Page 93 of Savage Little War

“I love you,” Dmitri replies without hesitation. “My milaya. My queen. My everything.”

As I rest my forehead against his, the noise of the party fades away until it’s just the two of us.

We fought for this moment. Bled for it.

And now we finally have it.

A future.

Together.

EPILOGUE

Dmitri

Five months later…

The city of Las Vegas stretches as far as the eye can see from my office window.

On the streets below, ordinary people are going about their lives. They have no clue who truly runs this city. Who pulls the strings they didn’t even know existed.

Over the past five months, I’ve been busy. As the new Pakhan, I’ve had to fill the Council with new members who I trust, force out loyalists to the former Council members, and ensure the other Bratva families embrace the new way forward.

I don’t have time for traitors, and I’ve already had to bring my fist down on a few families who refuse to acknowledge the Bratva’s alliance with the Irish.

Things will be different now, and we’re already witnessing record profits and fewer deaths and disputes since going into business with the Irish.

Just in time too.

Cara’s due date is only two weeks away. I want our son to be born in a better world, one with less bloodshed than the one I was raised in. And I can’t fucking wait to meet him.

“The bar on Fremont will open back up on Friday,” Sean says from behind me.

I turn around, snapping back to our business meeting. “Good. In a few months, we can put it to use for some of our other business ventures.”

Sean nods as he stands from one of the chairs in front of my desk. “We should think about pushing the Armenians out of the city.”

“You don’t think we can coexist with them?” I ask him.

“Not when they keep snooping around our properties,” Sean remarks.

Before I can respond, my phone buzzes from where it sits on my desk, always within an arm’s reach. As soon as I see the screen, a smile stretches across my face. “It’s Cara,” I tell Sean before answering. “I was just thinking about you and our son, milaya,” I tell her.

“Dmitri…I need you to try to remain calm and not panic, okay?” my wife says, her voice tense.

Of course I’m going to panic now.

“What’s wrong?” I ask her, causing Sean to go completely still.

“It’s probably nothing,” Cara says, sounding out of breath. “But, um, Leo’s taking me to the hospital just to make sure.”

“Let’s go!” I tell Sean as I jog out the door heading to the elevator with him right behind me. “What’s probably nothing, Cara?”

“The baby hasn’t been moving as much as usual…”

Oh God.

I pound my fist against the down button over and over as if it’ll make the elevator arrive faster.