It was never fun, but it was our space. No one could hurt us in the closet.
“Do you want to talk about anything?” I finally ask, breaking the quiet.
“I don’t even know what to say.”
“Well, what did you hear? We can start there.”
Elise looks over at me. There are dark circles pressed under her eyes. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen herwith those before. It breaks my heart just a little bit more.
“Nikolai is some kind of… Bratva boss?” She shakes her head. “I don’t even know what that means.After he—When he killed those men who were trying to get us to go in their car, he told me he hadenemies. He said he was protecting us. Was that all a lie? Is Nikolai actually the bad guy? Are webeing held here against—”
Now that she’s talking, the words are pouring out of her. I have to reach over and g
