Selene pushes me down so that I am lying with my head on the pillow. She pulls the blankets over me and lies down next to me. I close my eyes, and she strokes her fingers over mycheeks. A slow, tender touch that has me drifting away almost instantly.
Chapter22 - Selene
Simon falls asleep quickly. He has been pushing himself past where he should, and I’ve been worried sick about him. I want him to find our babies, but he can’t do that if he collapses.
I listen to his breathing, waiting for it to become deep and even, then I slip off the side of the bed.
My heart is racing when I walk out of the room. A few hours ago, I messaged Yakov. I was surprised when he answered, but also painfully relieved.
He agreed to meet up with me as long as I came alone, no Volkovs. No security. Nothing that could give away our meeting, and no chance of our father catching him with the enemy. He sounded scared. And I don’t blame him.
“I’m going out for a bit,” I tell Adrian. He doesn’t look up from the computer screen. “Do you want a coffee? Can I bring you one?”
“Oh, yes, that would be amazing. Two sugars. Make it a double espresso. My eyes are blurring here,” he grumbles.
“Double. Two sugars. I won’t be long. Simon is asleep in the room.”
“Thank fuck. I thought he was going to collapse! He’s so fucking stubborn,” Adrian mutters. His attention is fully returned to the computer, and I slip out without another word.
The coffee stand where I’m meeting my brother is in a park near the penthouse, a few blocks away. We both agreed that a restaurant or something similar would be too risky. The coffee stand is a small food truck in an open grassy field near the lake, where you can feed the ducks.
As I walk towards it, my stomach is doing somersaults, and I feel like I want to throw up. If I have misjudged my brother, then I am right out in the open, and my father will be able to snatch me away, too. It will break Simon.
But this was a risk I had to take.
And in my heart, I don’t think it is a mistake.
I spot Yakov when he steps out from behind a tree and starts walking towards the same coffee stand.
“Two double cappuccinos, please. One with two sugars. One without,” I say to the smiling man behind the counter.
“Coming right up,” he smiles wider.
Yakov arrives next to me. “I’ll take a flat white,” he says.
“You can add it to my bill,” I tell the man.
Yakov shifts uneasily on his feet, moving his weight from one foot to the other. He keeps looking over his shoulder. “Are you alone?” he asks as we step away from the truck and wait for the order to be made.
“I am. Are you?”
“I fucking hope so,” he laughs bitterly. “Yeah, I’m alone,” he says after. “But I can’t stay long.”
“Me either. Look, Yakov, I just want to know where my children and Raya are. Please, just tell me where they are so I can get my babies back. You know our father will only treat them like…”
“Selene, you’re asking too much. I can’t tell you where they are.”
“You can’t or you won’t?” I snap.
He wipes his hand over his face, looking around again.
“Look. All I know is that they’re safe. And they’re okay. The girl—Raya—she got hurt when the whole thing happened… she fought fucking hard apparently, but Alek had the doctor come in, and she got some stitches in her arm, and she’s okay. They’re all okay,” he says.
“Where are they?” I try again.
“I don’t know. Seriously. Bogdan and Vasya don’t trust Yaroslav and me. We aren’t father’s favorites, you know. So, we don’t get the good information. But I do know they are safe.”
“What is he going to do with them?” I ask, my voice breaking.
