Chapter Fifty-Five
Sabrina
The house was still alive with voices when I finally made it upstairs, but I left them behind without a second thought. All I could think about was Dario.
I pushed open my bedroom door and stopped.
The curtains were drawn, leaving the room dim despite the afternoon light outside. Everything looked exactly as it always did, except for the small shape curled beneath the duvet in the middle of my bed.
I knew that shape.
A smile tugged at my lips as I crossed the room and sat carefully on the edge of the mattress. The lump shifted beneath the covers.
“Go away.”
The muffled voice came from beneath the duvet. I placed a hand over my heart, feigning hurt.
“Excuse me? I've just survived being kidnapped by the Russian Bratva, and this is the welcome I get?”
The blanket moved slightly.
I sighed dramatically. “I see how it is.”
A tiny face finally appeared from beneath the duvet. Dario stared at me, his eyes widening as though he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing. For a moment, he didn't move, his lips parting as though he were afraid that if he blinked, I'd disappear again.
“Bina?”
My smile softened. “Hi, little man.”
He didn't answer. Instead, he threw the covers aside and launched himself at me.
I barely had time to open my arms before he was in my lap, his arms wrapping tightly around my neck as he buried his face against my shoulder.
The force of him nearly sent us both backwards, but I held on, one hand cradling the back of his head while the other wrapped securely around his little body.
Then he broke.
His sobs shook through him as he clung to me, muffling each breath against my shoulder as though he were afraid to let go.
“I was scared,” he cried. “I thought they hurt you.”
My eyes burned. “I'm okay.”
“I thought you weren't coming back.”
That one hurt more than it should have. I closed my eyes and pressed my lips against his hair, holding him tighter.
“I'm here.”
“They said the Russians had you.” His fingers tightened around my shirt. “I thought they were going to kill you.”
For once, I didn't know what to say. I'd spent years learning how to face danger without flinching, surviving pain, fear and everything Ivan had tried to turn me into. None of it had prepared me for my little brother crying because he thought I was going to die.
I pulled back just enough to cup his face between my hands, wiping the tears from his cheeks with my thumbs.
“Look at me.”
He lifted his eyes to mine.
“I'm sorry I scared you.”
His bottom lip trembled. “But you came back.”
“I told you I would.”
“You could've gotten hurt.”
“I could have.” I gave him a small smile. “But I didn't.”
He stared at me for a moment before throwing his arms around my neck again. I held him close, breathing in the familiar scent of his shampoo and feeling the weight of him against me.
For so long, I'd fought for a future where I could bring him home, where he wouldn't have to wonder whether I'd make it back to him.
Now I was sitting in my own bedroom with him in my arms, and for the first time, the promise I'd made to myself years ago didn't feel like something waiting for me somewhere in the distance.
It was here.
I kissed the side of his head before pulling back enough to look at him again.
“Listen to me, Dario. You never have to be afraid that you're going to lose me.”
He pulled back, his tear-filled eyes meeting mine.
“I can't promise you that nothing bad will ever happen. I wish I could. But I can promise you something else.”
“What?”
“Whatever happens, I will always find my way back to you.”
His face crumpled again, and I smiled through the tears gathering in my own eyes.
“You're my little brother. You're my home. There isn't a place in this world I could ever go where I wouldn't be looking for a way back to you.”
He stared at me for a long moment before whispering, “I love you.”
My throat tightened. “I love you too.”
I kissed his forehead and pulled him against my chest again, holding him as tightly as I could. This time, there was no mission waiting for me, no Russian safe house, no blood on my hands and no need to disappear before morning.
There was only Dario.
Home.