Page 8 of The Last Hope

Selina took a few tentative steps, her posture rigid, as though his touch unsettled her—or maybe that was just my imagination.

“Welcome,” she said softly, extending her hand to my sister-in-law, who took it without hesitation and squeezed it with a smile.

Despite the gentleness of her voice, it struck me like thunder crashing between my legs, unleashing a wave of intrusive thoughts—ones in which she moaned my name in the dark.

Fuck, Nikolai, pull yourself together.

At that moment, Dimitri came running toward his mother, waving the drawing he’d just made. Elif smiled, praised him, and held him by the shoulders, gently turning him toward the Rasili.

“And here’s my little second, Dimitri—Dimitri, look, it’s Rafael,” she said, introducing the two boys.

“Hi !” Dimitri exclaimed in perfect English.

Rafael pulled his hand from his father’s grip and slipped behind his mother’s legs. She ran her hand soothingly along the back of his neck, and when her eyes flicked up toward her husband, fear shimmered in them—a fear that awakened something primal in me, something I’d thought reserved only for my own.

“Forgive him ; he’s a bit shy,” she offered, her voice soft as she turned back to us, her shoulders slumping. Our eyes met again. Her doe-like gaze lingered longer than it should have.

Before I even realized what I was doing, I was on my feet.

I clenched my fists inside my pockets and walked steadily toward her, stepping behind Dimitri and placing a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s nothing,” I said. “Dimitri just gets a little too excited sometimes. Nikolai Ivanov.” I extended my hand toward her, our eyes locking.

“Nice to meet you,” she said.

She placed her hand in mine, and I took it in a grip that was firm but gentle, frowning at the fragility and thinness of her fingers—but even more at their coldness.

My entire body tensed as I lowered my gaze and caught sight of faint marks along her wrist, exposed by a slightly rolled-up sleeve. I turned her hand subtly, catching a glimpse of more on the inside.

Her shiver told me she’d noticed. She quickly pulled her hand away, hiding it behind her back and turning again toward her son.

“Well, I hope you have a good evening. We’re off to greet our other guests,” Antonio announced as he grabbed his son’s hand and wrapped an arm around his wife’s shoulders.

They walked away toward another table. But Selina’s glance over her shoulder didn’t go unnoticed.

“Did you see what I saw ?” Elif asked beside me, her eyes still fixed on Selina.

I nodded slowly, unwilling to speak, afraid my voice might betray the fury burning in my chest.

“A problem ?” Grigori asked as he drew his wife into an embrace.

“No,” I said, my eyes never leaving the little family weaving among the tables. “Let’s enjoy the evening. Tomorrow’s return will be rough—we’ve got trouble with one of the shipments.” I sat back down.

Sacha cursed under his breath, shooting me an annoyed glare as Grigori sank back into his seat with a sigh. Elif gently caressed his arm.

“It’s nothing. The other three ships have reached the delivery point, and I’m sure we can calm the clients about the delay,” she said.

“You mean you’ll calm them,moyadorogaya ?(my darling)” my brother teased, lifting her hand to kiss it.

My gaze wandered again, searching for Selina, but I saw only Antonio and his son, whom he dragged behind him. I squinted, watching the little boy squirm in resistance. Antonio’s features hardened, and he scooped the child into his arms, whispering something in his ear. The boy immediately stopped struggling.

“????!????!” (Dad ! Dad !) a voice shouted. My heart skipped as I recognized Alexei’s voice. My eyes followed him as he ran toward me, David close behind.

I stood so abruptly that my chair wobbled. Sacha caught it just in time as Alexei reached me, and I crouched to grasp his small shoulders.

“????, Andrei left. He was crying,” he said, his voice stern.

Fuck.

---