Page 72 of The Last Hope

“I warn you, this house is always noisy,” Nikolaï said as he joined me, while the children clung to Roman’s legs.

“My mother always said a noisy home is a healthy home,” I murmured, recalling my mother’s scent of lavender, the warmth of her touch on my cheek. I pressed my lips together as a lump formed in my throat, emotion welling up.

Nikolaï didn’t respond. I doubted he even heard me amid all the chaos—the children’s laughter and shouts, Roman’s booming voice, Elif and Grigori whispering to each other, and even Sasha and Sienna exchanging biting remarks despite their efforts to be discreet.

But when I felt his hand brush the small of my back and our eyes met, I knew he had heard me. And, more than that, I knew he understood me—just as he had since the very first moment.

Nikolai

I thanked Elif as I took the glass of water she handed me while she sat beside me in the living room. Sena and Velma were expected to arrive the next day, and my sister refused to hire anyone else for security reasons. Until then, Elif took great pleasure in managing the house—something she absolutely loved to do.

“Did Abbiati ever say how he found out about the attack?” Sasha asked from the couch across from me, sitting beside Roman, who was immersed in his phone.

“No, he protected his source as if it were his own mother,” I replied, my eyes fixed on the two figures sitting at the table in the garden. Selina listened intently as Mikhail explained something to her on his laptop. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched her frown, clearly struggling to keep up with my son’s fast-paced explanations.

She was saved by Alexei, who came running barefoot to their side, a large sheet of paper in his hands, quickly joined by Andrei and Rafael, who had been playing soccer on the grass. Selina laughed at something Alexei said, and the faces of all four boys lit up at the sound. I knew mine must have looked exactly the same.

I lowered my gaze when Elif placed a hand on my back, my throat tightening at the sight of the emotion in her eyes.

“Your sunrise is here, Niko. Don’t let it set. No matter the consequences, we’ll face them together—for you, for her, for the family,” she whispered, gently rubbing my back.

And damn, my eyes stung at her words. I took her hand in mine, squeezing it softly.

“Don’t worry, Elif. I made my decision on that plane when I thought I was living my last moments. This sun will never set on my life again,” I answered, making her smile.

“So, I don’t need to find a safe place anymore?” she asked.

I shook my head, remembering Lorenzo’s words.

I had closed the door of the cabin behind me, slipping between the trees into the night for my turn at watch after Lorenzo. He sat on the trunk of a fallen tree, smoking a cigarette.

“How can you sleep with that noise?” Lorenzo had grumbled when he heard me approach, and I couldn’t help but smirk.

“You get used to it after spending twenty years sleeping in the same room,” I replied.

I sat beside him, pulling out my own cigarette and taking the lighter he handed me to light it.

“So, do you see the future now?” I asked, handing the lighter back to him.

“Don’t waste your time, Ivanov. My source will remain mine,” he said, standing up and dusting off his pants. “But I can give you some advice about Rasili’s source,” he added, making me freeze as I stared at him.

“What?” I demanded.

“We don’t know how, but he’s tracking Selina’s every move. Maybe there are traitors in your ranks, or maybe he managed to plant bugs somewhere, but he always knows exactly where she is. The safest place for her and her son is by your side, within your walls. If she leaves, he’ll find them in no time.”

“No, no one is going anywhere,” I said as the pieces of fate fell into place in my mind.

Our destinies—mine and Selina’s—were now entwined. And I wouldn’t let anything separate us. Ever.

Chapter twenty-one

Selina

“And he won the race under the cheers of all his friends and family,” I finished reading, closing the book as the children exclaimed in excitement over the character’s victory.

“I’m going to be like Tommy too!” Rafael exclaimed from his bed, which Nikolaï and Roman had set up in the twins’ room after our arrival.

“Me too, me too!” Andrei chimed in, bouncing on his knees over his blanket.

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