Page 72 of Midnight Sanctuary
“And you must be the famous Alyssa. Practically glowing, I see.”
“Aren’t you the charmer?” she says with a shy smile. “Are you sure you’re related to these two?”
He chuckles and nudges me with an elbow. “I like her, Uri.”
“Of course you do. Fucking figures. How about you make yourself useful for once and grab a bag?”
He’s reaching for one of the duffels on the stone path that leads to the cabin when a long, strangled scream comes from inside the SUV. Alyssa whips around. “Shit!” she yelps. “Lev.”
“No, I don’t wanna get out!”
Nikolai is still in there with him, begging and pleading to get our brother to set so much as one toe out of the vehicle. “Lev, come on. It’s not so bad. It’s actually pretty great. Can you smell all the trees?”
I arch a skeptical eyebrow. “Canyousmell the trees?”
Nikolai shoots me a glare. “Do you want to try getting him out, wiseass?”
“I’ll try,” Alyssa interjects, pushing both me and Nikolai out of the way. “Hey, Lev, it’s me. I checked out the place. It looks amazing.”
“I don’t wanna see it.” Through the dark tint, I can just barely make out the silhouette of him hunched over, chin tucked to chest, arms folded across his body like it’ll keep him safe from the dangerous dual threats of pine trees and fresh air.
“But if we don’t go in now and pick our rooms, then everyone else will choose the best ones. You don’t want that to happen, do you?”
Silence. Nikolai and I exchange a glance. Surely he won’t…
“Fine,” Lev says and the next thing, I know he’s putting his hand in Alyssa’s and emerging from the car.
She pulls him out of the SUV and walks him up to the house. He only spares a passing glance at Dimiv, who stands back in dumbfounded silence to let them pass. All three of us come together to watch the two of them disappear into the cabin.
“My God in heaven above,” Dimiv breathes. “How did she manage to do that?”
Nikolai sighs. “She’s good with him.”
Dimiv turns to me with raised eyebrows. “You really hit the jackpot with that one.”
My chest expands suddenly with a prickly warmth that feels an awful lot like pride. “Quit gawking and help me with these bags,mudaks.”
The inside of the cabin is just like I remember it. Gable roof with bright exposed beams, a hand-built stone fireplace looming huge in the center of the living room, large windows with timber frames lining the walls that face the valley. The antlers from a stag that Uncle Petyr shot one winter are still hanging on the wall, opposite a collection of hunting knives from my father’s youth.
So many memories buried in the woodwork here. Lev took his first steps across the bearskin rug on the hearth. Polly blew out her first birthday candles on that rough-hewn table. I remember how hard it was snowing outside, and how little we cared about such things.
“It feels weird being back without her,” Nikolai murmurs as though he’s read my mind.
I glance over at him. “We’re going to get her back.”
“I know.”
Nikolai and Dimiv converge around me. It feels like old times, except that I’m the one in charge. My father isn’t here anymore; it’s just us now. Polina needs the best we have to offer.
So I calm myself down with a steadying breath. I leave everything else outside of me and focus inward.
“Do we have a location on Agapov?” I ask.
Dimiv nods. “I’ve got a man doing a search on the bastard as we speak.”
“Kruger is doing the same,” Nikolai says. “We should get coordinates soon.”
“Good. I don’t want to waste any time. As soon as we have a spot, we go in hot, guns blazing. I’m getting my sister back today. No matter what. If we can—”