with a cotton form of freedom. Next, I dried and straightened my hair, applied some strawberry lip gloss, and donned the heavy cardigan I wore in place of a coat on the way here. The cold sucked the air from my lungs as I headed across the street to the nearest convenience store to buy a disposable phone. Maybe it was the lack of winter apparel, but I stuck out like a sore thumb. Eyes followed my movements, and I got cat-called twice. Not an odd thing growing up in Miami, but I thought someone even took my picture. The attention made me wonder about my mother—if she really was so famous here, and why my papa hid it from me. He didn’t like to talk about her. I assumed it hurt too much, so I never had the heart to press the matter. But one would think he could share something with me. The fact she was a well-known opera singer maybe... With a new phone in hand, I dialed Ivan’s number. He answered immediately, his voice cautious. “Hello?” “Hi, Ivan. It’s me.” “Mila,” he breathed. “Gde ty, chert voz’mi?” Where the hell are you? I had an apology on my tongue, but the fact the relief in his voice was so palpable like he had no faith in me at all—even though he was annoyingly accurate in this case—stopped it from escaping. “Relax.” I shivered and tightened my cardigan around me. “I’m fine.” “I have been worried sick about you,” he snapped. “I don’t know why. Obviously, I’ve been doing just fine.” Liar, liar, pants on fire. “Where are you staying?” A clothing store’s window display drew me in. A bell dinged as I stepped inside, and I sighed in relief at the warmth. “To be honest, I’m not entirely sure.” “What the hell does that mean?” “Tt means I can’t read Russian, Ivan.” I headed to a clothing rack to peruse the dresses. I didn’t know if there was a performance at the opera house tonight, but I figured I should dress for one. Better to be overdressed than under in my learned opinion. “Besides, I stayed at a restaurant last night. I didn’t catch the name.” Slowly, he asked, “Why did you stay at a restaurant, Mila?” Well, crap.