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He nodded his head. “He won’t believe you at first, but he saw them in the accident. He just has to remember.”
“How did he see them in the accident?” I was curious. I clearly remembered the look on his face before he lost consciousness.
“He saw my wings wrapped around you, but when he turned to shield you from the impact, that’s the moment that he got his. He watched them come from behind him to shield you and even cover mine.”
“Are you sure he’s not going to die anytime soon? I can’t take knowing he’s going to sacrifice himself again to protect me.”
“Sephie, it won’t be easy and what’s coming will be bad. Very bad. But you can pull him back. Adrik showed you how when he pulled you from the darkness. You can do the same for Ivan. You will do the same for Ivan.” He had both hands on my shoulders, looking me in the eyes, almost like he was searing the information onto my brain. “See? Everything happens for a reason, peanut.”
I smiled at him. “Now that you’re out of a job, you’re not leaving, are you?”
“No, not for good. I still keep an eye on you, but now that Ivan has stepped fully into his role, I’m needed even less than I was before. I’m thinking of joining an aerial acrobatics troop. Learn some new swooping techniques,” he said, making a swooping motion with his arm.
“We can still talk like this sometimes, then?”
“Of course, peanut. I’m always around. Swooping.” We both heard a noise outside the house. “It’s time for you to go, Sephie. That’s Adrik’s alarm. Remember, you can pull Ivan back. You too can walk freely between Heaven and Hell.”
The scene in front of me faded quickly and I felt Adrik’s hand on the back of my neck. He was talking softly to me, trying to wake me up. I opened my eyes, still smiling at the memory of seeing my dad once again. I lifted my head to rest my chin on his chest. He smiled at me, running his finger lightly over my cheek.
“Good morning again, solnishko. You had a good dream, I take it?”
I closed my eyes, nodding my head. I put my head back on his chest and hugged him tightly. I always suspected there was more to he and I finding each other, but now I knew for sure. I breathed in his scent deeply, “I love you. I’ve always loved you. I will always love you.”
I felt his arm wrap around me, pulling me on top of him. He wrapped both arms around me, holding me tightly. “And I love you, solnishko. Always and forever.”
Chapter Fifty-Five
Sephie
When we came downstairs, all the guys were in the kitchen, foraging for food. We hadn’t had a chance to hire a new chef yet, and honestly it had slipped everyone’s mind since we hadn’t been to the house in a few weeks. It was close enough to lunch time, though, so I said, “Can we tell someone that I’m extra cranky when I’m hungry and I need Vinny’s for everyone as soon as possible?”
Misha walked to me quickly, hugging me tightly. “This. This right here is why I love you so much.”
Andrei was still in his room, but Ivan appeared shortly after we walked into the kitchen. I went to him, sliding my arm around his waist gently. “How you feeling? Do you feel like you can eat?” He nodded as he slung his good arm over my shoulders. “Good. We’re getting Vinny’s. Has anybody checked on Andrei in a while?” They all looked somewhat guilty. I chuckled. “I’m taking those looks as a no. I’m going to check on him, since you all clearly hate him.”
I got all the way to his room, but then stopped myself from opening the door. I walked back into the kitchen. “He doesn’t sleep in the nude or anything, does he?” They all laughed.
“You’re safe from seeing anything extra, sestrichka.” Viktor said in between his deep belly laughs.
I sighed in relief, then walked back to Andrei’s room. I knocked softly just in case he was awake. I heard nothing, so I quietly opened the door and peeked in. He was sprawled out on the bed, in his underwear. Thank God he left those on. I walked over to the bed, grabbing the blanket from the end of the bed and covering him up with it. He didn’t stir. I walked back to the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of water and took it back to his room, leaving it on his table for him. They’d given him pain pills at the hospital, so I was sure he was going to sleep for a while.
When I walked back in the kitchen this time, I walked to Adrik, tucking myself into his side, his arm pulling me closer.
“Food will be here shortly, gazelle.”
“I can take inventory of what’s in the fridge and come up with something to feed everyone tonight. Or maybe I can send someone to the store with a list?” I looked at Adrik, not sure if I could do that or not.
He smiled at me. “You’re the goddamn princess. You can do whatever you please, solnishko.”
I laughed loudly. That one caught me completely by surprise. I leaned up and kissed him. “I fucking love you.”
We heard Ivan and Misha across the kitchen. “Fucking adorable.” He smiled against my lips as he said quietly, “We are fucking adorable.”
Adrik needed to leave to go back to the penthouse for a few meetings that afternoon. He wanted to leave Stephen with me, but I insisted that he take both Viktor and Stephen with him.
“There’s like forty guards around this property and at least as many dogs. And I’ll have my adorable Russian guardian and like half an Ivan and half an Andrei. That’s equal to at least thirty more guards. Clearly, I have the advantage here,” I said, grinning at my math.
Adrik smiled at me, leaning down to press his lips to mine. “I won’t be gone long, solnishko. Let Misha know if you want someone to go to the store for you. I’ll add finding a new chef to the top of the list.”
