Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 56572 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56572 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
“We’ll speak soon,” I tell Oleg in Russian, then head back to the meeting room.
I’ve got every right to go inside, of course, but I don’t trust myself to go in there and not completely wreck that prick. I have to be patient. Then I’ll be able to make him pay for every single time he dared to touch her, make her feel small, or trick her into believing she’s anything other than what she is—perfect.
Finally, my brother emerges. When I see it’s just him, Denis, and another of our men, I approach him, lowering my voice. The men stand at a respectful distance.
“I just had a fascinating conversation.”
“Oh yeah? With who?”
“Oleg Novik.”
“Nikolai’s second-in-command?” Dimitri says, sounding intensely interested. “What did he have to say for himself?”
“There’s trouble in paradise, brother,” I reply, “which means there’s a way out of this that might not mean war. It’ll mean you can be with your lady, and …” Yet even now, I don’t want to tell him. I don’t want to make it real until I know one hundred percent that Mila won’t have to marry my brother. “… go back to normal.”
Dimitri nods. “Nikolai wants to come to the pledge.”
The pledge is the official swearing-in of my brother as Pakhan of the Sokolov Bratva. Denis requested it, but all of the men want it to happen. They’ve most likely resented our father for years, and now that he’s gone, they want to make sure their real leader is official.
“That might be the place,” I tell him.
“A party,” Dimitri muses, nodding.
The door opens before he can say anything else, and Nikolai appears. He seems weak as he walks into the hallway, the four of us against him. He does a weird shuffle as he walks by us. “Out here conspiring, are you?”
Dimitri laughs because he can laugh. I turn away and hurry down the hallway.
“What’s wrong with him?” I hear Nikolai say.
“He’s ill,” Dimitri replies, and it’s not even a lie.
I feel sick down to my stomach every time I think of what he did to her. It’s like it brings out the two sides of me with more fierceness than anything else ever could. I want to hold her gently, let her feel the protectiveness wrapping around her like armor, all the while wanting to turn full devil and take her father to hell.
CHAPTER 17
MILA
Drake’s wearing a forced smile as we speak on video call. It’s the same smile he’s worn countless times after one of Dad’s meltdowns, smiling at me like he can push away all the pain and the violence and the hate.
“Are you okay, little man?” I say.
“I’m not little.” He flexes his arm. “I’m a beast.”
We laugh together, but I can tell he’s forcing it as much as I am. Leaning forward, I say, “Have you been doing lots and lots of homework?”
That’s always been our code for “Is Dad being mean to you?” We developed it when he was depressingly young, just in case one of the soldiers heard us talking.
“No, it’s not too bad,” he says. “Just … uh, tense? Is that the word?”
“Yeah, I’d imagine it is,” I tell him. “Hopefully, I’ll be seeing you soon.”
“Hmm.” He nods, and I can tell he doesn’t believe it. When I was his age, Dad seemed like a god to me, like there was no way I could ever escape him. I can’t expect Drake to trust me, especially when I don’t trust myself.
“I love you,” he says after a moment. “Big, big time, okay?”
I grin. “I love you the biggest time.”
After we end the call, the smile slips from my face.
I sigh and lean back in the computer chair, running my hands through my hair. It was easier when I had something to focus on. When we were chasing data on the internet, I could slap on my headphones and pound the keys like my life depended on it. I didn’t have to think about anything else or worry about the future.
When somebody knocks on the bedroom door, I almost let out a pathetic little noise of fear. Then I bite down, reminding myself to get my act together. I can’t flinch or freak out all the time. I need to be stronger. I need to be more like Lia, but it’s tough sometimes.
“Yeah?” I call.
“It’s me,” Mikhail says, his voice deep and rough.
“Come in.”
After pushing the door open, he strides directly over to me and sweeps me into his arms. No matter how often we do this, it’ll never stop feeling perfect, like we’re fused. It’ll never stop feeling like all the bad things we’ve ever experienced led to this moment—every single time.
He guides his lips to mine, kissing me with a passion that explodes out of him. It bursts into me forcefully. Something’s different about him. Maybe it makes me crazy to think this, but it’s almost like there’s hope in the kiss. He smooths his hands down my body, then leans back, a smile on his lips.