Page 58 of Kings of Cruelty

“We can buy more shoes,” I tell her. “Prettier shoes. Better shoes.” I wonder how long she’s going to be stubborn about not wantingcomfortableshoes.

Sierra wipes again at her eyes, letting out a shaky breath. “That’s… That’s the first time I’ve told anyone,” she whispers to me. “It’s like it’s real. God, Nikolai, I don’t want it to be real.”

I am absolutelynotequipped to deal with this.

I stare helplessly at her, trying to figure out what to say to keep her from breaking down even more. “I know, zaya,” I say. That’s a start, because it’s true. I do know she doesn’t want to be pregnant. I also know it isn’t her choice—not this time, and it won’t be her choice the next time Konstantin decides to knock her up.

I don’t say that aloud, though.

“But I’m proud of you,” I tell her.

She scoffs at me. “For what? Scaring off poor Mindy? Crying in public?”

All right, so maybe there’s not really anything I can say I’m proud of beyond her finally admitting it to someone else—maybe even admitting it to herself, too.

“You’re doing really well,” I try.

Her phone pings from her purse, and she groans. “For fuck’s sake, not right now,” she groans.

I quirk a brow at her, confused and interested all at once.

Sierra shakes her head. “You get to keep your secrets. I get to keep mine,” she says, and I wince. She’s not going to let me push on this, either, even though I want to.

I kneel down in front of her and take her foot into my hands. It doesn’t look any bigger than before, but what’s half a shoe size? I rub her ankle before taking the sized up sandal and putting it on her foot. This one fits properly, and I have to admit it’s a nicer design than the red hooker heels I’d made her wear during the photo shoot.

“You look good in these,” I say, glancing up at her.

Sierra’s looking around the store, distracted. “This is where I met Silvano Cresci for the first time.”

I blink at the non-sequitur. “Really? You happened to be shopping at the same store?”

“He was stalking my brother,” Sierra says, like that makes perfect sense. “I didn’t mind him. I know I was supposed to hate him then, like I hate him now, but he was charming. And even then, I knew they were together.” She sighs, picking up the other shoe. “I guess I’ll size up the whole collection and take it home. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

I nod and help her get her old shoes back on—which, in my opinion, look a lot more comfortable than the sandals. We head to the counter, and Sierra glumly tells Mindy the new address to ship everything to.

“Enjoy the new shoes,” Mindy says as she types in the information. She gives Sierra an awkward smile. “I can send along some store recommendations for other clothes, too? For, um, the coming months.”

Sierra’s shoulders slump, but she nods. “Yeah. That’d be nice. I guess.”

I elbow her in the side.

She shoots an annoyed look in my direction, but she tells Mindy, “Thank you.”

Mindy nods. “You’re welcome.”

Sierra is quiet as we leave. “I was going to make you carry them,” she says.

“You were also going to get a few pairs, not an entire collection,” I retort. “Come on. There’s a restaurant nearby that I’ve heard is amazing.”

I lead her in the direction of it, and there’s a strange look on her face as we approach. “Here?” she asks.

I nod, feeling puzzled. “Is there a problem with it? Is it bad?”

She sighs. “No. It’s really good. It’s… Remember me talking about Silvano stalking Kyran to the store? This is where we went for lunch after. A lot of memories, that’s all.”

I don’t know if they’re particularly good ones with how she’s acting. “We can go somewhere else—” I start to say, but I stop short when I recognize a man heading in our direction.

When I recognizemy fatherheading in our direction.

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