AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What? Is he alright?” I questioned, losing that hopeful tone in my voice at once.
He nodded and put a supportive hand against my arm, should I be completely shaken by the news. “He’s unharmed. Likely still reeling from being knocked out, but he’s otherwise fine. Andrei gave the order to keep him alive for your sake.”
While that was certainly better news than any other alternative, I didn’t feel completely relieved yet. I wouldn’t until I could see him for myself.
At a complete loss, I looked toward Luk for answers. “What can I do? What am I supposed to do?”
“I can take you there. It won’t be long.”
Completely forgetting about the driver I was supposed to go with, and even letting go of that joy I had felt from going back to class, I nodded eagerly. “Yes, please.”
While the shine of seeing my distant relative seemed less significant compared to the situation at hand, I was glad he was there.
Immediately, we both piled into the Range Rover, and Luk wasted no time pulling out of the parking lot.
I felt like a nervous wreck the whole drive, wondering what Ari and Andrei had planned for Nik. It was a good sign that they kept him alive, but if he continued to be loyal to the Caprises, then there was no telling what they’d be forced to do.
Even worse, the mental image of Nik storming a warehouse belonging to my family burned into my mind. He could’ve been shot. He could’ve killed one of my own. If he hadn’t been captured, everything could’ve ended a lot worse, and it was all because of his allegiance to that Erasmo character.
It was all a mess, and I couldn’t stand it.
Feeling like my vision had been reduced to the bare minimum as we entered the building and headed straight for the apparent interrogation room, I was aware of Luk sticking to my side, as if to let the other men know I was family. That I was to not be messed with.
We went down a set of stairs and rounded a corner before moving down a hallway lined with different doors.
Then, I found Ari stepping out of one and closing the door behind him, expression stern until he saw me. That recognition gleamed through his eyes, but he didn’t give me the warm welcome he surely meant to.
“Anastasia,” he began, offering me a warning look.
“Is he in there?” I asked, forgoing any greeting due to the severity of the situation, and my inability to think about anything else in that moment.
Ari nodded with a sigh. “He is. But before you go in, I need you to remember what’s at stake. I know you two are married, but Nik’s association with our enemy can’t continue. He already violated the ultimatum, and he can’t be trusted.”
“I know,” I mumbled, hating the fact that none of my family could look past his allegiance to the Caprises given the conflicting interest. “But he’s more than his job. I promise I’ll try to convince him to drop the Capris family, and if not, then that’ll be it. I just need to talk to him.”
My throat threatened to close around those final words, hating the implication. Even the thought of having to walk away from Nik and forcing him to face the consequences on his own hurt more than anything.
I didn’t want to leave him, even if that had been my desire before. I wanted him to switch sides, to give up this painful feud.
As much as I didn’t want to believe it, my family was right. He couldn’t be married to me and work directly against the Levov name. It just didn’t work, no matter how we tried to justify it.
With a final breath, Ari gave me a nod, then opened the door and let me inside.
I went in immediately, nearly shaking the moment I saw him. The door closed behind me again.
Left alone and given at least a shred of privacy, relief overcame me the second I registered that he was alright. There was a nasty bruise on the one side of his face, and he looked exhausted, but he seemed to be otherwise unharmed. Rubbing at his wrists, it was obvious he had been bound to that chair before I arrived.
“Nik,” I mumbled, hurrying over to him.
He sighed with slight relief as he stood and pulled me in for a hug, but he swallowed hard the moment I looked him over, trying to push away my palpable concern. “I’m fine.”
Even if that was true, there was still too much on the line for me to just be fine with everything going on. I couldn’t be put at ease, not while I didn’t know what his plans were.
I was frantic, and after everything, I was at my wit’s end.
“I’m glad you’re alright and that nothing worse happened, but it easily could have, and that thought terrifies me,” I began, finding my sternness as I spoke. “I will not choose between you and my family. You need to disavow the Caprises regardless of the cost, or else I’m gone. Do you understand me?”
Letting go of a heavy breath, Nik averted his gaze, and there was no missing the debilitating weight on his shoulders. “I didn’t know about the hit until this morning, and when I heard, I started panicking. I knew I couldn’t do that to you, which was why I was pulling my shots on purpose. I didn’t want to kill anyone here, not while I knew some of them were your blood.”
