AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He leaves me standing there in the foyer, alone.
53
MISHA
“What happened tonight?”
I lift a hand as the last guest pulls down the driveway and disappears through the gates. “Not now, Mother.”
“You and Maksim were always so much alike,” she remarks. “But there are moments when you remind me so much of your father.”
“Then you should know by now that your disappointment isn’t going to change me. It never changed him.”
It’s a cruel thing to say, but she doesn’t even look mad. She just looks tired. “When are you going to understand that I’m on your side, son? All I want—all I’ve ever wanted—is your happiness. I just happen to know that no matter how important the Bratva is to you, it will never bring you true happiness.”
I grab hold of my dog tag and shove it in her face. “You know what this says better than anyone else.Vse dlya sem’i.Everything for the family.”
“I do,” she says, stoic as ever. “I know why your father wore it, and I know why your brother did. It was for very different reasons than the one that’s kept it around your neck.”
Paige is standing down in the grass with Nikita. She saw everyone to their cars and thanked them each for coming. It had nothing to do with being a good hostess, though—she just didn’t want to be near me.
“You need to stop punishing yourself for Maksim’s death, Misha. It wasn’t your fault.”
“You weren’t there,” I tell her harshly. “You don’t know if it was my fault or not.”
“I wasn’t. But Konstantin was there. He told us all what happened. No one blames you.”
“Cyrille—”
“Do you really think that Cyrille would blame you for Maksim’s death?” she scoffs. “Just because you were foolish for a split second doesn’t mean you could have anticipated what was about to happen. You were young and confident. You thought you were invincible. You made an error in judgment, and your brother was exposed for a moment. Petyr took his shot.”
“Mother—”
“It’s what happened,” she continues over my growl. “It’s time to accept it. So that you can move forward. So thatall of uscan move forward.”
She waits for me to say something, but I don’t. I’m not sure if it’s disappointment on her face or fatigue, but whatever the case, she blows out a breath and pats me on the arm. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m tired. Make sure that Paige is comfortable. She deserves your thanks for tonight. She did you proud.”
Paige did so many things right tonight.
But the one thing she did wrong is the only thing I can think about.
I hated the way the Babai looked at her. The way The Wolf looked at her… Like he wanted to devour Paige whole.
I wait by the door as Paige walks up the steps towards me. She does a good job avoiding my eyes. I can tell from the way her shoulders tense that she’s not done fighting tonight.
But I am.
I walk inside before she reaches me and turn left at the staircase. I’m hoping that Paige is pissed off enough that she’ll go upstairs without addressing it, but no such luck.
“Where are you going?” she calls up to me.
“I have some work to finish up in the office.”
“Bullshit,” she snaps. “You just want to avoid talking to me.”
“If only it were that easy,” I say before I can stop myself.
It’s not in my nature to back down from a fight. And the more she pushes this, the more I want to rise to the challenge.
