Chapter 22
There’s a soft knock on the bedroom door. Ulayna pushes herself up to sitting, grimacing slightly at the pain. “Come in,” she yells, her voice still scratchy and raw.
Alexi steps inside the darkened room. “I’m sorry to wake you, my love.” His voice is soft, tender. Annoying.
“I’m not broken,” Ulayna grouses irritably. “Stop treating me like I’m fragile.”
Alexi harumphs, but she doesn’t miss his smile. Everyone has been babying her since they got back from Russia yesterday, and she’s sick of it.
Cara and Caterina were first, treating her wounds with care and patience.
But she could deal with that because they’re nurses, and a gentle bedside manner is expected.
But then Phoenix and the rest of the team sat vigil by her bed while she slept—which was creepy AF.
Even Cook insisted on hand-delivering her broth, as if she were some kind of invalid.
The older woman had muttered and fussed and kept calling Ulayna the “Lady of the House.”
That had been the final straw, and she’d promptly kicked everyone out so she could have some peace.
Alexi moves to the far side of the room and slides the curtains open, letting in the soft morning light. “We don’t think you’re fragile,” he says.
She shakes her head. “Everyone is treating me like—”
He cuts her off. “We’re all treating you like we almost lost you.
” He sits down on the side of the bed and grabs her hand like it's a lifeline. “Can’t you see? We were all terrified. It was the worst two days of my life. And I’ll never forget the sight of you smashing in the commander’s head until there was nothing left but a bloody pulp.
” He gulps. “It kills me that they hurt you, and it kills me that I failed to keep you safe. In the end, you rescued yourself. You didn’t even need me to get your vengeance. ”
Ulayna shakes her head, undone by the raw emotion in his eyes. “No, Alexi. It was your strength and the skills the team taught me that got me through it. Without that, I never would have survived. At the end, I wouldn’t have had the fortitude to fight back.”
Ulayna remembers those last few minutes before Alexi smashed the door in.
She cowered in the corner, sobbing, letting the Commander think he’d won.
She waited until he was right on top of her, his weight pressing her into the mattress, and his fingers fumbling at the thin cotton panties she was wearing.
She recalled waiting for the perfect moment, when he’d been too distracted with his goal of raping her, to attack.
Her strength had been failing, but her resolve had not. She’d used every bit of knowledge and skill hammered into her over the past few months by the team to take him by surprise and get the upper hand. And when she’d landed the killing blow, it had been Alexi’s name on her lips.
The rest is a bit hazy, and she’s happy to leave those memories undisturbed. Based on what Ruger told her, it wasn’t pretty when they found her, and she was half rabid in her fury.
She barely remembers the stop at the private hospital in Moscow or the plane ride home. She’d been all too happy to take the pain meds they’d given her and to let Alexi fret over her like a mother hen.
But that was days ago. Now, she’s ready to put it behind her.
“I want to meet my brother,” she says.
They’d told her about Mikhail. After checking out as many of the details of his story as he could, Alexi decided to leave his fate up to Ulayna.
But from the way he talks about him, it would seem that Alexi and Mikhail are already forming a bond.
Alexi clearly respects him, even if he doesn’t fully trust him yet.
Unfortunately, Ulayna isn’t sure if she’s ready to trust him. That voice will haunt her dreams, and she doesn’t know if she wants him to be anywhere near her, even if he really is her brother. Days ago, she didn’t even know she had a brother. But she has to meet him, at least once.
“Are you sure?” Alexi asks. “There’s no rush.”
“I’m sure,” she says, nodding decisively.
“Well, that’s good. Because the man has been sleeping in the hallway and begging to see you like some kind of worried puppy.”
“What?” Ulayna practically shouts. “And you didn’t tell me!”
Alexi shrugs. “I wanted to make sure you were okay with everything first. To meet him on your terms.”
Ulayna frowns at him, but Alexi smiles, unrepentant.
He leans down and gently kisses her, avoiding the cut on her lip. “You know as well as I do that you have me wrapped around your little finger. If you don’t want to meet him, then you don’t have to. One word from you, and I’ll kill him.”
“No!” Ulayna pushes him away. “You crazy psycho. Don’t kill him. Just… let me talk to him, okay?”
