Nikolai Pov
I stood in Liam’s backyard with Antonio, Marlo, and Cash, trying to ignore the heavy weight of my father’s voice as he and Liam discussed Alex’s future.
The two of them talked like she was just another chess piece on their board, but I couldn’t shake the knot tightening in my chest.
She wasn’t just a pawn—not to me.
I glanced up toward her bedroom window, and there she was, looking right back at me.
Damn it. Even from a distance, Alex had this way of getting under my skin, making me feel like I was the one under a microscope.
“Did you convince her yet?” Antonio asked, pulling me back to the present.
I exhaled sharply. “Hell if I know.”
Cash folded his arms, watching me like I was some experiment about to blow up.
“So, what’s the plan?”
It was a question I hated answe
