Chapter 36
Dominik
Alina is still wrapped up in my arms when the door opens without a knock.
I squint my tired eyes and groan in annoyance when I see Valentin in the doorway.
“What now?” I huff.
All he says in response is, “Alina.”
She sits up, and I tighten my hold on her. Gavriil is summoning her.
“I guess I have to go,” she remarks, like the words cost her more than she’s willing to admit.
Grateful to have any time with her at all today, I press a gentle, lingering kiss against Alina’s soft lips. “Come back to me, dikaya koshka.”
She smiles as she rests her forehead against mine. “You know that I will.”
We break apart, and she slips out of bed. My heart races as she reaches Valentin and disappears.
Gavriil is the only person I can’t protect her from, and that cuts deeper than any blade ever could.
Every time she leaves me, I’m reminded of my failure. Of how I should’ve kept her safe, kept her away from him. If I had, neither of us would be here now.
About fifteen or twenty minutes later, when the bedroom door opens again, I expect to be taken right back down to my cell.
Simeon appears in the doorway, and he motions for me to approach him.
I step toward him, only to pause when he pulls a pair of handcuffs out of his back pocket.
“Back down to the basement?” I guess.
“No. The Pakhan wants to speak to you,” he replies.
“You really need to put those on me just to let me speak to him?” I question him, my feet becoming rooted to the floor.
Simeon huffs. “Everyone knows you want him dead.”
He’s right. But for now, my curiosity overpowers my frustration. I walk over to him and hold my wrists out.
Simeon snaps the handcuffs onto them before nodding toward the doorway.
“His office?” I guess as I step out into the hallway.
“You know the way.”
I roll my eyes as I take a left to head that way, my steps slowing as faint noises reach my ears. Overlapping voices, rapid footsteps, thuds and thumps. Too many to ignore, too violent to dismiss.
Something is going on downstairs. Actually, it sounds like a lot is going on downstairs.
“What’s happening?” I ask Simeon as I glance toward the staircase.
“The Pakhan will explain it to you if he wants you to know.”
Will Gavriil actually tell me what’s going on? There’s only one way to find out.
I quicken my pace to reach his office. I storm inside to find him sitting behind his empty desk. My anger at him spending the night holding my girl is briefly interrupted when I notice that the filing cabinets and everything else is gone.
“What’s going on?” I question him. “Are you moving out?”
If he decided to take Alina out of the state, out of the country with him, I may never see her again.
Gavriil leans back in his seat and folds his hands over his chest. “Sensitive information has been removed from the estate and transported somewhere safer.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Why?”
My brother holds my gaze, looking like we’re just talking about the weather when shit must be getting serious in his war with the Irish. “We believe the estate will be attacked soon,” he says. All I can think about is whether Alina will be anywhere near it.
“Fuck,” I breathe out as I sink down into one of the two chairs in front of his desk. “When?”
“Soon.”
I knew that this was a possibility, that the war would show up on our doorstep, but hearing it confirmed makes unease stir in my chest. This isn’t news that anyone wants to hear, especially given how shitty our odds are against three different groups.
Alina isn’t safe. Has he considered that?
Does he even think about her safety when he’s manipulating her into sharing his bed with him?
“You’re standing your ground here?” I question him.
Gavriil nods. “Abandoning the estate is out of the question. If they want me gone, they’ll have to come kill me.”
Fleeing would be a coward’s move. It’s surrendering because you’re too weak to put up a fight. Our father never would’ve backed down either. “How many men are you up against?”
Gavriil hesitates for a few moments before waving his hand dismissively. “I didn’t bring you here to discuss strategy.”
I scoff at him, frustration flaring within me. “Fine. Then, what the hell do you want? To throw whatever you’ve been doing with Alina in my face? She told me—”
“No.” Gavriil breathes in deeply before saying, “It’s time for us to say goodbye.”
I blink at him. The words hit harder than any threat he’s ever made. “Goodbye?”
Gavriil nods, his body stiffening a hint.
No one else would probably notice. “You have two choices, little brother. You could stay and try to fight me for Pakhan so you can lead this war against our enemies, or you can leave with Alina. But you can’t do both,” he explains.
“So, do you love her more than you hate me?”
I’m certain I didn’t hear him right. There has to be some other catch. “You would let Alina and I leave together? Today?”
“Yes,” he replies. “I considered the bunker, but if the estate falls, running from the bunker would be impossible. You should take her to the old farmhouse. It has more exits and it’ll be easier to defend.
You and your men should be able to protect her there.
It’s secluded, and technically not part of the estate. ”
He’s really going to release us all?
Alina and I will finally be able to be together?
This is what I’ve been wanting for weeks now, and my brother is finally handing it to me on a silver platter after going to extremes to try and tear us apart.
