Page 146 of No Longer Mine

Carina froze in place. Audrey’s hands fisted on her knees. The grannies stilled like statues. Even Don’s usually unreadable face twisted into something murderous.

Dimitri’s jaw locked so tight I thought he might shatter it. And then—silently—a single tear slid down his cheek. He didn’t blink and didn’t move. He just let it fall.

No one said a word. There wasn’t anything to say.

Grandmother, who’d been tending to the abrasions at my ankles, paused. She looked up at me—really looked—and her eyes glistened with something fierce and ancient.

She didn’t ask me to repeat it. She didn’t say sorry. She just blinked and then went right back to cleaning my wounds.

Audrey sat beside me on the couch and pulled my hand into hers. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to. Her grip was steady and grounding, her silence more comforting than any words could’ve been.

Carina hovered for a moment, then knelt at my other side and placed a glass of water on the coffee table. She didn’t push it toward me. Just set it there, within reach. She grabbed a blanket from the back of the couch and placed it over my still half-naked body. Her eyes shimmered, but she blinked it away, lips pressed in a tight line.

Dimitri hadn’t left, he simply stood there across the room like a statue carved from grief and fury.

“Why don’t the two of you go see about making up a room for my mother?” he said, voice low.

Audrey and Carina didn’t blink. No hesitation. No questions. Just a quiet understanding as they exchanged a glance and moved toward the stairs.

Nana stayed at her post, dabbing a cloth into an ointment and carefully smoothing it over Mrs. Cristof’s face, wrists, and ankles. The two of them spoke in hushed Russian—words I couldn’t understand, but didn’t need to. The tremble in their voices said enough. The way Nana’s fingers trembled against the skin of her daughter, the way she blinked a little too often—like keeping those tears at bay required every ounce of strength she had left.

I let my gaze drift. Don and Dimitri’s brothers were all seated at the kitchen island, surrounding a phone. I couldn’t hear what they were saying but I could still see the rage on their faces andin the way they moved. They wouldn’t let their father get away. They were making a plan.

Dimitri crossed the space to me in two long strides, dropped to his knees in front of me, and cupped the side of my face—so gentle it nearly undid me.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered.

“You didn’t do this,” I managed, throat tight.

“But I didn’t stop it in time.” His thumb brushed under my eye where another tear had slipped free. “I will never be late again.”

“This isn’t on you,” my voice shook.

He leaned forward to look into my eyes. “I will make sure you feel safe again. I’ll tear his entire empire down.”

There was a commotion at the front of the brownstone as someone tried to get inside. I was too weak to peek around to see what was going on. Ivan was shouting something and Griffin was sitting on the stairs pale-faced. Dimitri shook his head. “Let them in, they’ll burn down the building if we don’t.”

“Damn straight!” Cleo barked as she barged past Vance and Ivan. I didn’t know when Vance arrived, but it was nice to have him here too.

Oliver pushed his glasses up on his nose—a nervous tick he’d had since we were kids—and followed right on Cleo’s heels. They took one look at me on the couch and rushed forward.

“Are you okay?”

“Tell us everything!”

They spoke all at once. Tears filled my eyes again as they collapsed beside me. Cleo wasn’t wearing a wig today and her blonde hair was bright against her dark skin. “You’re alive! That’s all that matters. That’s all we care about.”

Oliver wasn’t as vocal about his relief but I could see it in his eyes. “Tell us what we can do and we will do so without complaint.”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s nice to have both of you here.”

Cleo got off of the floor and wrapped her arms around me tightly. “I love you, I love you so much and I’m so sorry.”

Oliver’s eyes glassed over as he looked around the room. “I shouldn’t have let you go alone. I didn’t know…”

I leaned forward to cup his cheek in my hand. “You didn’t know. This isn’t any of your fault.”

He leaned into my touch and closed his eyes. Dimitri tapped on Oliver’s shoulder and motioned for him to follow. Any other time, I would have been nervous but I knew Dimitri would never hurt one of my best friends. My mind and body were too tired to worry about what they were speaking about. All I could do was smile softly as they both disappeared down the hall. My two worlds had officially collided.