I jerk away from Nina, and rubbing a palm over my chest, I try to ignore how my heart is thundering.
Never before has a woman drawn such a powerful emotion out of me.
“Are you okay?” Raya asks as she comes up beside me.
“Yeah.” Needing to ground myself for a second, I place my arm around my sister’s shoulder, and I draw her into a hug. She’s taller than Nina, so I’m able to rest my chin on top of her head.
Raya doesn’t hesitate and quickly wraps her arms around me.
When her hand brushes over my lower back, there’s a note of panic in Nina’s voice as she says, “Careful. He’s injured there.”
Raya pulls her arms back and rests her hands gently on my sides, then turns her face up to me. “I was so worried. I think I died a million times this week.”
I press a kiss to her forehead. “I’m really okay.” When my eyes drift over her features, I see the strain she’s taken and the suffering my disappearance caused her. I pull her back into another hug and near her ear, I whisper, “I’m here, and I love you.”
“Love you too,” she whispers, and when we pull apart, Dad’s there to place his arm around her shoulders.
Adriano pats me lightly on my shoulder, and I notice Nina tense up. It looks like she wants to say something, but she bites the words back.
She’s worried about me, and everytime someone touches me, she wants to stop them.
The realization makes a grin spread over my face.
Chapter 14
Nina
With every step I take up the airstairs of the private jet, my anxiety increases and my stomach sinks.
Even though Georgi showed me tenderness after I bumped into the car door, I don’t trust him for one second.
He’s mafia. Men like him only know how to conquer and destroy. End of story.
Sure, he showed love to his sister, but even Boris was capable of feeling love for Tanya. It doesn’t mean shit to me.
“Nina,” Georgi’s voice pulls me out of my thoughts, and when my eyes focus, I find myself standing between four leather seats facing each other in pairs. He bends at the waist to look at my face, a worried expression tightening his features. “Are you okay?”
No. I haven’t been okay for nine years.
He guides me to a window seat, and when I sit down, he crouches in front of me. “You’re exhausted,mishle. You need to eat something and sleep.”
I do, but I’m not shutting an eye while I’m surrounded by the enemy.
When I don’t reply, he lets out a sigh and takes the seat on my left.
I keep my head down, conscious of all the other people finding their seats.
Suddenly, Georgi leans over me. The air is ripped from my lungs in a very loud squeak, and I turn my torso, trying to cover my daughter.
“I’m just helping with your seat belt,” Georgi says, his tone soft like it’s been whenever he talks to Simi.
“Oh…” I feel his hands brush over my abdomen as he fastens the belt, and I’m shocked when I feel a different kind of nervous. It’s not fear, but a quivering anticipation. Almost like a fluttering sensation.
My eyes dart to his face, and when mine lock with his hazel ones, a kaleidoscope of butterflies takes flight in my stomach. It’s so sudden and unexpected, I have no time to brace for it.
Caught completely off guard, I quickly turn my head away and stare out the oval window.
No, Nina. Just because he’s been kind to you and Simi and giving you false promises, doesn’t mean you can let down your guard.
