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looked at her, and his grim expression made her freeze mid-stride.
    “I understand,” Alex said in Russian. “We will be there as soon as possible.”
    He spoke for another minute or so, brief words that told her nothing, before thanking the person on the phone and asking whoever it was to give Dimitri’s love to the stranger’s family then hanging up.
    Tossing the phone onto his unmade bed, he quickly crossed the room before hauling her into his arms and squeezing her tight.
    “Alex? What’s going on?”
    His warm breath stirred her hair as he spoke. “We must return to Russia as soon as possible.”
    His strong arms flexed around her, the muscles tightening as she ran her hands over his biceps, unable to be near him without touching him, absorbing his heat. “Why?”
    “There is a delicate situation happening within the Bratvas that I must attend to.”
    “Does it have anything to do with me and Tatiana?”
    The corner of his mouth twitched. “Not directly.”
    She sagged against him, realizing he wasn’t going to share. Damn him. Back when she still held out hope that Krom would come for them, she’d sworn to herself that when she reunited with Alex, their relationship would be different.  That he would treat her like an equal. Instead he was still doing that “because I said so” bullshit that irritated the hell out of her.
    “Stop with this double-talk crap and tell me the truth.”
    “Is truth. The situation indirectly impacts you because of association with me, not because direct threat to you.” He sighed, his big body slumping into hers. “Is not good.”
    “Then what’s going on? I don’t need all the details, but tell me something. Please.”
    He cupped her face and stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. “My uncle Petrov has summoned me.”
    Petrov Dubinski, a very nice man who adored his nephew, and the head of what was rumored to maybe be the most powerful Bratva in Russia. They’d never met, but his wife and daughters had attended her wedding. From what she could remember, they were nice women who clearly adored Alex and Dimitri. During their time apart, she’d read up on the various Russian mafias and the men who ruled them. Petrov Dubinski was a living legend in the criminal world. He was ruthless, terrifying, but inspired a great deal of loyalty and even love among his people. The Dubinski Bratva was linked to the Novikovs’ by marriage; one of Petrov’s sisters was Alex’s mother.
    All these thoughts raced through her mind as she gripped his shoulders. “Your uncle summoning you…is this bad?”
    “I do not know. My uncle would not reveal what he wanted to discuss, only that needs me. He apologized for interrupting our reunion and asked me to tell you that he will make it up to you, and that he would also like to meet you as soon as possible.”
    “Why?”
    Darkness filled his gaze, an endless pit of emptiness that chilled her. “Because he was there for me when I thought I had lost you and my daughter. He was one of the people who gave me the unwavering support I needed. We spent many, many nights talking about you together.”
    “Oh.”
    A stillness filled him as he stared at her, and she sucked in a trembling breath, undone by the open pain in his gaze. “Did you think about me while we were apart?”
    It took all of her strength to tell him the truth. They couldn’t start their relationship again built on lies. No, she would be honest with him, even if it hurt to admit what she’d had to do in order to survive. “At first I did constantly, every moment of every day, but as the years went on with no word from Krom, I-I tried not to. I tried to pretend you didn’t exist.”
    The pain in his gaze doubled and his whole body sagged. “Why?”
    “Because it killed me to see you on the Internet and know that I would be sacrificing our daughter’s safety if I ever approached you. I yearned for you, Alex, my entire being mourned without you. Holding on to hope year after