Chapter 57
Kinsley
A Reckoning
A loud banging pounded on my door, startling me from the fantasy playing out in my head. My heart stopped.
“Kinsley, I need you to open the door, now. It’s urgent,” Sophia screamed on the other side.
I threw my robe on as quickly as I could and yanked the door open. “You need to come with me, now!” she shouted. My gaze fixed upon her, my heart quickening with each passing second. Her expression was one of sheer terror.
“Sophia, what is going on?” I demanded as she ushered me to a hidden room, and a heavy door closed behind us. With a knot of unease that tightened my stomach, my instincts screamed for answers.
“He didn’t say. Christopher told me to get you and to keep you here. He spoke with Alek, and he insisted. Something about an unannounced visitor. I don’t know.”
My voice trembled as the reality of her words sank in. “Oh god, no,” I screamed. I grabbed her shoulders. “It has to be him. He’s found me, and if he’s in this house, we can’t stay locked up in here. Sophia, what exactly did he say?” I implored.
Sophia placed a trembling hand on mine, her voice quivering but still trying to maintain a sense of calmness. “I understand your concerns. But we have to remain here. Christopher said not to come out under any circumstances.”
I stared into her eyes and knew I had to fight to get her to understand the magnitude of the danger her husband was in. “Sophia, I promise you one thing. I will not stay in this room. If it’s who I think it is, then not only am I in danger, but so is Christopher.”
“He’s trained for this kind of thing. He’ll keep us safe. We need to trust that he knows what he’s doing,” she replied, but her voice wobbled.
The weight of responsibility settled upon my shoulders, fueling my determination to convince her that inaction was not an option.
“I don’t think you understand. He won’t be alone.
I can’t get into all the details. We don’t have time for that.
I’m telling you, he won’t hesitate to kill Christopher to get to me.
We have the element of surprise, but we need to act now,” I said, walking back over to the door.
“Kinsley, no, please. Christopher was adamant the boys would be here any minute now. Let them handle it.”
“I have been preparing for this day since I was eleven years old. I will not allow Christopher to die on my watch, not when there’s something I can do about it. Now I need you to listen to me carefully. What weapons do you have in this house?” I asked.
“Weapons? Please calm down,” she answered, her eyes wide and face pale.
“We don’t have time,” I roared, and she jumped back.
I took a deep breath, my hand on the handle, ready to open the door. I’d made my mind up. I couldn’t stay a minute longer.
“Sophia, are there any other weapons in the house?” I demanded once more.
“My husband has a crossbow that he uses for hunting,” she mumbled.
“Do you know how to use it?” I strode over to her. Her face was white and the fear in her eyes as she met mine made me even more determined. “Sophia, we have to do this. I don’t want Christopher to get hurt because of me. Please,” I begged.
She momentarily looked torn between what her husband had told her to do and what I was saying. “I know it’s a risk,” I acknowledged, my voice firm. “But I won’t be a victim of his again. Christopher needs us. We can do this. They won’t see it coming, trust me.”
Finally, a flicker of understanding crossed her face, and a resigned acceptance settled upon her features. With a shuddering breath, she nodded. Relief flowed through my veins, and I took a deep breath and went to open the door.
“Wait,” she screamed, making me freeze. She moved to the control panel and pushed a button. A view of the home’s interior split into several sections on the monitor. “We need to make sure no one is outside in the hallway or near your room.”
Once we were able to determine that the coast was clear, we slipped out and down the hall toward my room, where she stopped.
“Wait for me here.”
Disappearing into a room, she came out carrying an impressive crossbow. It was loaded, and she cocked it. A grim look covered her face as she nodded, and I slipped into my room and retrieved my gun and blade for good measure.
I took another deep breath. Looking down, I realized I was only wearing my robe. The straps on my thighs were visible but acted as a good anchor for my blade. It was too late to change, though, and I rushed to join her back in the hallway.
“What room do you think they may be in?” I whispered, but I didn’t need to, because as we descended the stairs and inched closer to the drawing room, we heard shouting. My heart beat frantically, and we broke into a run.
“What the hell did you just say?” someone thundered.
“You heard me. What kind of sick fuck torments and terrorizes their own fucking family?” Alek shouted.
“Oh, that’s rich coming from the man who is passing her around like a shluha vokzal’naja.” Train station whore.
