”

“I’ll never tell him. Please. I’m so worried about my stepbrother.”

She chews on a nail and keeps glancing at me and then down again. Then she pulls her phone out of her pocket and hands it to me as if it’s on fire. “Make it quick, and tell them they cannot ever let your stepmother know you spoke with them. Throw them off the scent. If they ask where you are, say out of the country. Wait.”

She taps something on the screen, and I see she’s blocked caller ID when she hands me her phone.

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