From the corner of my eyes, I could see my man glaring. “Before I left for Russia, I personally asked you to keep an eye on my sister.”
“I said I would check in on her, here and there.”
“Then you should know if something is up with her.”
Nikolay’s jaw clenched and I swore I heard a crack. Oh dear, this didn’t look good.
“I’m not a fucking babysitter, Viktor,” he ground out the words. “Your sister is old enough to take care of herself. She is none of my business. If you care so much about her safety, why don’t you babysit her yourself?”
Viktor slammed his hand over the table and started to stand up.
“Sit down,” a harsh voice cleared through the family drama.
If Alessio Ivanshov commanded something, you do it.
“I want to have my breakfast without any drama,” he said calmly.
“Fine.” Viktor settled back into his chair, but he was seething. I placed my palm over his knee and squeezed. He exhaled beside me, and I couldn’t hide my smile. I loved how he could stay calm at my touch.
Once breakfast was over, with a lot of tension brewing between Nikolay and Viktor, we survived without any fight breaking out.
The table was cleared, and I went to Ayla. She handed me Xander, happily, without me even having to ask. “I just fed him. He’s going to be a happy boy for a few hours now before he grows hungry again. So you can have him.”
“He is grumpy when he is hungry.”
“Like his father,” Ayla muttered under her breath. I didn’t think she meant for me to hear that, but my lips quirked up nonetheless at her response. “Maila is with Mama Lena right now, but you know she’s gonna follow you all around once she escapes through Lena’s fingers.”
I wasn’t complaining. Maila was just as precious as her little brother. She stole my heart right from the start, and when she called me Aunt Val, I swore my heart melted.
“Holy shit!” Maddie swore loudly, making all our heads turn.
She was staring at the entrance.
Viktor let out a curse. Ayla looked over my shoulder, and she stumbled back a step.
Nikolay seemed rooted on the spot, his face draining of color.
I turned around to see a woman walking forward. Someone I had never seen before, except she looked strangely familiar.
I had seen her in pictures and the resemblance was uncanny.
“Evaline,” Ayla breathed.
My eyes widened.
Evaline limped forward, and once she grew closer, I noticed her disheveled and unkept appearance. Her cheek was bruised and turning an ugly shade of green and purple. Her body seemed thinner, weaker and she could barely take a step forward.
Maybe everyone was in shock. I sure was.
The girl I remembered from the picture looked nothing like this Evaline. The girl I was introduced to was lively and chirpy.
This one…she looked a bit broken.
And she carried a bundle in her arms, holding it close to her chest.
I heard a tiny hiccup sound. A baby’s whimper. My eyes went to Xander, whom I was holding. He was napping…
The little sound hadn’t come from him.
Evaline walked past us all of us. Maddie tried to reach for her, but Evaline ignored her.
She didn’t stop until she was in front of Nikolay.
Yes, I knew about their history. Ayla and Maddie shared it with me. Not everything but little bits. I knew enough to know that Evaline and Nikolay had a past.
Viktor let out a hiss under his breath and then a curse. He took a step toward them, but I grabbed his arm, stopping him. He looked down at me and I saw rage, mixed with a look of betrayal in his dark eyes.
But in this moment, his anger had no place and didn’t matter.
This moment…it belonged to Evaline and Nikolay.
She pressed her frail body against Nikolay, who remained stoic. He appeared like a statue and in shock. He didn’t move, didn’t hold her, didn’t speak. His arms stayed at his sides and his face remained emotionless. If I wasn’t paying close attention, I wouldn’t have noticed the way his hands were shaking at his sides.
The baby let out a cry.
No, not Xander.
The little bundle Evaline was holding.
Nikolay’s eyes grew darker at the cry of the infant and he looked almost pained.
That was the first emotion I had ever seen on his face. Pain. No. Deep agony was a better description.
Evaline let her head fall against his chest, and she slumped into him, as if all the fight had finally left her body.
“He is yours and I need you to protect us.”
A broken whisper.
At my side, Viktor tensed. And I just knew…
A line had been crossed.
Betrayal tasted bitter.
Brothers became enemies.
Something was about to change forever, and I wasn’t sure if it was good or bad.
“Motherfucker!”
That roar—it came from my Viktor.
Epilogue
Viktor
She danced under the magical golden sky, magnificent and an unrealistic beauty. It was sensational…breathtaking. She enchanted me.