Page 114 of Alexei

“I’m going to tell you a story,” he started and I rolled my eyes. This guy seriously came over to bother me with some stories. He ignored my eyeroll, though his wife chuckled. “A little over ten years ago, Alexei went back to Russia. He went alone.” My heart hammered in my chest, worried about anyone going to that country alone. “By coincidence, Luca and I reached out to him because we needed a location to move some women.”

My spine straightened. “You better be careful what you say next,” I warned. “Because I won’t hesitate to arrest you.”

Áine chuckled. “Cassio saved women from human trafficking,” she came to his defense. “He needed somewhere safe to put them.”

A fleeting glance between husband and wife, and I sensed a story there.

“Anyhow, I asked Alexei if we could bring them to Russia,” Cassio continued, ignoring my threat. “That’s how I found out he was there. He offered me a sanctuary for them in Portugal. It was where he was prepared to take anyone he found alive in Ivan’s Russian compound.” A sharp inhale of breath shattered through the air. It was mine. “We asked him to wait for us. It was suicide for him to go alone.”

“Why didn’t his brothers go with him?” I asked, my voice trembling.

“None of us, including him or his brothers, knew at that time he was a Nikolaev,” Cassio explained.

That made sense, after all his file shows him in the picture around the Nikolaev family only five or so years ago. “Did he wait?”

My heart beat wildly against my ribs, cutting my breaths short.

“One day,” he answered. “He wanted to get anyone out before Ivan got back.” I nodded at the logic. It made sense, especially if he was trying to get people out of there. “Nico Morrelli, who you know, got there first,” he continued, and somehow I wasn’t surprised to hear he knew I met Nico Morrelli. Though I wouldn’t exactly say I knew him. “And a few others, along with Luca, my brother, and I, we got there right in time. Alexei was already in the house, attacking men and getting to the captives.”

“Except my brother,” I muttered.

“Including your brother.” Confused, I watched him. Was he lying? “He was in bad shape, but we got him out.” For a moment, I forgot to breathe. I forgot to function. I just stared at this stranger in front of me.

“K-Kingston,” I stammered, my voice barely above the whisper. “My Kingston?”

“Yes, Kingston Ashford. We got him out. He was in really bad shape. We got stuck in Moscow, while waiting for a way out of that hellhole. We all took turns taking care of the survivors, but Alexei stayed with your brother.”

“And he died?” I rasped. Cassio shook his head. “N-no?”

I was confused. None of this made sense. “No, your brother is alive.”

I glanced at his wife who nodded, a sympathetic smile on her face.

“But how?” Alexei told me Kingston was dead. Didn’t he? I went through every word that was uttered in that wretched room. Ivan said Kingston was dead. Alexei didn’t confirm it nor deny it.

“He healed,” he explained. “It was a close call, but Alexei never gave up on him.”

I blinked. Again and again. My throat burned. My damn eyes burned. Yet, I refused to fall apart. Not now when this man ignited this hope in my chest.

“But he let me believe Kingston was dead,” I rasped, my heart twitching with another betrayal. Did Alexei enjoy making me suffer?

“He gave his word,” Cassio explained.

I furrowed my eyebrows and pain lingered in my temples. I pinched my nose, trying to relieve some of the tension.

“To whom?” I inquired.

“To your brother.”

“But why?”

“Alexei felt he owed Kingston that much,” he explained. “Your brother was in bad shape. We could heal his body, but not his mind.” A shudder ran down my spine. “Alexei promised he wouldn’t tell his family he was alive. Kingston didn’t want you to see what he had become.”

A tear rolled down my cheek, and I wiped it angrily with the back of my hand.

“Why didn’t he want us to know?” I choked out. “We love him. I- I never stopped hoping-”

I couldn’t finish the statement. My lower lip trembled and I covered my mouth, then rushed to the bathroom and shut the door behind me. Leaning against the door, I slid down to the cold tiled floor. I kept swallowing harshly, attempting to keep the sobs at bay. But eventually they won out. My entire body shook as heaving sobs wracked through me.