I’m a free man.
My criminal record has been expunged.
For now.
When my eyes pop back open, the first person they land on is Justine. I haven’t seen her in over a year, but I have no hesitation in saying the past twelve-plus months have been good to her. She looks healthy, mentally stable, and happy. Three things I wasn’t sure she’d ever experienced again.
“Ahren,” Nikolai, Justine’s boyfriend, rumbles out in a stern tone when the locking of our eyes sees Justine racing across the dusty lot.
From what Rocco has told me,ahrenmeans angel in Russian. It’s been Nikolai’s name for Justine since the day she knocked him on his ass with her purity and witty comebacks.
When Justine gets to within a couple of feet of me, I dump my duffle bag of clothes onto the ground. It kicks up as much dust on my feet as Justine does when she throws herself into my arms.
Her excitement is contagious. I spin her around and around until Landon accuses Justine of being a hog. When I place Justine back onto her feet, Landon pats me on the back before he pulls me in for a man hug. Things are still a little awkward for us, but since a prison setting wasn’t the ideal place for a heart-to-heart, we’ve not had the chance to hash things out.
After making a mental note to have that talk soon, I greet Caidyn with a hug before playfully rapping my knuckles onto Saint’s chin. My greeting with my parents is the most gut-wrenching part. My dad doesn’t say a word. That’s as foreign as Saint not doing his signature move more than once a week.
Well, if he still does it.
I’m a little unsure of his relationship status at the moment. Sloane is around, but I don’t know if that’s for my benefit or Saint’s.
Once the reunion is done and dusted, Justine commences official greetings with the men I don’t know. “Maddox, this is—”
“Nikolai,” I interrupt, moving her along.
If things are as Rocco explained the past two days, Nikolai doesn’t have time to pussyfoot around, and I’ve never been one to delay the inevitable—unless it’s in the bedroom.
I band my arms around Nikolai’s back and pull him into my chest to ensure my next set of words are only for his ears. “Dimitri sends caution. The flock is about to fly.”
I begin to wonder how soon when the distinct noise of a police siren shrills through my ears. An unmarked dark sedan is gliding down the dirt road Brooks suggested my family use to keep the media out of our reunion. Supposedly, my release is front-page news.
“Stand down,” Justine demands when she recognizes the occupants of the car a nanosecond before me. “They’re practically family.”
Nikolai mumbles something to Justine, but I miss what he says. I’m too busy greeting Ryan and Brax with handshakes to pay his jealousy any attention. Ryan has been a regular at Harbortown the past couple of months. The work he put in with Agent Machini is one of the reasons I’m out. And Brax, although I’m still pissed as fuck he got down and dirty in the hot tub with my baby sister, it was his friendship with Justine that saw her leave her room for the first time in months. That gives him a little leeway. For what it misses, I’m sure Nikolai will take up the slack. He looks set to murder Brax where he stands, especially when Justine almost greets him with a kiss on the cheek.
“I love you,” Justine announces to Nikolai loud enough for the world to hear. “I’ve never spoken those words to another man before. And I never will again unless he is you. Please remember that.”
Confident she’s tamed the beast as only their soulmates can, Landon overtakes Justine’s greeting on the family’s behalf. “What are you guys doing here? I thought the authorities wanted to keep Maddox’s release on the down-low?”
I call him an idiot under my breath. He just ousted Ryan in front of a known criminal.
Either unaware who Nikolai is or stupidly not worried, Ryan replies, “They do. I’m not here officially. Although this case was handed to the Feds years ago, I’ve kept an eye on it. I’ve been waiting for this day as long as you guys.” He shifts his eyes to Justine. “Savannah wanted to be here, but Rylee has chickenpox, so she didn’t want to risk…you know.”
I feel like I missed the punchline of a joke when Nikolai’s eyes snap from Justine’s midsection to Landon. A local law enforcement officer is no longer on Nikolai’s hit list. My eldest brother might not fair too well, though.
Nikolai stops glaring at Landon like he’s imagining his insides hanging out his stomach when Justine extends an invitation to a party I know nothing about. “Did you guys want to join us? We’re having celebratory drinks at my parents’ house.” She curls her arm around my torso before resting her head on my shoulder. I figure she’s cozying up to announce who the celebration centers around but am proven wrong when she adds, “It’s a few miles from here, but you’re more than welcome.” She’s putting herself in the danger zone, so I won’t blow my top at the reminder my family now lives in Hopeton—the very bane of my existence. She has no cause for fret. No matter how much she pisses me off, I’d never put her in danger.
“If you wish to join us, Gavril can travel with you,” Nikolai offers while waving his hand at a guy who is tall, Russian, and has a massive scar down one side of his face.
“I really should head off,” Ryan mutters. “I start night shift next week.”
“Since he’s my ride, I guess I better head out too.” Like a man unaware how far some men will go to protect their women, Brax leans into Justine’s side and whispers. “It was good seeing you again, JJ. You look good.” He stops, smiles, then adds, “Please don’t tell Clara I said that. I may not survive.”
When Justine nods, assuring him his secret is safe with her, Brax shifts on his feet to face Nikolai. He doesn’t say anything. He just sizes him up like I did when I found out who was sniffing around the fresh meat in Las Vegas.
This is wrong of me to admit, but I think we’ve established by now I don’t think there’s any depth a man shouldn’t sink to protect the woman he loves, so I was pleased when rumors circulated that Nikolai had killed the man who attempted to assault Justine in her home. He did what he needed to do to make her feel safe. I can’t judge him for that. If anything, it makes me respect him more.
After a thirty-second stare down, Brax ends their standoff with an offer, “If you ever want to finish that piece, I know a guy who could help you out.” He drops his eyes to a snakeskin tattoo dangling off an unmarked crest on Nikolai’s lower right arm.
