Page 6 of Broken Sins (Volkov Bratva 3)

I take a glug of water from my bottle and eye the windows. If the bald men are still around, I’m going to have to find the rear exit. Better delay my departure for the time being until I figure out a feasible plan.

“Um, maybe,” I tell her.

“Oh, come on, Milly!” she squeals. “You’re always ducking out on this stuff. College isn’t about class, you know. It’s about fun.”

“Says the communications major.”

She swats me with her towel as I laugh and duck away. “Don’t be a bitch. I’m not the one who told you to sign up for bio. You’re coming, mandatory. My place for pre-game and getting ready, got it?”

I sigh. She’s relentless when she thinks she’s got me hooked. Like dealing with my father, it’s way easier to just give in sometimes. “Fine,” I answer. “Pencil me in as a firm maybe.”

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Is that what I said?”

“It’s what I heard.”

“You’re batting your eyelashes at me. You know that only works on dudes like Carlos, right?”

“Ugh,” she whines. “Don’t remind me. He just texted me, actually.”

I watch as she opens the text, reads it so that Carlos gets the read receipt and knows she saw it, then closes it without replying. I can only shake my head and laugh. This girl blows my mind.

We both look up when we hear a woman in the corner laughing way too loudly. She’s talking to Dan and standing in extremely close proximity to him. Next to me, I hear Anastasia sigh like a movie starlet. “Think batting my eyelashes would work on him?” she asks wistfully.

“You can do way better than that greasy man bun,” I tell her. “Even Chi Omega douchebags are a step up from there.”

“Maybe you should talk to him!” she suggests, brightening up like it’s the most brilliant idea of all time. “I saw how you were getting all up on him.Get your power from your back hip,he says. That’s hot.”

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Mom always says they’re going to get stuck in my head if I keep the habit up. She’s not wrong. “Hewas all up onme,”I correct, “not the other way around. Besides, not my type.”

“Whatisyour type, Mil?” Anastasia asks.

“Tall, dark, and handsome,” I say with a grin. “And mysterious.”

Just then, I hear the doorbell tinkle. I glance up and see two bald men in suits enter the studio.

My heart plummets.Shit.I thought I lost them.

I’m vaguely aware of Anastasia next to me, saying something about how starving she is. “Ooh, ding ding ding, let’s go get those matcha pancakes from Café Chez. Those things are to die for.”

“I, uh, I gotta go, Ana,” I tell her. I’m trying not to look like I’m totally freaking out, but the bile rising in my throat is making that a little harder than anticipated. “Rain check on the matcha.”

She frowns. “What’s the big rush?”

“Just, uh. You know, nothing. School. Work. Or whatever.”

“Wait, which one is it?”

“None. I mean, all of them. I gotta go. I’ll text you later. I love you. Stay out of trouble, don’t break any boys’ hearts. ’Kay?” I kiss her on the cheek and head towards the door.

The two bald men are like a wall of beefy male as I approach. Neither one of them smiles. I’m about a yard away when I mutter to them under my breath, “Outside. Parking lot. Now.” Right when I’m about to plow into them, they part ways like a double door opening inward, allowing me through. I don’t break stride, just keep on walking, out of the studio, away from the strip mall, into the bright Los Angeles sunshine.

* * *

I’m halfway into a rant. “How many times do I have to tell you morons that I just want a little privacy sometimes?” But it’s like yelling at a brick wall.

The two bald men, Anton and Matvei, don’t blink or move. They’re twins. It took me forever to learn how to tell them apart. Turns out Anton is a little squintier. But, since they’re both wearing wraparound sunglasses right now, I’m not sure which one is which. It doesn’t really matter, I suppose. I’m equally pissed off at both.

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