Page 127 of Bratva Knight

Illayana had felt so guilty about what she’d said to me. About how she reacted when she first found out. The idea of me dying and never being able to resolve things between us was the kick in the pants she needed to let it all go and move on. We’d talked for hours and everything went back to normal. It was like the whole thing never happened, like she’d known all along.

“I do. Fuck, I do, Illayana. Something is wrong. I can feel it in my bones. We should have heard from him by now.”

She nodded, not denying it. “That doesn’t mean something is wrong, though. Maybe it just isn’t safe to reach out to us yet. Maybe he hasn’t gathered the information he needs. There could be a thousand reasons why he hasn’t reached out.”

“Yeah. And one of those reasons could be that he’s been discovered.”

She exhaled heavily. “I’m not going to dispute that. You’re right. It could be. I’m just hoping that it’s not.”

I grunted and resumed pacing. There was a knock at Illayana’s door.

“Come in!” she yelled out.

Drea stepped into the room, a five-foot nothing scruff of a woman. I’d barely said two words to her but she was family now. She was covered head-to-toe in tatts and piercings and had a real “rocker chick” kinda vibe going on, with the ripped black jeans and band t-shirt. I’d never pictured Aleksandr with someone like her. She was the polar opposite of the man: fun, energetic. Like a big ball of crazy energy that couldn’t be tamed.

“Drea, hey. What’s going on?” Illayana paused the TV and turned to face her.

“Hey. Have you seen your brother?”

“Which one? If Lukyan, no. He went out last night and hasn’t come home yet. If Aleksandr, I saw him early this morning when he was out training the soldiers. But I haven’t seen him since then.”

Drea bit her lip. “Me either. He ducked out a little while ago and I haven’t heard from him since.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing.” Illayana picked up her phone. “I’ll try calling him.”

“I tried. His phone’s off.”

Sure enough, when Illayana dialled Aleksandr’s number, it went straight to voicemail.

“That’s weird,” Illayana frowned. “His phone is never off.”

“Maybe he’s in a meeting?” I suggested. “Where was he going when he left here?”

“Hedidsay he was going to meet up with a client. I don’t know, I just—”

I gasped, my eyes widening on her. “You have ‘the feeling,’ don’t you?”

Illayana groaned. “Oh, don’t you start.”

“What’s ‘the feeling’?” Drea asked, looking between the two of us.

“Like something bad has happened.” I rubbed my sternum. “It’s right here. And it feels like you can’t breathe.”

“Yes, actually.” Her brows creased. “I can’t explain it. It’s like a sense of…of—”

“Foreboding,” I finished.

She nodded, worry all over her face. “Yeah.”

I pointed at Illayana. “See.I told yousomething is wrong.”

Illayana rolled her eyes. She flicked off the blankets and jumped off the bed, her bare feet slapping against the hardwood. “Maybe his phone just died?”

“Maybe,” Drea grumbled, but I could tell she didn’t really believe it.

“You want to pace with me?” I asked, my head tilting to the side. “It helps me feel a little better.”

Illayana cut in before she could respond. “No! No more pacing.” She swiped her hand through the air. “You guysreally willwear a hole in my floor. Why don’t we go for a run or something?”

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