“Cage matches. You mean …”
“To the death,” I said, answering her.
“Oh, Nikolay.”
I nodded. “That was how I paid off Alina’s debt. But while I was stuck in that shitshow, Alina took Konstantin and Dmitriy and ran. And I didn’t know it at the time, but she had been having an affair behind my back with a man she deemed worthy of her. Your father.”
I felt her stiffen beside me in surprise before she took in a shaky breath.
“He helped her leave you, didn’t he?”
I nodded, leaning down and kissing her head. “Yeah. I don’t know where she is. And I wouldn’t fucking care, but she has my boys.”
She sniffled, and I frowned. Then, pulling her up, I took in her face, from her red cheeks to her wet eyes.
“Hey, don’t cry. It’s okay. I’m going to find them,” I said, wiping away her tears. I smiled a little. “And I’m going to take them home. They’re going to need someone soft to love them unconditionally.”
She nodded fiercely. “I can be that for them. I can love them because they’re a part of you. Of course I’ll love them.”
I never doubted it. Not when she had so much love to give. She was able to love a man like me, so I knew she could love my boys.
“I know, baby. I know.”
“What happened to Luca Monroe? How did you leave him? I mean, you’re obviously good at fighting. Otherwise, you would have gotten killed—” Her voice broke off, as if the words were something she couldn’t say. I cupped her cheeks, keeping her eyes on me.
“Damien and Mikhail came and took over the East Coast. We formed a friendship, and Damien offered me a place in the brotherhood. Offered to pay off Alina’s debt for me, but Luca refused. So Damien killed the man, and he set me free. He gave me a purpose.”
One side of her lips curved up. “And you guys have been friends ever since.”
“More than friends. We’re brothers. And now we have you. Our heart.”
I took a deep breath. She was our heart. Now and for-fucking-ever. It was as simple as that.
She rested her head back down on my chest, and we didn’t say any more. I looked back up at the ceiling, thinking. Konstantin and Dmitriy were taken from me when they were three. I had no doubt they wouldn’t even remember me, but I remembered them. I remembered everything about them, and I wasn’t going to stop until I found them.