Page 191 of Vicious Games

As I watch Lucky walk up the stairs to board the plane, my heart feels like it’s shattering into a million pieces.

What am I doing?

He turns around just before stepping inside, tears in his eyes as he mouths,I love you.

My own tears spill over, hot and fast, as I mouth it back,I love you.

And then he’s gone from sight.

My body begins to shake. Watching the boy who changed my life in every imaginable way walk out of it is so agonizing, my knees nearly give out.

A steady hand presses on my shoulder, anchoring me.

“Did you know…” Misha’s voice is soft beside me, “that I haven’t left Russia in over a decade? Do you know why that is?”

I shake my head, swiping at my tears.

“It’s because of my Elena. I couldn’t bear to be away from her. Not for a day. Not for an hour. Not even a second.” He exhales slowly. “Love leaves a mark on the soul, Kira. It binds us. Makes it hard to breathe without them near.” His other hand joins the first, and he gently turns me to face him. “We just got you, Kira. And it hurts to let you go. But I understand now… family doesn’t always come by blood. Sometimes the family we choose means more than the one we’re born into.”

“I…” I choke out, “I’ve wanted a family for so long. One that was mine.”

“And now you have one,” he says with a tender smile. “You will always be a Petrov. You will always have us. Come what may. But I think, deep down, you already had a family too—even before you even realized it.”

“I love him, Uncle,” I say on a sob.

“I know you do,” he says, pulling me into his arms, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “Katya would be so proud of you, Kira. That you’ve grown into this remarkable young woman who knows what she wants. I’m proud of you too. So damn proud.”

He pulls back, wiping the tears from my cheeks.

“Now go. Be happy. That’s all any of us want for you, sweet girl.”

I look at him, then at my uncles—each one lined up with their own brand of love in their eyes.

“Will I see you again?”

Misha’s shoulders drop. “Kirill and Kostya will be in Chicago after the holidays.”

“I’ll fly out whenever I can,” Aleksandr chimes in.

“And you?” I ask Misha quietly.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to wait for you to visit me again.”

Which is his way of saying he’ll never leave Elena since she’s too fragile to endure the journey to the States.

Especially now when she’s…

Then it hits me.

The way her doctor looked at her.

The way she held her belly like she was guarding something precious.

“Uncle…” I say slowly. “You should talk to Aunt Elena. Or if not her, then at least to her doctor. I think… I think… she might be hiding something from you.”

His brow tightens. “What kind of something?”

“I can’t be sure. I don’t speak Russian. But… I think… Aunt Elena might be pregnant.”

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