I wake back up to something touching my face. With a jerk, I open my eyes to see Nikolai kneeling beside me.
“Irina?” he asks, surprise in his voice. “How did you get home? How did you…”
“Alexei. I managed to escape.”
“So you came back here?”
“Where else would I have gone?”
“To the police. To the… hospital.” His eyes narrow as he takes in my appearance. “Did that fucker beat you?”
“Yes.”
“And you came here. To our house.”
Seeing how worried Nikolai looks for me warms my heart. He does care, even if he’s a scary Bratva man.
“I tried looking for you,” he explains. “I was searching all of Alexei’s properties I could find but I couldn’t find you. I came back here to regroup and that’s when I saw you.”
“You were out looking for me?”
“Yes. I had to make sure you were ok.”
“You truly care for me, don’t you?”
His eyes soften as he kisses my hand. “I do.”
Without hesitating, despite my pain, I throw my arms around him and hold onto him with all the strength I can muster.
After a beat, Nikolai hugs me back and I know in this moment, Nikolai is the only person I can trust.
Chapter Ten
Irina
In a show of trust, Nikolai takes me to one of the nightclubs he owns as a way for me to get to know him better. Possibly see him as less of a murderous Bratva man and more of a man. My savior.
While I did manage to get myself away from Alexei, the fact that Nikolai had been out looking for me is a huge thing. It makes me feel warmer to him. He’s the only one I can depend on now and I need to make the most out of it. No more running. I don’t want what happened with Alexei to ever happen again.
“Have you found him?” I ask on the car ride to his nightclub.
Nikolai shifts in his seat. “Alexei? No. The fucker went into hiding. I’m searching for him and when I do find him, I’ll kill him.”
Fortunately, the wounds Alexei gave me were just surface level. Bruising only so I’ll heal soon but I’m still achy, even sitting in the car. A nasty bruise on my upper cheek is partially visible through my makeup. I wasn’t able to fully cover it.
“You just admitted to me that you’ll kill him. I could tell the cops what you’re planning on doing.”
“You could but I believe you won’t.”
He’s right. Not anymore. Not after what I went through with Alexei. How I could have died. How I was beaten.
“Why show me your nightclub?” I ask to change the subject. Alexei is someone I would rather not think about right now.
“Because it’s a place that brings in a lot of revenue for me. It’s a place I spend a lot of time at. Well, before we got married. It will be good for you to see it. You can meet a few of my friends as well.”
“Friends? Like Maksim?”
“Yes. Maksim will be there and a few others. I take it you don’t like him.”