This is as ready as I’ll ever be for war.

It’s getting late, and opening my bedroom door, I walk to the kitchen. I glance at Nikhil, where he’s sitting on the couch, his eyes locked on me.

“Want some coffee?” I offer.

He nods. “Please.”

While I’m preparing two cups, I ask, “Do you think Demitri and Alexei will be much longer?”

“It depends,” is all he answers.

I bring Nikhil his coffee and then go back to the kitchen to sip on my own beverage.

Not able to fight my thoughts off any longer, they stream back. The grief of losing my father. The hurt and worry because of Yuri’s betrayal. The uncertainty and intensity when it comes to Demitri. It all floods through me like a tsunami.

I have no idea what waits for me in Russia. Up until now, I was still able to distance myself from most of it, but since we left the island, it’s becoming more real by the minute.

Part of me wants to say fuck it all, crawl under my bed and hide there until Demitri has taken care of all my problems.

But there’s a bigger part of me that wants to face off with my brother. I want to look Yuri in the eyes and show him I’m not that easy to dispose of. I want to unleash my anger and hurt on him.

I want to purge myself of all these damn emotions.

I want to stand strong before my enemies so they won’t come after me again.

I just wish I knew how to do that.

Chapter 20

DEMITRI

Alexei and I scope the motel and surrounding area, and then we sit in the car and wait for things to quiet down.

My thoughts are inundated with what happened between Ariana and me. While we were on the island, I didn’t have to worry about losing her. I was relaxed.

But now things have changed. Being back in work mode, it’s impossible to hold myself back, and I’m fucking over-possessive of her. Now that it’s all in the open between Ariana and me, I don’t regret it.

She’s mine.

I know this for sure now.

And she fucking loves it.

It’s time for Ariana to see who I really am and not the watered-down version she got to know on the island.

And I have a feeling it’s going to drive her fucking wild.

“What are you thinking?” Alexei asks while he stares at the motel through a pair of night-vision binoculars.

“I claimed Ariana,” I admit to him, finally ready to talk about it now that I’ve sorted through my own emotions.

He lets out a chuckle. “How did she take it?”

“She’s doing her best to resist it,” I say, my mouth lifting into a smirk.

“Why the change? This morning you wanted to rip my head off for bringing it up,” Alexei asks, glancing at me.

I meet his eyes. “I didn’t have to worry on the island. It was like a safety bubble where I could actually relax. Out here, we both know it’s a cut-throat game. It’s time for me to get back into work mode.”