Page 84

CHAPTER 83

ALEXEI

Closing the door behind me, as soon as it clicks I rest my back against it and rub my hands over my face.

“Fuck.”

I want to punch something, anything. I just want to make this all better for her, snap my fingers and it’s okay again.

Why can’t I save her from the demons in her head?

I know I can’t. But I’ll do everything in my power to help her.

It’s up to me to remind her every day how perfect she is. On the inside and out.

I’ll worship her until the day I die.

Starting with fixing up the cabin. I have no idea how I’m going to break the news about Mikhail. Especially when we have no idea what happened.

I can’t believe he’s dead. But until I see that giant body, I won’t believe it.

Nikolai clears his throat and I look up.

“Go spend some time with her, I have some things to take care of,” I tell him, sliding out my phone.

He nods.

“Don’t mention Mikhail until I get back, okay?”

Niki raises a brow and looks through the glass.

“You saw the plane go down?” Niki asks sternly.

“Yea.”

I clench my fist, a fresh wave of nausea washing over me.

“He can’t be dead, Niki. We all need him. Her most of all.” I point towards Lara’s door.

It’s like the world is crumbling around me. I take a deep breath.

“Enzo is on it. We can’t plan his funeral yet. Mikhail is a clever fucker. We can’t rule him out so easy. We’ve seen him survive the unsurvivable once before.” Nikolai clenches his jaw as he stares at his sister.

I remember vividly.

I saw what happened to him. I knew the man before and the man he turned into after the fire.

“But how many times can you cheat death, Niki?”

He shakes his head and shrugs.

“I could ask you that every day, Alexei.”

He has a point.

We just have to hope Mikhail is like me and he hasn’t already used up his last one.