Page 141 of Dance of Deception

I glance at him, waiting.

Nico picks up his glass, takes a sip, grimaces, then sets it down. He taps the phone again. “Guess who he had a meeting with next?”

Nico swipes to the next photo, and my eyes narrow viciously.

Kir Nikolayev.

I exhale through my nose in the silent bar, rolling my shoulders, forcing my pulse to remain steady. But my grip on the glass is tight.

“I don’t like coincidences,” I murmur.

“Neither do I,” Nico says, watching me. “But this isn’t a fucking coincidence.”

I lean back, swirling the rotgut in my glass, forcing my pulse to calm. “We need to find out what was on that drive.”

“Already working on it,” Nico says. “My guy’s tracing this asshole even as we speak. If he’s Bureau, we’ll know by tonight. But I doubt he is. Kir’s a lot of things, but an informant, or even someone who wouldlookat the FBI, isn't one of them.”

We sit there in silence, my thoughts blackening by the second.

Vera may have thought she could move in the shadows.

But the thing about playing in the dark is…

The monsters lurking there always see you first.

28

LYRA

I peeloff my sweat-soaked leotard, sighing as the cool air kisses my overheated skin. Another long day.

Milena and Naomi are beside me, moving through their own post-rehearsal routines. I stayed behind in the studio for a while, working a troublesome transition, so they’ve both already showered. Milena is pulling on her clothes, while Naomi leans against the lockers, lazily sipping from her water bottle.

“So.” Milena shoulders her bag, giving me a pointed look. “How’s life as aBarone?”

Naomi snorts. “Yeah, what’s it like living with him?”

There’s a note of sympathy behind their words, as if they’re waiting for me to tell them I’m miserable, drowning under the weight of a life I never wanted, bound to a man I didn't choose.

Instead…

I smile. Shyly. Worse, I blush.

Naomi’s water bottle stops midair, her mouth open, ready to take a sip. Milena slowly turns, her sweater half-on.

“Ohhell no.” Milena wriggles into her top, stepping closer. “Did you justblush?”

Naomi’s eyes scan my face like she’s trying to crack a secret code. “Oh my God,” she gasps quietly.

Milena lets out a slow exhale, clearly reevaluating everything she thought she knew about life. “Well…huh.”

I roll my eyes.

“Seriously though…” Milena frowns. “You're good?”

I nod. “Yeah.”

“With…Carmine.” Naomi gulps. “Barone.”

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