I frown at the weirdness of what just happened and contemplate following her, but my mind is too occupied with everything Kyle to focus on anything else. Once this whole thing is over, I’ll talk to her.
My hand is on the doorknob when Vlad’s brooding presence stalks down the hall. I assume he’s going to Sergei, too, but he breezes straight past me.
God damn it. Being treated as if I don’t exist by Vlad, of all people, hurts more than I’d like to admit. I release the doorknob and stride behind him. “Wait.”
He halts and spins around, his expression blank. “Do you need anything, Mrs. Sokolov?”
“Yes, I need you to stop treating me like a stranger.”
“Should’ve thought of that before you teamed up with a stranger against your own brotherhood.”
“Kyle is not a stranger, Vlad. He’s my husband.” The truth behind those words hits me to the core.
“In that case.” He nods, about to leave.
“I’m pregnant.”
That stops him and his eyes narrow. “Another one for show?”
“No. It’s real this time.”
“Congratulations,” he grunts.
“I don’t need your half-assed congratulations, Vlad. I need you by my side so I can protect Dedushka’s bloodline.”
I’m going for a low blow by using his loyalty to my grandfather, but it’s the only way to convince his mule personality.
“How about Kyle?”
“Kyle will be there, too. I don’t expect you to be best friends, but try?”
He grunts, but says nothing.
“For me?” I soften my tone. “Are you going to leave me alone in the midst of the pack of wolves of the elite group?”
“Of course not.”
“Then stop sulking.”
“If that fucker Kyle hurts you, I’ll happily torture him all over again.”
“You might get the chance to do that as soon as I find him,” I mutter under my breath.
“What do you mean?”
“He’s off to kill Rolan and disappear.”
Vlad clicks his tongue. “That idiot always did things without coming back to the inner circle.”
“Let me go ask Sergei for backup, then we will sit down and formulate a plan.”
“You want me to go with you?”
“Thank you, but I can at least ask Sergei for things on my own.”
“I’ll be downstairs,” he says, and I nod.
After knocking on the office’s door, I open it and step inside. I pause when I find an unknown man sitting across from my granduncle.
“Rai. Come in.” Sergei motions at me to join him, so I close the door and do just that, bluntly watching the new man.
He appears to be in his mid to late forties. His large frame dwarfs his dark suit. His brown hair is styled back, and he’s sitting in a nonchalant position. It’s not so threatening as to attract attention, but it’s not slack either, like he’s ready to jump up any second. It’s so similar to…Kyle’s.
Tattoos cover the backs of his hands, and they don’t appear like the ones I recognize from the Bratva, the Triads, or the Yakuza.
He’s watching me as intently as I’m watching him, like we’re two predators before a fight over who owns a territory.
“This is Rai.” Sergei introduces me.
“So she’s the one Kyle married.” the stranger observes quietly. British accent. Wait, could he be…
“Are you…Kyle’s…”
“Godfather, yes. My official name is Ghost, but you can call me Julian.”
“You’re the one who told him he’s dangerous.” My voice rises. “Why would you say something like that to him? Don’t you know he lost his parents when he was freaking five? They were murdered in front of his eyes, and he was never able to receive love after that. That’s why he becomes overprotective—it’s because he doesn’t want to lose any more people. He says you raised him and knew him his entire life, so how could you make him believe he’s defective?”
“Because he is.” Julian remains calm, not a single muscle moving in his face. “He was defective from a young age, and he will never love normally or have fairytale characteristics. He’s obsessive, he’s driven, and he can become reckless sometimes. It’s who he is and it will never change.”
“Who told you I want to change him? I accept him the way he is.” My lips part at that confession, because it’s true. I do accept him the way he is. I even love those darker parts of him, the overprotectiveness, the possessiveness, how he makes me feel like I’m his world. I love everything about him, from his infuriating passive-aggressive attitude to how he provokes me and everything in between.
I love him.
I just love him, and that’s what has been breaking my heart since I woke up to find a letter in his place.
“No wonder he said he drove you to the point of no return,” Julian muses.
My heart picks up speed. “Have you talked to him?”
“Yes, some time ago.”
I leave Sergei’s side and stand in front of him. “Where is he? What is he doing?”