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“Exactly. So what are you so bent out of shape for?”
She isn’t an obtuse person by nature. She just chooses to be sometimes, because it’s easier than being present. It’s easier than caring.
Maybe that’s why I lie. Because I don’t want her to know how badly derailed my life is right now. I don’t want her judgment, and worse still, I don’t want to see the satisfaction on her face.
“No,” I say firmly. “Who told you that?”
Her brow wrinkles. She’s surprised. More than surprised, in fact—she’s shocked. In all her life, she’s never needed prompting to speak. But now, I have to press. “Geneva?”
“I was working yesterday. Double shift at Athena’s,” she says at last. “You know the kind of men that come into the club.”
“I do.”
Men like Kolya.
Men like Ravil.
“Well, there was this one guy who walked in. Tall, handsome, real dangerous-looking.” I frown. Those adjectives certainly don’t describe Ravil. Nothandsome,at least. But maybe Genny’s tastes are just a little different than mine these days. “He came with like four other guys. They got one of the private rooms and ordered the most expensive things on the menu. At the end of the night, the tall guy invited me to sit with him for a drink.”
“What does this have to do with me?”
“Jesus,” she says, rolling her eyes, “you are so self-absorbed. I’m getting to that part. Anyway, he asked me my name and—”
“You didn’t get his name?” I interrupt.
The annoyance in her eyes deepens. “No.”
“You didn’t ask?”
“I asked; he just didn’t seem very interested in sharing. So I didn’t push. Anyway, I told him my name, and he said he’d recently heard of someone with the same last name. He wanted to know if we were related.”
My heart is starting to pick up speed in my chest. “Genny, our last name is Cole.”
“I’m aware. And?” she asks impatiently.
“And it’s a pretty common last name.”
“Look, do you want to hear the rest of this story or not?”
I sigh and try not to give away how badly I’m starting to tremble. If Ravil knows who Genny is and he’s really as bad as Kolya claims he is… “Go on.”
“So yeah, he said that he’d heard of a June Cole who was living with this dude named Kolya Uvarov. And apparently, the Uvarov guy has a horrible reputation. He made it seem like you were here against your will. Like, involuntarily.”
I turn my back on her and walk to the opposite end of the room, then back toward her. I repeat the cycle a few times, still saying nothing.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“What does it look like I’m doing?” I retort. “I’m pacing.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m frustrated!”
“With me?!” She gapes at me. “I’m sorry, but what have I done to warrant your frustration? I checked in with your work and they told me you’d basically gone silent on them weeks ago after some B.S. excuse about a family emergency. Which I happen to know is horseshit!”
“You can calm down with the dramatics,” I snap. “You look stupid when your face is arranged that way.”
She narrows her eyes at me, and for a moment, I think things are going to end in a brawl, like they did when we were little girls.
