Unbounded Love

Chapter Fourteen

I said goodbye to Sofia after spending an excruciating amount of time in silence during the car ride. I knew that Sofia would be ready to fight the person that had sent us the photos. But we had to go about this the smart way, otherwise we'd clue the person in that we were onto him or her - hence why I had told her that I would need some time to think. Because there was no way in hell that I was involving her in my mess even though she was there with me that night. I'd take the fall for it if there ever came a time because I had single handedly hurt Sofia enough over the years, and I wasn't about to do that again this time.

I drove aimlessly for the next hour or so, too wired up to even think about sleep or anything other than how I'd be getting us out of this mess. I couldn't even talk to anyone about this since the only people who knew about me killing Sergei were Sofia and I. Unless you included the mafia doctor, Pasha, though I hadn't explicitly indicated anything of that sort to him.

Fuck. I gripped the wheel tighter, wracking my brain to think about who could have ulterior motives against me. And the options were honestly endless. Being the Pakhan of the Russian mafia came with equal risks and rewards. For some reason, I ended up driving back to the cemetery as I tried to retrace our steps. It could have been anyone that had come and placed those pictures strategically on the hood of the car. But something told me that it was someone we knew. Only the parties that were there during the burial knew that it was happening and that we would be present. It couldn't have been any of those smarmy politicians for sure since I had made sure that they had left before I exchanged a few confidential words with my men. Which meant only one thing. That it was someone who worked with me very closely. Someone who had direct access to the Petrov mansion as well. That narrowed it down to exactly seven people. Sofia, Sergei, I and four other bratya.

I inhaled deeply before reversing the car and heading back to the mansion. I had a lot of work ahead of me, at least for the time being.

I sat cross legged on my bed, my kindle hanging limply from my hand as my eyes stayed glued to the room across from mine - Alexei's room. It was dark, which meant that he still wasn't back from where he had disappeared to. Surely, it didn't take this long for someone to clear their head? Or was he just avoiding me now that we had already fucked? So many thoughts and possible scenarios ran through my brain. The worst one being that we'd go back to the hot and cold behavior - the same as he had done when I'd first kissed him when I was 18. And then suddenly, I was transported back to twelve years ago. The same Sofia who had pined after an emotionally unavailable man. That kiss had been my first step to show Alexei that I cared for him, liked him and even possibly, loved him at that time. Scratch that. I still loved him and had continued loving him even when I wasn't around.

That naive part of me had immediately died when he'd pulled away from me. With one hand on my head and the other hanging limply by his side, he'd proceeded to say the words that had splintered my young heart back then.

"We shouldn't do this." He'd said. "It's just a crush. It'll pass."

Something akin to pain had flashed across his features, but I could have read it wrong then. Maybe I was so desperate for affection that I was willing to take anything that he gave me. Especially after Ilaria's death. I had seeked Alexei out after Ilaria had died, when Mikhail was drowning in his guilt and pain all alone. And he had helped. Alexei had gone out of the way to show me that he was there for me. But it just hadn't been enough for me. I had expected way too much from him. I understood that now, after knowing his whole story. His hesitancy. His demons. The internal war within him telling him to stay away whilst also wanting to show that he cared.

So it was stupid to think that he'd pull away now. After we'd come this far. After crossing lines that we couldn't uncross at this point...right? Whatever it was, I was ready to battle it out. For him. For us. As if on cue, the light in his room flickered on as I got my first eyeful of Alexei in what felt like hours. Determined to figure a way out with him, I got up as I simultaneously made the decision to go talk to him right away. Yes, it was late, but I couldn't sleep anyways and I was sure he couldn't as well based on the way he was standing in front of his windows, still in his suit and his hands in his pockets.

I walked past the corridor and past the several doors to rooms that we didn't actually need. My steps faltered as I crept towards the only room that was lit, the sound of voices drifting across the otherwise silent hallway.

"Yes, I did what you told me to." A man's voice came in Russian from the other side of the door. "The pictures were on his car and I saw the both of them look at it."

There was a pause before he aggressively answered again.

"Yes, I'm sure boss."

Boss?

Curiosity taking over me, I pushed the door open slightly as a gasp caught in my throat at the sight of a very familiar back. Nikita. That fucking asshole. Was he planning something against us? And who was this boss? Who was he working with? Distracted and in the midst of those thoughts, I failed to notice Nikita stop talking. It was only when his shadow loomed through the door, did I realise that I had been caught. The door was pulled open completely before I could react.

"Stupid bitch. Always ruining everything."

Nikita's hands wrapped around my throat as I struggled to breathe. I managed to bring one knee up as I kicked him in the balls. Using that moment of reprieve, I scrambled to my feet, my phone clutched in one hand as I shakily typed out a message to Alexei. I shoved open the doors to another room but before I could enter it, a fistful of my hair was grabbed from behind. My phone went skidding across the floor, the screen cracking before my face was slammed hard into the tiles. The last thing I remembered was that I had managed to send Alexei the name of the location that I had heard Nikita talking about. And then everything went black.

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