It seems too good to be true.
“What will it be?” Gavriil remarks.
He knows what I’ll choose, that Alina comes first. In fact, I think he’s betting on it, because he wants to keep her safe too, and he doesn’t trust his guards enough to leave her in their hands.
“Why?” I ask, wanting him to say it. He’s worried about her, but contradicting himself by choosing to keep her close.
“Why what?”
“Why do you want me to take her to the farmhouse?” I ask. “Why not help me get her out of the fucking city?” I question him.
Gavriil looks down at his desk, tension working itself into every feature on his face.
“It’s not safe for her. The roads, airports, bus and train stations may already be under surveillance by the Irish and Armenians.
They know you were recently next in line to the throne,” he adds.
“Trying to get you and your men out now, with them hunting every member of the Bratva, could get her killed.”
Fuck, he’s probably right about that.
I’m surprised he even considered the threat to me.
I eye him, wondering if it’s genuine concern or if there’s an underlying motive behind his decision. “You’re just going to let her go that easy? After everything you’ve done to keep us apart?”
“I know you’ll take care of her, given your…feelings for her,” Gavriil replies as he lifts his eyes to mine, his expression blank. I wish I could rip off his damn mask. “I can’t predict the outcome of the fight, but you should be able to get her somewhere safe once the dust settles.”
He’s adamant about me protecting her. Like it’s for his peace of mind as well.
“And you’re determined to stay here?”
“You should already know the answer to that, Bratishka,” Gavriil says. “I’ll fight to the end.”
“And if our enemies capture the estate?” I question him.
He has to know that’s a possibility. We’re probably outnumbered and out armed. Sure, he knows the layout of the house better, but will that matter when they have men flooding every hallway?
Gavriil slowly flexes the fingers of his right hand. “They won’t capture me.”
He’d rather die than be taken prisoner, and I don’t bother trying to convince him otherwise.
The Irish and Armenians could do the dirty work for me, letting me keep my brother’s blood off my hands while I get to start a life with Alina.
It’s everything I wanted just weeks ago.
But now, my mind is splitting in two different directions.
Part of me wants to stay and fight alongside Gavriil as I’ve always done, but there’s another part of me that’s done.
I’m tired of fighting with him. I’m tired of wondering when I’ll see Alina again. And I’m tired of not having a say in my own goddamn life.
If I take his offer, I get my life back. I get Alina back. And maybe I finally stop bleeding for a brother who never stopped cutting me.
Still, deep down, I know that Alina isn’t going to be happy.
“When do we leave?” I ask.
Gavriil’s frown deepens. “As soon as possible.”
If I wasn’t certain of his growing feelings for her before, I am now.
He’s genuinely worried about her safety. My brother who loves his unrealistic deadlines can’t give me a specific time, probably because he’s so reluctant to let her go.
I wouldn’t call it love, but he feels something for Alina, more than I ever expected.
I almost feel sorry for the son of a bitch. But I don’t trust Alina’s recently formed connection to him. He’s manipulated her, I know it. And for that, I won’t ever forgive him.
The sooner I can get her away from him, the better so she can move on from all the trauma he’s caused her.
“I’ll have my men come get you when everything is ready.”
I quietly nod before getting to my feet.
Gavriil does the same, silence lingering between us as we peer at each other. There’s a lot to say, but will anything truly make a difference?
“Shouldn’t you be happier? I’m giving you exactly what you wanted,” Gavriil says, his voice coming out stiff. Unnatural.
I frown slightly at his words, his version of an apology.
“Yes, I am happy,” I say.
Gavriil glances down as his fingertips graze the surface of his empty desk. “Right, you’ll be free of me one way or another.”
The words cling to me long after he looks away.
There are pictures of my brother holding me when I was only hours old. He’s the reason I’m alive. I always thought in the back of my mind that he’d be with me the day that I died.
None of this feels real.
Walking away from him feels…wrong.
But Alina and I deserve peace and stability and safety, and we can only get that if we’re far away from here.
Away from Gavriil.
“Good luck,” I say before slowly backing up toward the door.
Gavriil nods, not looking up at me. I don’t think that he can bring himself to.
I step out of his office and let the door close behind me. It all feels so damn final. It unsettles me, lighting every nerve of mine on fire.
Simeon glances over at me from where he leans against the opposite wall. “Come on.”
“Where am I going now?” I reply, my voice bordering on a defeated sigh.
“Shower in the guest room, then breakfast,” Simeon says as he motions for me to walk ahead of him toward the stairwell.
I want to see Alina, but I have a feeling that Gavriil is going to keep us apart until he can see her one last time.
I’ll give him that.
If I get to leave with her, then I’ll stand back and give him the chance to say goodbye.
Then, if things go the way he claims, they’ll never see each other again.