Alexi grins. “Your wish is my command, Ptichka.”
Ulayna carefully props herself up in bed and tries to flatten her unruly hair while Alexi walks to the door and motions for Mikhail to join them.
With a look of unrestrained hope, Mikhail steps inside the room.
As he hesitantly walks toward the bed, Ulayna tries to see herself in his features.
They have the same narrow nose and the same blond hair.
But his eyes are a different shade than hers, and his lips are much fuller.
Thankfully, he looks absolutely nothing like the commander.
Alexi pulls a chair over to the side of the bed for Mikhail, then says, “I’ll give you two some privacy,” and leaves, closing the door softly behind him.
Ulayna and Mikhail stare at each other awkwardly for a few minutes, neither quite knowing how to start.
Finally, Mikhail swallows, then says, “Our mother’s name was Maria Petrov. That’s your name too—Petrov.”
An unexpected pang of loss hits Ulayna. “Tell me about her,” she demands.
And he does. For the next half hour, Mikhail tells her everything he can remember about her.
About how she sang to them when they couldn’t sleep, and how she was terrible at cooking but never failed to make them dinner every night.
How they had so little money, but she often brought home little presents for them, just bits of chocolate or small toys that she would pick up at the market on her way home from work.
He tells her about his joy when learning that he was going to be a big brother. He tells her about the vow he made to their mother to always keep little Ulayna safe. And finally, he tells her about his heartache and his feelings of failure when he wasn’t able to keep that vow.
“Mikhail,” she sobs. “How could you? You were still a child yourself when the commander took you. There’s no way you could have protected me.”
She thought Mikhail’s voice would trigger her and that she would only be able to associate him with the man who captured her. But while their voices might sound similar, the brotherly love in Mikhail’s voice could never be mistaken for anything but tender affection.
Tears stream down his face, but he grits his teeth and shakes his head. “No. I should have found a way. I should have—”
She cuts him off. “Alexi told me about the book. The one you left for me to find.”
She reaches out for his hand and clasps it firmly in her own.
“You did save me,” she insists. “By giving me that book, you saved me. Without it, I would have become another one of their mindless puppets. The Program would have been successful at suffocating my soul. They would have killed every part of me that matters. But they couldn’t, because you made sure I had something to live for.
A way to see past the horrible suffering and hold tight to the value of my own life.
Because of you, I became the woman I am today. ”
Mikhail dips his head to their clasped hands, overcome with emotion. As his tears rain down onto their joined hands, she places her palm on the back of his head in comfort… and forgiveness.
After a few minutes, she asks, “But why did you hate me before?”
He looks up at her in confusion. “I could never hate you.”
Ulayna shakes her head in frustration. “Every time I saw you, you looked at me with such fury.” A thought occurs to her, and she covers her face in embarrassment. “Oh god. I flirted with you when I questioned you about Hawk’s room!”
Mikhail grimaces. “Yeah, that was awkward. Thankfully, I knew it was just an act. Even back then, I could see how much you cared for the pakhan.”
Ulayna grimaces, but quickly pushes past her embarrassment. “That doesn’t explain why you kept telling me I didn’t belong here and why you looked at me with such hatred.”
Mikhail shakes his head adamantly. “No,” he says.
“I’m sorry if I ever made you feel that way.
I don’t hate you. Yes, I was angry, but not at you.
I was angry that you kept putting yourself in danger and that I kept being unable to protect you.
I was doing everything I could to keep my eye on you, but you just kept putting yourself in risky situations. It was killing me.”
She takes a few minutes to think through their interactions. What he said paints them in a new light and gives her a different perspective. Looking at the honesty and hope shining in his eyes, she decides to trust her instincts.
“You’re my brother,” she says softly. “You’ve been trying to protect me my whole life, even if I didn’t know it. I’d be honored if you’d continue that by working as my bodyguard.”
At her words, Mikhail smiles, his first true smile since she’s known him. “I’d like that.”
Before he leaves, Mikhail gives her a gentle hug, careful not to squeeze her bruised ribs. And as she wraps her arms around him, she realizes that it feels like healing. Not just for her, but for him too. For the family she never knew she had, but now knows she can’t live without.
It feels like a new beginning and like the world is suddenly a lighter, more hopeful place.