44. Chapter 40
Chapter 40
Isabella
H ow’s the escape plan going? I hear you ask.
Well, aside from being trapped on a ship in the middle of nowhere, having torn my dress, and being completely lost in this maze of corridors, it’s great.
Oh, and I think I just killed Nikolai, again .
“Shit.” I yell out as Nikolai grunts and stumbles into the wall, clutching onto the stab wound in his side.
His eyes flicker up to mine and time freezes. My heart thunders in my chest like it’s trying to escape its cage, and the world spins around me. This is impossible . I have to be dreaming. The tears I’ve been holding in brim in my eyes and I add ruined mascara to the list of fuck-ups in my escape plan.
Is he here to kill me? Take revenge for shattering his heart into a million pieces? I thought I wouldn’t see Nikolai again until he helped me on my way through the gates of hell. I thought he was dead.
His dark gaze never leaves me. It pulls me in, familiar and terrifying and full of yearning. Eyes that have followed me since I last saw them.
“Isabella.” He breathes, losing himself in me.
“I’m sorry.” I blurt out, unsure if it’s for shooting him, or stabbing him, or manifesting this murderous man into my life.
His eyes soften for half a moment until my brother barrels into him. Nikolai grunts in pain as Fredo sends a vicious hook into the stab wound I've left in Nikolai’s side. Fredo lunges for the gun, pounding the stab wound to take advantage and pry the gun from Nikolai’s bloody hands.
“Fucking Russian dog.” He snarls, pulling back and levelling the gun at Nikolai.
“No!” Before I know what I’m doing, I jump onto my brother’s back and send a hailstorm of punches into him.
We roll around like we did as kids, but I never let go of the gun.
“Get off me! I’m your brother.” He shrieks as I send a kick between his legs.
Despite our record as kids, Fredo’s a man now, and he’s a lot stronger than me. With every passing second, my grip loosens and Fredo gains more control. His eyes water through the pain, but he knows this is his last chance.
He flips me onto my back with a roar, snatching the gun and the knife from my grip. He straddles me, spit, tears and blood dripping from his enraged face.
Fredo’s voice hisses through the corridors. “When I'm Don, I’ll make sure you rot in that asylum forever.”
He cocks the knife, as if he’s about to sink it into my chest, when Nikolai wraps his arms around Fredo’s neck and pulls him to the floor. Fredo tries to stab at Nikolai, but I pull his hands back just long enough for Nikolai to choke him out. Fredo kicks as he slips into unconsciousness, his rabid eyes locking onto me and promising revenge until the very last moment.
Nikolai collapses against the wall, sucking in deep breaths. Sweat plasters his dark hair to his head. His eyes are tired, and his skin pale. He looks like he’s been through hell and back. He shifts his body before wincing in pain and clutching at the stab wound.
I’m frozen until I hear his pain, and then a caring instinct I’ve always ignored kicks in. I rush over to him, silently pulling his shirt off to see the wound. Our eyes lock. At first he hesitates, but he understands the unspoken language between us, and relinquishes control. His scarred body shivers with adrenaline as blood seeps from the stab wound. I use his shirt as a makeshift bandage and wrap it around his body as tightly as I can.
“What are you doing here, Nikolai?” My voice cracks with emotions I’m not used to showing.
Nikolai chuckles and I flash him a stern look, but the smirk never leaves his sharp jaw.
“Spying on you, of course.” The mysterious figure from box three flashes through my memory.
“Nikolai! Be serious. You're hurt.”
“I thought you’d joined the Italians again, so I came to talk some sense into you.”
Of all the times to be sarcastic.
“There are better ways to get into my bed, you know.” I laugh, barely able to believe he’d made me laugh at a time like this.
We hang in a silence that feels safe, despite the chaos going on around us. Nikolai props himself up, leaning into me.
“I came because I love you.” He whispers, dropping any remaining defences.
The words rush up inside my body, but lodge in my throat. That last bit of the need to be in control, terrified to take the jump. Then, as if he senses every thought running through my mind, he pulls me into a kiss that sends my body into overdrive. His soft lips pull at mine, and I give into them completely.
“I love you, too.” I whisper back.
We float in that moment together until Fredo stirs and we’re reminded we don’t have time to sit around and catch up. Nikolai takes over, and I follow, glad to have someone with experience taking control. We leave Fredo tied up and gagged in an empty room and then set off to find a lifeboat.
Thankfully, we find a boat, and as Nikolai and I lower it into the water he says, “there is one condition on me rescuing you, though.”
“I had it handled.” I grin.
He doesn’t share in my snark, a serious look nailed to his tired face. “Promise me this is the last time you’ll try to kill me.” He gestures to the knife wound that’s still seeping blood.
“In my defence, I wasn’t trying to kill you this time. I thought you were a guard.”
We fumble into the boat and Nikolai collapses. I rush over to him, unable to still my fidgeting hands as I try to think of anything I can do to help.
“What do I do?” panic stalks my voice. “How do I stop the bleeding?”
Nikolai struggles to keep his deep green eyes open; his breathing getting progressively shallow. He’s been holding on until we got to the boat.
“Nikolai Ilyin, you are not allowed to die.” I say with all the force of the universe.
Nikolai flashes a crooked grin on his dry lips. I need to get him to land now. In a flustered panic, I try all the buttons and switches until the lifeboat kicks into action. I let the motor take us back towards Righteous Cove, then take his head into my lap. I caress his handsome face, willing any force that will listen to me to keep Nikolai alive.
He looks up at me, blood, sweat, and grime across his angular features. His eyes are almost peaceful, as if he's accepted something. I won't let my mind entertain what that acceptance might be.
“Can you sing for me?” He breathes.
“Now?… I’ll sing, but you have to keep your eyes open, okay?”
The life boat cuts through the pitch black water, diving deeper into the surrounding nothingness. I open my mouth to sing, but the stress in my body suffocates the words, so I hum instead. I hum a light, tuneless hum into the night.
The waves hug our little lifeboat, rocking us like a baby in a cradle. With every passing second I feel Nikolai slipping away from me.
“I love your voice.” He murmurs.
“Why? Why do you always want to hear me sing?”
I let the question sit, stopping the humming. Nikolai takes in a rattling breath, his eyes studying my face.
“When I first went to your opera, it was an accident. I was looking for a target. They were meant to be going to watch your show, so I booked a box to spot them in the crowd. Then you came on stage.” His eyes glaze over, like he’s watching a miracle. “You sang like an angel.” He laughs to himself before spluttering into a bloody cough. I stroke his head softly until it subsides. When he speaks again, his voice is weaker. “When I went home that day, it was the first time I didn’t have nightmares since I was tortured. I thought it was a coincidence, but then I went again, and you stopped the nightmares again. I thought your voice was the only thing that could pull me back from the pain. Then, when we found each other, I realised it wasn’t just your voice. It’s you. Whenever I’m with you I feel… whole again.” Nikolai swallows down pain and fear. “I think we were meant to be together.”
“I think so, too.” I whisper, clutching onto the one man who makes me feel safe. The one person who sees me for all of who I am.
I glance up into the void of darkness surrounding us. The ship is out of sight, and the only noises are the waves and the motor propelling us forward. With shaky hands, I cup his face and plant a soft kiss on his cold lips, hoping against all odds it won’t be the last kiss we ever share.