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“You graduated tonight, and I wanted to get you something special.” I pull the oblong box out of my pocket and pass it to her.
Instantly, her eyes fill with unshed tears, even though she hasn’t opened it yet. “You didn’t need to get me anything.”
“Open it, malishka.”
She opens the box to reveal the diamond collar necklace. “Oh my God, it’s beautiful.” Her eyes are wide as she glances at me. “It must have cost a fortune.”
Little does she know that I have a fortune stowed away. My brother and I didn’t leave Russia with nothing. It’s one of the reasons we needed the protection of the Sidorov Bratva, in case our past came for us.
“You’re worth every fucking cent.” I reach for the collar and pull it out. “Shall I?”
She nods, a tear spilling from her eyes and running down her cheek as she lifts her hair and turns so I can put it on and do it up. “I love you, Gavril,” she murmurs.
I pull her as close as I can over the center console and kiss her. As my lips linger just over hers, I murmur, “I love you, too.”
The tears well up in her eyes and, as if the floodgates are open, she sobs at the admittance of how I feel, but it feels like the right time to tell her. Love has been well and truly absent from my life since I can remember, but Camilla is the only one that can heal me.
It was easy being on my own, but I was on a dangerous collision course, barely living. Camilla accepting the monster that I am has made it easier to accept myself. I’d risk everything for her. She’s my world and without her, I can no longer exist.
36
EPILOGUE
CAMILLA
One year later…
Gavril stands at the helm of the boat, navigating the sea as if he was born for this. The change I’ve seen in him in the past year has been immense as he opened up to me little by little, letting go of all that hurt and anger that he harbored toward himself.
When he finally told me about what he’d done before Oak found him, I can’t deny that I was freaked out. He’s a murderer—one that got away with it—but I know that’s not what defines him. His past further back haunts him and he still won’t talk about his life in Russia before he emigrated to Toronto with his brother.
I swallow hard as I place a hand on my swelling stomach. We’re expecting twins in the fall, less than four months away. When I told Gavril I was pregnant, I think his brain misfired in shock. After all, we’d only just decided to start trying that month and it happened instantly.
And then when we had the first scan, and the lady told us it was twins, he almost ran out of the room. I could see the panic in his eyes, but I think he’s come around to the prospect of there being two babies rather than one.
He gazes back and smiles. “How are you feeling?”
“Happy,” I say.
“Come here.”
I stand from the little bench seat I’m sitting on and walk toward him. My heart always races when he looks at me the way he’s looking at me now. As if I’m the brightest star in the night sky.
He grabs my hand when I’m close enough and yanks me into his powerful arms, wrapping them around my stomach as he keeps his chest pressed to my back. “We’re almost there.”
“Almost where?” I ask. We rented the boat in Florida a few days ago and now we’re in the Caribbean.
“You’ll see,” he murmurs as we approach land for the first time in over twenty-four hours. Navigating toward a small island that can’t be much more than a few miles across.
“Where are we?” I ask, leaning back into him.
“The Bahamas. This little island is uninhabited, but there’s a beautiful little cove and beach on the west side.”
I lick my lips. “Is it private?”
He kisses the back of my neck, sending a thrill down my spine. “Of course. It’s not accessible without a boat and a well kept secret.”
A thrill erupts to life inside of me as I shut my eyes, wanting nothing more than to feel him inside of me.
