Page 203 of Forbidden Forget-Me-Not

I held his gaze. “If I ever fail her, you won’t have to. I’ll do the job for you.”

Then I walked out.

As shocking as those words had sounded, I knew them to be true. My life would be a hollow shell if anything happened to Kaylani.

The elevator ride down the tower that held Dimitri’s office felt longer than usual. Not because of the distance. Because of the weight that had just shifted. It hadn’t lifted, but it had changed, and I wore it differently now.

When the doors opened, Guy was already waiting beside the SUV.

He gave a single nod as I approached and opened the back door.

Kaylani looked up immediately. Her smile hit me as brightly as the mid-afternoon sunlight.

“How did it go?”

I slid into the seat beside her and pulled the door closed.

“Better than I expected.”

She searched my face. “So…no death threats?”

“Only the usual ones.” I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed her knuckles.

Guy pulled the SUV into traffic, and the city flowed around us.

“I don’t think we’ll have any more trouble. At least not the obvious kind.”

Kaylani leaned against my shoulder, sighing.

“Where to my beautiful wife?”

“We’re meeting Nathaniel and Savannah in twenty minutes for a late lunch…or maybe it’s an early dinner. I’m not sure. Either way, they are waiting for us.” She lifted her head and looked at me. “I’m nervous to see your dad tomorrow after so long. Is that silly?”

Cupping her cheek, I smiled. “Don’t worry. He always liked you. Now he’s going to love you. Trust me. You’re family.”

Kaylani smiled again, and my heart warmed.

Family.

The word still felt new. Good…but dangerous. I had spent enough years watching how the Mikhailovs and the rest of these families operated to know that safety was a relative word.

The truth was, with Dimitri Mikhailov, you never really knew what he was thinking. Men like him didn’t stop playing the game. They just changed the rules.

So I would stay alert.

Always.

But as Kaylani’s fingers laced through mine and the road stretched ahead of us, one thing was certain.

Whatever came next…

I would face it with Kaylani by my side.

Epilogue

KAYLANI

The morning was bright and sunny, but not unbearably hot. It was perfect. The wind rustled my hair as I glanced around the farm that had once belonged to my father. It had been my wedding gift from him. He hadn’t come to see me. He just sent me an envelope with the deed in my name. No note. No card. So like my father.