Chapter 40
CHAPTER FORTY
LYLA VOZNESENSKY
After a quick fuck you to Becka and the convenience store, we made a pit stop at my shitty apartment to pick up the few possessions I owned, and then we were on our way.
The flight had been long and tedious. Illayana and I didn’t talk much, if at all.
I think she could see I needed a bit of time to sort through my thoughts and emotions, which I appreciated.
It wasn’t awkward at all. Partly due to her identical twin guards.
Those two bickered more than an old married couple, and the whole thing had been quite entertaining to watch.
At first, they’d been on guard around me, much like the other two—whose names I came to find were Lorenzo and Adrian.
But once they’d realized I wasn’t a threat to Illayana, they relaxed.
When we pulled up in front of the Volkov estate, the nerves set in.
It would be the first time I was walking into that house invited.
Every other time I’d been there, it had been to stalk.
To sneak in and watch Lukyan do whatever he was doing.
I’d been in that house more times than I could count, and yet, this was the first time I was actually nervous to walk inside. Unsure of what was waiting for me.
Illayana said Lukyan missed me. That he wanted me there. That he’d been searching nonstop for me. But I still worried that when he actually saw me, all my fears about our relationship would come true.
That it had all been a game to him.
That he didn’t really care for me.
Miss me.
Love me.
My fingers tightened around the scrapbook in my hands; it was the only thing that calmed me down. It possessed the photos of Lukyan I’d taken when I was watching him. Not all of them, of course. It wasn’t big enough for that. The others were all packed away safely and securely in my bags.
“You okay?” Illayana asked when the car stopped.
“Not really,” I admitted, clutching the scrapbook tighter. “I’m feeling a little nervous, to be honest.”
“Nervous?” she asked, cocking her head. “Nervous about what?”
“Going inside.”
She chuckled, snapping off her seat belt. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but haven’t you been inside before?”
“Dozens of times. But this is the first time I won’t be hiding.”
“Hmm.” She looked up at the house in thought before coming back to me. “You have nothing to be nervous about. Everyone will be excited to see you.”
Everyone? What the fuck does she mean by everyone?
“Come on, let’s go.” She got out of the car and made her way to the porch steps.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. It didn’t work. Anxiety beat inside me like a steel drum. The only plus side to the whole thing was that it was the first time in three months that my thoughts hadn’t been consumed by Lev.
Illayana waited patiently on the front porch for me, no sense of urgency from her at all. She was letting me take my time. Gather my strength. Psych myself up. Which I fucking needed.
“Here we go.” I cleared my throat, gripped my scrapbook tighter, and exited the car. Each step I took up to the house felt monumental. Felt like a step in the right direction. Like I was right where I needed to be.
Illayana gave me a warm smile, encouragement in her eyes. She inclined her head to the two soldiers standing guard before opening the door and leading me inside.
Light greeted me when I stepped into the foyer, followed by an aroma of smells that had my stomach rumbling.
I’d always thought it was a very lovely home.
Warm and inviting with a nice, cosy feel.
There were little things here and there that personalized it.
Made it feel like a real home instead of just a house people lived in.
It was the picture frames on the walls. The knick-knacks on the shelves that didn’t really fit in with the aesthetic, but you knew held great sentimental value.
The scratches and dents in the walls from god knew what. It all contributed, adding character.
Despite the nervousness fluttering through my body, the homely aura instantly helped to relax me, taking some of the tension out of my spine.
I can do this. I can do this.
“This way.” Illayana led me out of the foyer and down the hall on the left, opposite the winding, circular staircase. Loud voices and laughter hit my ears. Illayana didn’t slow her stride, marching right up to a large, formal dining area.
“Sorry I’m late,” she announced, walking in. “I had to pick up a friend.”
Friend?
I followed her in, and the room went from a buzz of activity to dead fucking silence at the drop of a hat. Sitting at a large mahogany table that was overflowing with an array of different foods was…fuck…everyone.
Well, almost everyone.
Papa D and The Crimson-motherfucking-Death were at the head of the table, sitting side by side.
Aleksandr and Drea were on one side, their faces mirrored in shock, forks frozen in the air an inch away from their mouths as they stared at me.
