Page 29 of Midnight Sanctuary

Then there’s the host of other little worries that fill the in-between space between the two of them.

What does my future look like? Is Lev okay? Does he ask for me at all? How’s Elle doing? Did her wedding go smoothly? Have my parents even noticed that I’m not around anymore? Am I going to be trapped in this basement forever?

Is all this stress going to affect my unborn children?

I’m able to keep food down a little easier, but it’s a struggle. My appetite still says “hell no” to every bite I shove down. I keep fighting the good fight, though, if for no other reason than to give my children the nutrients they need.

My one and very unexpected solace has come in the form of Uri’s brother. Nikolai visits at least twice a day. Apart from congratulating me on the babies, he steers away from any topic that’s too personal. I don’t question it too much; I’m too desperate for the company.

Right on cue, he walks in with a plate of cherry danishes for me. We sit in the kitchenette, me nibbling on a pastry and him sipping black coffee, as I contemplate breaking our unspoken rule.

“How’s Lev?”

His face twists up with discomfort. But it’s been a while since I’ve seen sunlight and it’s driving me insane. It’s also making me more and more restless.

“He’s fine.”

“Why do you look like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like you’ve swallowed a bad oyster.”

“I did once. Spent three days on a toilet.”

I wrinkle my nose. “Thanks for that info. And the visual. But it’s not enough to distract me. What’s going on with Lev? Is he having nightmares?”

Nikolai sighs. “The abduction really messed with his head. And his head wasn’t exactly calm before the abduction.”

My chest tightens with guilt. “How bad is he?”

“Uri and I take turns spending time with him. But we can’t be with him around the clock. George handles the majority of the shifts and when he can’t be here, Svetlana takes over.”

“D-does he ask for me?” I venture. Nikolai clears his throat uncomfortably, so I nod in resignation. “I’ll take that as a yes. Uri is preventing him from seeing me, I’m guessing?”

At that, he doesn’t do more than sigh. Why do I get the feeling that the brothers aren’t exactly seeing eye to eye on certain things? Definitely Lev. Possibly me?

“I… I never meant to hurt either one of them. You know that, right?”

“Fuck me,” he mutters under his breath before looking up. “I know that, Alyssa. Believe it or not, Uri does, too.”

I shake my head. “That’s just wishful thinking.”

“No, it’s insight. Insight into the complicated mind of Uri Bugrov. He’s just angry. And at the moment, he’s helpless just like the rest of us—and that’s a bad combination. He’s punishing you because he needs someone to blame. It’s easier than admitting that he messed up.”

“How is any of this his fault?”

Nikolai raises his eyebrows. “He messed up the moment he brought you here and he knows it.”

I can’t help wincing. It was stupid of me, I know, but I’d started to think that maybe part of him actually liked me.

He holds up a hand when he sees the look on my face. “Hey now, don’t take it that way. I don’t mean it personally.”

“How else could you possibly mean it?”

“You were the next-door neighbor, Alyssa. He should have just let you go back to your little neck of the woods. You wouldn’t have been involved in this world. But not only did he decide to keep you here, he decided to expose you, too. That, more than anything else, made you a target. It put you in danger and it put Lev and Polly in danger right along with you.”

I shiver, remembering the night that Uri and I met. I can still feel the breeze between my thighs as I dangled on the fence. It was every bit as cool as my cheeks were blazing hot.

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