Page 79 of Sapphire Tears

Milana looks at me skeptically. “I suppose it’s possible. But…”

“I’m sick of the goddamn games, Milana. Just spit it out.”

She slumps back into the armchair with none of her usual grace. “By all accounts, it appears that they weren’t retiring Sapphire because she was aging out,” she says. “They were retiring her because she was sick. ‘Cancer’ is the word that’s floating around. I don’t know much more than that, and no one else I can find does, either. The girls lost track of her once she was out of the ring.”

“You mean once Adrian got her out.”

I should have known where she was.I should have known she was sick. I should have helped.

But I didn’t.

Hedid.

“There has to be some trace of her,” I insist. “Even after she left the ring.”

“My contacts are inside of the ring, Kolya,” Milana points out. “Not out.”

“Then find other contacts,” I growl. “We don’t have answers. She could have survived it.”

“She very well could have,” Milana agrees. But it doesn’t take a genius to read the despair and pessimism in her face.

There’s only one answer. She’s avoiding saying it to avoid setting me off. But I’ve been set off for a long time now. There’s no going back. There’s only going forward.

I have to talk to Adrian.

The only question is, how do I stop myself from strangling him before I get a word in edgewise?

“First things first,” Milana says, punching my arm gently. “You need to get yourself fighting fit again.”

“Yeah, yeah. Give me a couple of minutes.”

She laughs, but it fades quickly. “He’s proved to be a lot bolder than we anticipated, Kolya.”

I shake my head. “It’s easy to be bold when you’re hiding behind richer, more powerful men. If I were to strip away his shields, I’d find the same scared coward who ran from the Bratva, only to realize he wasn’t cut out for the real world, either.”

Milana nods. “You may be right about that.”

“I am,” I say with determination. “My mistake was in blinding myself to who Adrian really is. But I’m done making excuses for him. It’s time to start holding him accountable for his sins.”

“And what about June?”

That monster in my gut roars again, demanding more, more, more. More grief. More pain. I know where June stands on this, but as much as I don’t want to hurt her in any way, I can’t just ignore it.

Protecting Adrian is one promise I can no longer afford to keep.

34

JUNE

“June?”

“Sorry,” I say, glancing towards Sara. “I’m a little out of it today.”

She’s on her feet immediately with her Dr. Sara face on. “Is it the baby? Are you feeling any fatigue or discomfort?”

I shake my head. “Bloated like a whale, but I think that’s normal.”

“So it’s Kolya then?” she surmises as she sinks back down, though she stays perched on the edge of her seat.

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