Page 126 of The Bratva King

“I’m going to be super pissed if we crash at the bottom of the Grand Canyon,” I warn him.

“Me, too.”

I roll my eyes. “Helpful.”

Mila is with Olga, and Pasha is resting, so it’s just the three of us. I’m beginning to see us as a family, and that thought scares me.

I walk to the room next door, where soft blue walls and dinosaurs cover every surface. His bed is made, showcasing the giant T. rex on the comforter. Nik follows me in.

“Luke, are you ready?”

He looks up from where he’s sitting on a bean bag, looking at one of his new picture books.

“I’m ready,” he says.

I look at Nik and smile. “You know, about a year ago, it was fire trucks. Fire truck everything. Then he moved on to dinosaurs. What will you do when helicopters are next?”

Nik shrugs. “I teach him to fly.”

“Absolutely not.”

“A remote one,” he says.

I know that’s exactly what he’ll do. Every dinosaur will be removed, and helicopters will cover the walls. Do they make stuffed helicopters?

An hour later, I clutch the armrest so hard that my knuckles turn white as the helicopter lifts off the ground. My stomach drops to my ankles and stays there.

“You okay?” Nik’s voice crackles through the headset.

“Peachy,” I lie.

Luke is pressed against the window on my other side, his eyes wide with wonder. He’s not scared at all. Of course, he’s not. He trusts Nikolai, and he hasn’t spent the past hour imagining every possible way this could go wrong.

Luke can be overwhelmed by flashing lights or loud noises, but put him in a helicopter, on a roller coaster, or on a zipline, and he’s completely at ease. He experiences fear differently than I do.

I glance at Nik, who almost looks bored. I’m not sure there’s anything that scares him.

The pilot works for Nik. This isn’t a tourist flight, packed with strangers. The city falls away beneath us, and suddenly, we’re soaring over the desert, which stretches endlessly in every direction.

“Look, Mom!” Luke points at something below. “Cars. They’re so small.”

I force myself to look down. He’s right; the cars on the highway look like toys.

“Very small,” I manage.

Nik reaches over and takes my hand. His thumb strokes across my knuckles. I glance at him, and he’s watching me with a steady gaze that somehow makes everything feel less terrifying.

“Breathe,” he says quietly.

I do. Deep breath in. Hold. Release.

The helicopter levels out, and my death grip on the armrest eases a little. Maybe I’m not going to die. Maybe this will be fine.

I force myself to focus on Luke’s joy and let his excitement steady me. I can do anything for him. Even this.

About thirty minutes later, I see it.

The Grand Canyon opens beneath us like the earth has split in two. Layers of red and orange rock stretch down into shadows so deep that I can’t see the bottom. The scale of it steals my breath in a different way.