Nikolay grabbed my hand, squeezing a bit before he let me go to Mikhail.
“Catalina,” Mikhail said gruffly. I had never seen him look so tortured. I came up close to him. “This is Rachel.”
Rachel?
I thought his mom’s name was Nina. And this woman? There was no mistaking the fact that she was related to him.
He had her blue eyes.
The same shade of ocean blue, the same shape … the same expression.
He smiled at me, though it looked more like a grimace.
“She lives here,” he said. “And she was kind enough to invite us into her home for some tea before getting on with our trip.”
I smiled at the woman, playing along.
It made sense that she now had a new identity. But did she really not recognize him? And why would a woman with her history invite three strange men who looked like they lived rough lives into her home?
She smiled back at me, her kind blue eyes taking me in curiously. “It’s nice to meet you …”
“Catalina,” Mikhail supplied. “And these are my—my brothers, Damien and Nikolay.”
“Of course,” Rachel said, moving off to the side for us to come in.
Mikhail walked in first, his eyes moving around the house as he pulled me in, holding me close to him. Nikolay came up right behind me, and I looked between the two giants I was stuck in the middle of.
It was as if they were preparing for the worst and were protecting me from all sides.
Rachel closed the door behind her. “Please follow me into the kitchen,” she said.
She walked past us. We waited a bit.
“What do you think?” Damien asked, his voice low.
“It’s her,” Mikhail replied softly.
I frowned, looking at him. Did that mean she didn’t recognize him?
The men seemed to communicate with each other silently. Nikolay nodded and moved back from me. Mikhail led me into the kitchen without another word.
Rachel was pulling out a pitcher of what looked like iced tea from the fridge. She had five glasses set out before her on the tiny kitchen island in the center.
We watched her pour the tea into the first glass. Damien and Nikolay stood up.
“Allow us,” Damien said softly.
She hesitated for a fraction of a second and nodded, smiling a bit and cupping Damien’s cheek. My eyes widened in surprise. Damien wasn’t exactly the kind of man anyone would just touch.
He didn’t seem to mind it so much and proceeded to take over, pouring the rest of the drink.
Rachel walked over to us and pulled out a chair next to Mikhail, sitting close to him, her eyes roaming over his face as if to take her fill.
I didn’t get it.
She looked at him like she recognized him, but she acted like she didn’t. I didn’t know why any mom in this world would ever pretend not to know their own kid. My hands moved under the table, and I grabbed Mikhail’s in comfort just before Rachel opened her mouth to speak.