I mean, it was fucking classic Jeanie when she approached Eva after finding out she was married to Oakley Byrne. She always chasing the hottest gossip.
I try to push the conversation out of my mind as I head out the front door of the academy and find Popov leaning against the town car.
He smiles when he sees me. “About time.”
I shake my head. “It would have helped if I’d been given some forewarning.”
He opens the back door to the car for me. “I believe Mikhail wanted to surprise you.”
“Call me surprised. He hadn’t even told me they were engaged.”
“I believe it was all rather sudden.” He shrugs. “Mikhail will explain everything to you.”
I nod and slip into the back of the town car, glancing out of the window at the academy.
In normal circumstances, I’d be glad to escape this place and Elias, but right now I can’t help but feel uncertain.
With Finn threatening my family and our fate in my bully’s hands, it’s hard to feel calm. All I can do is hope that Elias makes it right. It’s out of my hands and there’s nothing I can do about it.
* * *
Mikhail is waitingat the door as the car pulls up, even though it’s almost midnight.
My brow furrows as Popov opens the car door and I slip out. “What are you doing out here at this time of night?”
He shrugs. “I wanted to greet you.”
“Surely you should be out drinking and partying for your last night as a bachelor.”
His eyebrow arches. “Don’t you think I’ve done enough of that over the years?”
I do indeed believe that he’s done his fair share of partying, which is why I’m glad he’s finally settling down. It means that he might have a child, an heir who can take over instead of me. We both know that I was never really going to be a viable option to lead the Gurin Bratva, and I’m fine about that.
“Probably,” I say, glancing into the house. “Is mother here?”
He shakes his head. “The arrangements were made too fast, and I wasn’t going to postpone my wedding for her. She is in Russia.”
I nod in response, as I can understand why he’s not bothered whether she’s here or not. “How about Yana?”
His jaw clenches. As after the Christmas we had, their relationship has been strained. Yana stupidly sold our family out to the Petrov Bratva of New York, but luckily Mikhail was able to join forces and agree to peace with two other powerful families in Boston to stop Andrei Petrov and his scheming.
“No, I didn’t invite her.”
I sigh heavily. “You know she was acting out of fear for her children, Mikhail.”
He nods. “I do, but I’m not ready to forgive and forget just yet, Natalya.” He gives me a pointed look. “Now stop this whining and come inside. We will have pancakes. You must be hungry from traveling.”
I laugh. “Not really. I had dinner before I left the academy.”
“There’s always room for pancakes, though,” he says.
“Of course.”
I follow Mikhail into the house and feel an odd sense of relief the moment I’m inside. Running from problems doesn’t exactly solve them, but it does feel good to get away.
We turn into the kitchen and I hop onto a stool at the kitchen Island.
Mikhail grabs a frying pan and collects the ingredients out of the fridge, mixing them together in a mixing bowl. It’s strange to see him in the kitchen, cooking.