Page 160 of The Last Hope

“Sienna, I’m sorry I left like that, but I had to… I have to find my babies. Antonio contacted me, promising he wouldn’t hurt any of them if I came to him. Now, listen to me carefully, sorella mia—the person sending you my location only wants to help me. Help us. Trust them, okay? And come find me. I know you’ll come. I know Nikolai will come. I’ll be waiting with the boys. I love you. And… tell Nikolai that I love him too. That I thank him for every moment he’s given me since we met. That I thank him for teaching me how to live again, how to love and be loved unconditionally.”

Her voice trembled, and I didn’t miss the sound of her sob as the message ended.

“Oh, Selina… what have you done ?” Sienna breathed, shaking her head and burying her face in her hands. “She walked straight into a trap, knowing it was a trap,” Elif sighed, wrapping an arm around Sienna’s shoulders.

I stared at the phone in my hand, my wife’s words looping in my head—her trembling voice, her sob. To love and be loved unconditionally.

I forwarded the link to my own phone and switched to autopilot. Skirting around my sisters, I headed to the basement. The helicopter was still outside—I would use it to get to Baku.

“Nikolai ! Nikolai, wait !” Elif called after me, but I ignored her. I reached the weapons room and began to gear up. Already dressed in my combat clothes, I didn’t need to change. I just grabbed a waterproof jacket and threw it over my black compression shirt.

“Nikolai ! You can’t go alone ! Wait for your brothers ! Grigori will be here in an hour at most, and Sienna is trying to reach Sasha and Roman!” Elif insisted, following me.

I shook my head, “there’s no way I’m leaving my family in that son of a bitch’s hands for another hour.”

I zipped up my jacket and headed for the exit, but my sister stepped in front of me, gripping my sleeve.

“I can’t… I can’t lose anyone else, Nikolai. Please,” she pleaded, her panicked eyes locking onto mine. I hated seeing her like this. I hated even more that it was because of me. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t wait for my brothers and leave my family behind.

“I have to go get them, Elif. I… I have to,” I said, my determined gaze meeting hers. Tears spilled from her eyes as she realized she wouldn’t be able to stop me.

Finally, she nodded and stepped back. I pulled her into a hug, pressing a kiss to her hair. “I’m bringing them home, Elif. We’re all having dinner together tomorrow night. I promise you.”

She sobbed into my chest but nodded again. “I know. I know you will,” she said, stepping back and wiping her tears. “But if you want me to let you go feeling even a little reassured, then I need you to do something for me.”

I looked at her, confused, as her own determination settled in.

Selina

The car glided through the dim streets of an unfamiliar city, in a country I had never set foot in, flanked by two equally unfamiliar men. They had awaited me near the private jet and had not spoken a single word since. Not one.

Discreetly, I adjusted my bra, where I had hidden the tiny phone Ferna had given me at the airport. I doubted it was her real name, but at the time, I hadn’t dared ask.

Twelve Hours Earlier…

I splashed water on my face for the umpteenth time and accepted the tissue the woman handed me. “Thank you,” I murmured. “So… are you really going to help me?”

“Of course I am, Selina. With everything I’ve got,” she replied, brushing my damp hair back the same way Sienna or Elif would have done.

“Quick, before Antonio starts suspecting anything,” she said, pulling a small phone from her dark jacket. “This one’s modified. Undetectable by any tech in the world. It’s got GPS so I can track your every move. I’ll send your location to your sister—she’ll show it to the Ivanovs, no doubt,” she explained, handing me the tiny device.

“And if they search me ?” I asked, gripping the phone, no larger than my palm.

“They won’t. I’m sure that psychopath has forbidden anyone from touching you. Still, hide it in your bra. Even if they try, they won’t dare go there.”

She opened her own jacket and lifted her shirt. I frowned as she began unwrapping something from around her waist.

“Lift your sweatshirt,” she said, kneeling. I obeyed. She wound a heavy fabric around my stomach.

“Sorry. I wanted to bring you a bulletproof vest, but it wasn’t discreet enough. This will have to do. At least the little one will be safe.”

“The… the little one?” I echoed, confused.

“I think your sister and Elif are right—you’re probably pregnant. That’d explain the mood swings. Otherwise, I can’t see why you’d follow that idiot to a street race,” she muttered the last part more to herself, but I heard it.

“You mean Roman?”

At the mention of my brother-in-law, she stiffened. I saw the grimace behind her mask. She’d said too much.

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