Page 17 of Crave

Waving my hand in annoyance, I turn on my heel and head for the elevators. The girl in the kiosk knows to put it all on my account.

Working for my brother for so many years has earned me the right to walk into his office without knocking.

“Lara.” Mikhail looks up from his desk over the black balaclava that covers the lower half of his face. His dark eyes narrow when he glances at Alexei sauntering in. “I’m glad to see you brought the fool.” He points at Alexei with his thickindex finger then jabs it towards the couch against the wall. “Sit. You’re not useful to me today, but you’re here for her.”

The knot in my stomach tightens.

Any time Mikhail or Nikolai push Alexei to me, it’s because something horrible is about to happen.

Alexei takes a huge bite of one of his cookies, spilling crumbs down his chest and onto the floor as he walks.

I bet he did that on purpose. I make sure to scowl at him when I sit next to him.

The disgruntled sigh that Mikhail makes when he stands indicates he saw what he did, too.

“I swear, Alexei.” He shakes his head and steps around the edge of his big desk.

Mikhail is huge on his own, but when he gets closer he towers over us.

“I need to talk to you about what happened to Nikolai.” His arms bulge as he crosses them over his chest. “It’s about something I’ve kept from you.” Mikhail’s dark eyes slip to the side, averting his gaze.

What the hell did he do?

The iced coffee isn’t cutting it, my stomach starts to roll with anxiety.

“Let me back up. You know that asshole Kirill? The one who got tied up with Knox and helped to try and kill Jax?” Mikhail growls the name.

“Yes, have you found him?” I know that guy has been elusive. Even Alexei has voiced frustration in trying to track him down.

“Well, he’s the one who had a hand in sending Mila after Niki. He works for Ivan.” He spits our father’s name.

I just call him evil in my own head.

Alexei fidgets next to me. “Ivan makes my own father look nice.”

When I glance at him, he smiles with chocolate on his lips. “That’s saying something.”

“It is.” I don’t know the details, but I’ve picked up through the years just how awful Alexei’s parents were.

And that Mikhail took care of the problem.

“Ivan caused all of that chaos looking for Zoya.” Mikhail runs his hand over his eyes, then rubs his temple.

Wait, I think Alexei mentioned that name. “Who is that?”

Mikhail takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, fluttering the mask over his lower face. “Father’s bride. She escapedthat nightand sought out our mother for help.”

My straw makes a slurping sound as I suck up the last of my drink.

It needs alcohol.

Mikhail had already shuffled us to a safehouse away from Ivan before that night. It’s like he knew our father was planning on creating havoc with us.

“Where did she come from? We weren’t gone that long before the fire.” I’ll never forget the pain that Nikolai suffered when his wife died.

That was the last time I saw Mikhail’s face.

“Our father like’s them young, apparently. She was barely eighteen, and he didn’t waste any time.” His voice falls into hushed tones. “She was pregnant.”

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