Total pages in book: 187
Estimated words: 177397 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 887(@200wpm)___ 710(@250wpm)___ 591(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 177397 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 887(@200wpm)___ 710(@250wpm)___ 591(@300wpm)
I usually strategize my games to the wire, but for the past four weeks, I’ve been flying blind. I went from caring about nothing but revenge to sheltering so many people I’m worried there won’t be enough space for everyone under my umbrella.
I won’t lose—it isn’t in my vocabulary—but it is near impossible to pull off a solo victory when you’re playing a team sport.
Zoya learned that the hard way last night.
I glare at Mikhail when he mutters, “She wouldn’t be so exhausted if you told her the truth.”
“And what exactly is that truth, Mikhail?” I snap out before I can stop myself.
He doesn’t answer me because he can’t. I’m sheltering him from the burden until I can ensure it won’t affect him how it is affecting me. That he won’t face the same level of liability he was forced to endure during his childhood. I need to make sure he isn’t burned time and time again like he was when he was Zakhar’s age.
Zak is sick. I don’t know if he will survive, so why subject Mikhail to the heartache of his existence until I know for sure? He’s lost so much already. First his mother and his sister, then any other sibling the federation deemed unsuitable for the Dokovic name. They were all pushed aside and downgraded. Some were killed. Mikhail only made the cut because he was my sole reason to obey.
When I rebelled against their rules, Mikhail was beaten as if he were disobedient.
When I refused to eat until someone told me where my mother went, Mikhail’s meals were served to the dogs guarding the prison-like mansion we were forced to call home.
When I begged for one of my numerous brothers to take my spot at the top of the pyramid, Mikhail was pushed further and further down the ladder of importance.
He was treated like shit so I would grow up years before I was close to being an adult. I refuse to do the same now that I am one.
The remembrance sees me offering a rare lenience. “She will know the truth soon.” When he attempts to interrupt me, I talk faster and with authority. “As will you. But not until I am ready, and not until I am sure you are both protected from any possible downfall it could inflict.”
There’s no dishonesty in my tone. No deceit. So Mikhail shockingly accepts my word. “All right.” He wets his lips like he’s preparing for them to be split before saying, “But I want to stay close until then. I want to make sure with my own two eyes that she’s okay.”
“I won’t let anything happen to her.”
“I know,” he instantly replies, easing my rapidly surging fury. “But still, I want to stay nearby.”
My first thought is fuck no, that I have enough issues to deal with without adding my little brother cozying up to the woman who will be mine no matter what, but there’s a gleam in his eyes I can’t misplace. It is the same glint that formed in them every time he found me in my hiding spot when we were kids.
We sat in my closet some years for hours on end. We didn’t speak or play with the hundreds of toys our grandfather bribed us with. We mused over a possible life outside those walls.
It proves he’s looking at Zoya now as more of a sister than a prospective bed companion, and that alone eases my hesitation.
“All right,” I parrot.
Mikhail looks as shocked as I feel.
This is not how I envisioned our next meetup going.
“But not here. Not in this building.”
It drove me insane with jealousy when Konstantine announced Mikhail had kicked out the men Daniil had placed in the apartments bordering Zoya’s so he could lay down roots.
Just knowing he was under the same roof as Zoya longer than me last night had my arrogance at an all-time high.
“I’ll organize you another apartment—”
“I can find somewhere else to stay. You don’t need to go out of your way to accommodate me.” For the first time ever, he gives me a bit of leeway on the numerous tasks I undertake each day. “I’m sure you’ve got enough on your plate.”
I huff like his dart didn’t hit the board before putting on my shoes and tying the laces.
Once I’m ready to go, I commence climbing down the emergency fire exit stairwell. “Give her some space. She’ll forgive you when she’s ready, not because you try to force her to. She’s stubborn as fuck.” I could leave it there, but I’ll have to kill someone to maintain my reputation if Mikhail were to see my smile. “And buy some fucking underwear. You’re meant to garnish their appetite with a sneak peek of what is about to come, not bring out all three courses a second after they sit down.”