Page 115 of Falling for the Enemy

The world beneath my feet shifts when she turns, her watery gaze falling on my neck. One beat of my heart. That’s all it takes for tears of my own to form as hers begin to spill, wetting her cheeks.

“Solnyshko,” I start. “Mina—”

Pulse quickly beginning to hammer, my skin tingles and my breath hitches when my beautiful baby sister races toward me. With haste, Alejandro steps behind me, seeing the collision that’s coming before I can register it.

Mina’s body slams into mine.

I stumble back, but my kingpin catches me against his solid frame, preventing my fall as Mina twines her arms around my neck and buries her face against my shoulder, her tears soaking my silk robe.

Not that I care.

I truly don’t.

I’m too focused on the fact that she’s touching me, her body pressed to mine in an embrace I haven’t experienced since she was nine years old.

I can’t breathe.

No matter how hard I try, I simply can’t.

Despite not knowing if it’s the right move to make, I wrap my arms around her shoulders, hugging her closely. This may be the last chance I ever get to hold her, and if so, I want to cherish every fleeting second.

“He’s gone,” I whisper, my hands rubbing small circles on her back as I kiss the crown of her head, lips lingering for the briefest of moments. “Like Papa, I made him go away so he can’t hurt us anymore, Solnyshko.” I bury my face in her hair. “And the durak is never coming back.”

She nods against me, her breaths coming in quick gasps as repeated sobs wrack her body.

“He’s really never coming back?”

Continuing to hold Mina tight, I look to my left, finding Anna. Standing beneath one of the skylights Casper had installed, she shifts her weight from one bare foot to the next, her arms crossed over her belly.

“So he’s like… long gone?”

Refusing to soften or hide the truth from either girl, I nod. “Da, love, he is. Alejandro and I made sure of that.”

Anna’s gaze snaps to my kingpin, who still stands behind me, his hands massaging my hips, comforting me as every last crack in my heart heals.

“Thank you, Mr. Tall, Dark, and Scary.” A huge smile breaks out on her breathtaking face, lifting her tear-streaked cheeks. “Not only for saving one of my favorite people from the bad guys but for also loving her hot-mess self, too. I mean, Ari may have impeccable taste in fashion, especially shoes, but in case you haven’t noticed, she’s kind of crazy.”

That earns a chuckle from me.

Alejandro, too.

But before either of us can respond, an oblivious Nikolai storms into the studio, his stony features drawn taut. “Blyad’, I’m hungry. Who wants pizza?”

Behind me, my kingpin blows out a breath. “Mierda, he’s like Grandmama. The more time that passes, the more loco he becomes.”

Once again, I don’t get to respond.

Mina pulls out of my arms and steps back, shattering the embrace we share. Taking a deep breath, she wipes away her tears with her palms, then raises her hands into the air to speak.

I miss her touch immediately.

Don’t ever get hurt like that again, she signs. Because losing you… Her hands freeze as she dips her face to the floor. It will be the end of me.

Head remaining down, she turns and crosses the room, walking to one of the floor-to-ceiling windows that comprise the far wall.

Everything in me screams for me to go after her, to assure her that nyet, losing me would never equate to her end—not when she has Casper and Anna.

Nikolai, too.

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