Page 68 of The Last Hope

“We got last-minute intel about Antonio Rasili’s plan. He acted alone—no one else knew about his attempt to attack you.”

“And how exactly did you find out?” Grigori asked, his dark gaze locked on Abbiati.

The latter didn’t respond, merely returning my brother’s stare with his own blank expression.

I suddenly felt Selina’s cold, clammy hand wrap around my wrist as she buried her face against my back. I glanced down, following her line of sight—and spotted the man lying nearby, bleeding out. Shit.

“Doesn’t matter how,” I said, pulling Selina closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “We needed to move before more of them showed up.”

“You’re right,” Lorenzo agreed, exhaling a slow drag of smoke as he turned to one of his men. “Once he realizes his men aren’t responding, Antonio will come to see what’s happening.”

Roman appeared at my side, his gaze sharp and calculating as he watched the two men speaking a few feet away.

“What is it?” I asked, noticing his expression.

“I feel like I know that guy,” he muttered, nodding toward the younger-looking man gesturing animatedly at Abbiati. Despite the balaclava, his stature was noticeably lean, his body not yet fully developed—his posture, his movements, the rebellious energy about him… it reminded me of Roman when he was a teenager.

“From where?”

“No idea. I’m going to check.”

Roman took a step toward them, but just as he did, Abbiati signaled to his men, who immediately climbed into theirvehicles, including the young man Roman had been eyeing. Within seconds, they were gone—leaving us alone with Lorenzo.

“Let’s go,” Abbiati said, heading toward the last remaining SUV. “We’ll spend the night in a safe location. Antonio has shut down all the roads leading to San Francisco. You’ll return home tomorrow—it’ll be safer then.”

The three of us exchanged glances.

Grigori shook his head, while Roman simply shrugged.

I looked down at Selina, still pressed against my side, her bright eyes already locked onto my face, silently searching for an answer.

I clenched my jaw.

With no better option, I followed Lorenzo into the vehicle.

Chapter nineteen

Selina

A shiver ran through me, pulling me from my sleep—one I had fallen into without even realizing it. My eyelids fluttered open, and I rubbed my cheek against the warm, firm cushion beneath me. Warm and firm? I tensed up, holding my breath, forcing my eyes open and lifting my gaze, only to meet dark blue ones.

“Finished drooling on my arm?” Nikolaï asked with a slight smile.

I sat up at lightning speed, rubbing my chin, and frowned when I realized there was nothing there.

“That’s not funny,” I grumbled, shooting him a glare, which only made his smile widen. It was only then that I realized we were alone in the vehicle. Roman, who had been sitting to my left, had disappeared, along with Grigori and the other man—Lorenzo, if I remembered correctly.

“Where are we?” I asked, squinting out the window, but the darkness outside revealed nothing.

“The safe house Abbiati mentioned. My brothers went ahead to make sure there’s no danger,” he replied, his hand still holding mine. He hadn’t let go since we had gotten off the plane.

“Why? Is this Abbiati our enemy?” I asked, struggling to understand their relationship.

Nikolaï froze, looking at me for a few seconds before shaking his head slightly. “No, he’s notourenemy. He works with the enemy, but he isn’t one of them. He’s a very close friend of Elif. Her brother saved his life and his cousin’s when they were young. He would never betray Elif, which means he won’t betrayus either,” he explained, his blue eyes scanning the darkness outside the car.

“I didn’t know Elif had a brother,” I said, confused. It hadn’t been long since I met her, but she had never mentioned him.

Nikolaï’s expression darkened, and his grip on my hand tightened. “He died sixteen years ago,” he said, his gaze still lost in the shadows outside.

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