Nikolai, Tatiana, and two freaking babies were on the other side.
Their eyes were as wide as saucers. Illayana’s husband was beside one of the babies, holding a bottle to the little one’s mouth.
He was the only one who didn’t seem remotely surprised by my presence, a slight smirk on his lips.
Where is Lukyan?
I cleared my throat, standing a little taller under their scrutiny. I might have been nervous as hell, but I would be damned if I let it show. The silence was deafening, and everyone was fucking staring at me like they couldn’t believe I was standing right in front of them.
Hello, awkward city.
My eyes ran from person to person, and my nerves shot right back up, almost fucking crippling me.
This was a bad idea. This was a bad idea. This was—
Dimitri stood. My eyes snapped to him. Our gazes locked.
A memory came barreling into my head. A memory from my childhood.
Of a giant, terrifying man coming into my bedroom in the dead of night.
Despite the fact that he was covered in blood, his face was soft, kind, as he looked down at me cowering in my closet—the closet my father locked me in as punishment.
He crouched until he was at my eye level and offered me his hand.
I didn’t know him. Had never seen him before. But my soul told me I could trust him. That he wouldn’t hurt me.
And I had been right.
He’d taken me from that house. From that hell. And although the orphanage he’d dropped me off at wasn’t the best, it was way better than my home.
Dimitri and I stared at each other for a moment longer before he slowly moved out from behind the table, hobbling with each step. Autumn immediately got to her feet to follow him, but he waved her off, and she sat back down, however reluctantly.
I involuntarily clutched the scrapbook in my hands tighter to my chest, as if it could somehow protect me.
Why, I wasn’t sure. I was never one to get scared.
I did the fucking scaring. But the uncertainty of everything kept me frozen on the spot, unable to move.
Unable to breathe. Unable to do anything except watch the Bratva Butcher get closer and closer.
The Volkov siblings and their partners watched his every step as he came toward me, the tension building and building, smothering the air.
I had no idea what he was about to do. Would he kill me?
Cuss me out? Tell me to stay away from his son?
After all, I was, in part, responsible for what happened to him.
I helped Lev gather the information on him, which resulted in him catching a bullet to the chest. Not to mention the fact that I had kidnapped his son.
Everyone knew that man did not fuck around when it came to his children.
He probably wanted to straight-up murder me.
He stopped in front of me. We stared at each other for a moment, and then his arms wrapped around me, and he embraced me in a hug. I stiffened, sucking in a shocked breath, my eyes widening.
What. The. Ever-loving. Fuck?
I stayed still, too stunned to move a single muscle. He was hugging me. The Bratva Butcher was hugging me.
And I had no idea what to do.
The hug was light. Comforting. Supportive. Everything a hug ought to be, and I couldn’t help but feel wistful.
I’d never received a hug like that from my own father, and it wasn’t until then that I truly realized what I had been missing.
Dimitri stepped back and offered me a warm, kind smile. “Dobro pozhalovat’ v sem’yu, dochka.” Welcome to the family, daughter.
For the third time in less than twenty-four hours, shock catapulted down my spine, and my eyes widened even more.
With those five simple words, he told me all I needed to know, and all my fears vanished in an instant.
Dimitri accepted me. He actually accepted me, even after learning of everything I had done.
Warmth flooded my heart. “Spasibo.” Thank you, I said softly.
“Oh my god,” Tatiana cried, wiping the tears from her cheeks.
We all looked at her.
“Ignore me.” She sniffled, fanning her face. “My body is still a big hormonal mess. This is just so sweet. I can’t—oh—he said daughter.” She sobbed. Like, full-on sobbed, and a round of laughter went around the table.
Nikolai patted her on the back. “There, there, my love. Let it all out.”
The tension that had been building instantly dissipated as we all watched Tatiana sniffle and wipe her nose.
Glass shattered, echoing around the room, along with a gasp of surprise. My gaze swerved behind Dimitri to see Lukyan, standing in the doorway, a broken plate and food scattered on the floor around his feet.
Our gazes clashed. My heart stopped in my chest.
“Lyla,” Lukyan whispered, shocked.
I thought maybe after months apart, my feelings for him could have eased. Not be as powerful or all-consuming as they had been before.
That was wishful fucking thinking.