More shouting ensued, some of it in Russian.
I could clearly distinguish the voices of Alek, Ivan, Nik, Sebastian, and Christopher, but the other two, I couldn’t place.
Taking the lead, I pushed the door open and stepped inside, ignoring how my heart pounded in my chest. All eyes locked on me, their gazes shifting from their heated conversation to us.
Time stretched, and the man from the photograph materialized before me. The resemblance to my father was staggering. He had the same jaw and the same stern set to his brow.
My grandfather? Here? How? Why?
“Mischa?” he breathed, his eyes crinkling in the corners.
A whirlwind of emotions stirred in my chest. The room seemed to shrink around me as the weight of the past crashed forward. I shook my head, the words poised on my lips, when I caught sight of the second man standing behind him.
He, too, bore the unmistakable imprint of my father’s bloodline. An uncle? Both looked to be made of steel and stone. Recognition hit like a jolt, sharp and electric, lighting every nerve.
A sharp intake of breath caught in my throat, and my chest subsequently tightened with the overwhelming surge of emotions. My eyes locked on their faces, clocking the similarities. It was as if my father were resurrected, his presence transplanted into these two men.
Sebastian, sensing my shock and the weight of emotions flooding over me, stepped forward. Without a word, he swiftly slipped off his jacket and tenderly draped it across my shoulders.
As I stood there, momentarily frozen in disbelief, he reached out, his hand closing around mine. He moved to block my vision, and when his eyes met mine, there was only quiet reassurance and understanding.
I released my weapon, my fingers slackening as he took it from me. The weight of the metal leaving my hand was like a physical release, a surrendering of the burden. My guys were here. They’d make everything right. I pulled his jacket tighter across my frame as he moved once more.
“Kitten, why can’t you ever listen,” Alek said, exasperated, as he, Ivan, and Nik moved to block me.
I tried to push through them, earning several growls.
Sebastian pulled me back, shielding me. He gave me a proud smile and a side hug before turning to face my grandfather and uncle.
“I suggest you sit back down,” he threatened, his voice taking on an edge I hadn’t heard before. He pointed the weapon at the men.
As the gravity of the situation unfolded, a sudden uproar burst forth from Sophia. “Dostatochno!” she shouted, her voice booming through the room, capturing everyone’s attention. Enough.
I wasn’t sure she meant to, but she pulled the trigger and discharged the crossbow with a resounding twang.
In slow motion, my grandfather and uncle ducked.
Christopher’s eyes widened as he flinched, and Alek roared, “What the fuck?” The bolt harmlessly embedded itself into the wall, tearing through the wallpaper.
As if channeling some inner warrior, she took a bold step forward, her grip on the crossbow unwavering.
With each step, her normally graceful movements transformed into a comical display of exaggerated authority.
Her back was ramrod straight and her chin held high.
Her eyes sparkled with a fiery determination, ready to regain a semblance of normalcy in her drawing room.
Stifled chuckles erupted from Christopher first, followed by Nik and Sebastian. The tension was momentarily defused, and Alek stepped forward. “Wow, really, Mother?”
With amusement outlining his features, Christopher gave her an affectionate smile and took the weapon from her. She leaned into his body and sighed sweetly. With weapons secured, a semblance of calmness settled over the room.
“Mischa, I’m your uncle Konstantin.”
“Please don’t call me that,” I exclaimed with a shiver. “My name is Kinsley,” I asserted, confusion hitting me.
Why were they here? Why did Christopher think they would hurt me? I needed clarity and reached out to hug Ivan. But he was more concerned about my safety at the moment, so he positioned me behind him again, before Sebastian once more pulled me to his side.
Sophia, who was full of surprises today, shocked us all once again when she spoke. “Konstantin, what are you doing here? How are you related to Kinsley? I don’t remember you having a brother.”
“Wait, you know this man?” Christopher asked, as all of us stood there dumbfounded.
“Yes, we went to school together,” she said, as if it were common knowledge.
“It is a long story,” my grandfather finally spoke.
I kept staring at Konstantin. He looked so much like my father, and I wanted to touch his face. Sebastian hugged me, almost as if he knew somehow.
“I believe there may be a misunderstanding going on here,” Sophia said.
“No misunderstanding, just a sick old man who wants to align his only living granddaughter with someone who would treat her as a slave whore,” Alek sneered.