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I steadied my breath and we sat in silence for a moment while I gathered my thoughts. Deep down I deemed him a monster, posing as a decent human being. But after what he had done for Nova back at the cabin? I owed it to her to face him again.
“Nova…” I leaned forward with my elbows on my knees. “She thinks there is good inside of you. And what you did at the cabin for her… she wanted to thank you.Iwanted to thank you.” A million thoughts had gone through my mind when Ryzen had had me tied to that chair, but never in a hundred years had I ever thought Kaviathin would throw himself in front of Nova or try to protect her. But he had. And no matter how much I wanted to hate him, I couldn’t forget what he had done.
“And what do you think, brother?” He smirked slightly.
“We are not family, never will be.” My nostrils flared. “And I think that just because you do a little good, that doesn’t make you immune from your sins of the past.” I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair. “But I’m man enough to admit that I’m grateful for the part you played at the cabin. It could have ended badly for all of us.”
“You’re wrong. Wearefamily, Cian. Bound by blood, no matter how much you despise it.” He leaned back in his chair, the room quiet for a moment. “Nova is a kind soul. She reminds me a lot of my mother in some ways. Make sure you treasure her.”
The last thing I needed to hear from him was to treasure Nova. Of course I fucking did. She was my whole fucking world.
“And your father? Did he…?” My voice trailed off.
“Alive for now.” He pursed his lips, not offering any further explanation. It wasn’t like I cared. As far as I was concerned, Voledetti senior was rotten to the core.
“The men Ryzen hired worked for Konstantin Zhirov.” He opened his desk drawer and tossed a pile of photos on top of his desk, photos sliding across. The top picture was a mugshot of a man. “Do what you want with that information.”
My eyebrows rose as I scanned through the pictures. Konstantin Zhirov, also known as the Hammer, was an evil son of a bitch. Or that was the rumor. Someone needed to pay for Harvey’s death, and it just might have to be Konstantin.
There was one question I had left for Kaviathin, and I hesitated before asking. Did I really want to know the truth? “And what of Ryzen?” My jaw clenched at the thought of him.
Kaviathin chuckled, shaking his head. “I never kiss and tell. But rest assured Althazair made him suffer. He got what he deserved. It is done.”
I stood and tossed the photos back onto his desk. There were no other discussions to be had then. If I had it my way, I would never have to lay eyes on Kaviathin again. Although something told me that was a fool’s wish.
“We’re even now.” Kaviathin stood and came around his desk. “For everything.” It wasn’t a question, it was a statement. We both were thinking the same thing. He had shot me; I had shot Althazair; he’d kept it a secret that Ryzen had Nova on that fucking island, and I had burned all his guns and money in retaliation. A smart man would call it even and walk away.
He held out his hand, and I gazed at the skull and hourglass tattoo. “Even, then.” I gripped his hand just as tight, then turned and walked out the door. It was time to put this all in the past and focus on the future.
And my future was Nova.
There was a lightness in my chest as I ran back home. A feeling of closure washed over me now I knew that Ryzen was indeed dead and gone forever.
I found Nova in the kitchen talking on the phone as she made coffee. Her face lit up when she saw me, and she hung up and tossed her phone on the counter. I rushed over and spun her in a circle before kissing her deeply.
“Cian Blackwood, you are fucking soaked!” She wiggled out of my grasp. I let her go with a chuckle, smacking her ass as she grabbed a cup of coffee and handed it to me.
“Who was on the phone?”
“Piper. She sent over a draft of our interview, and we were just chatting. You know, she’s not as bad as I had initially thought.” Nova chuckled, shaking her head. “God, I think I might actually like her. Where did you run off to so early?”
I took a sip of coffee, my eyes closing at the taste. Nobody made coffee the way she did. It was fucking heaven on earth. Just another thing I loved about her. I stripped off my hoodie, my shirt following. Her eyes traveled down my torso to my gray sweatpants, and she bit her bottom lip at the outline of my cock. My greedy little girl. Always hungry for me, just as I was for her.
“I saw Kaviathin,” I said. She scrunched up her nose, and I continued. “To say thank you. Maybe for some closure. I didn’t want to leave anything unsaid.” It was done now. Over. “I don’t know, it just seemed like the right thing to do.”
“I understand.” She wrapped her arms around my neck and stood on her tiptoes, giving me a kiss on my cheek. “I’m glad you did it,” she murmured against my lips. “It’s time to move on.”
“Damn straight.” I scooped her up in my arms and marched down to our bedroom. There was only one thing I wanted in that moment, and that was to worship her entire body.
I dropped her on the bed, and she chuckled as she stretched her arms over her head. God, she was so fucking beautiful. Every second with her was a gift that I would never get tired of. I hovered over her, placing kisses across her face.
“You are my everything, little star. Your love has been like a lifeline, resurrecting my soul from the darkness of hell. I will cherish you every fucking day in this lifetime and the next.”
Her eyes glistened as she cradled my face in her palms. “That is the most romantic thing I have ever heard in my life,” she whispered as she wrapped her legs tight around me, holding me in place. “I am so damn proud to walk through life with you as your future wife. Your soulmate. Your everything. I’ll never let you go.”
Her words tugged at my heart, reminding me again that she was the reason I kept going every day.
“Promise?” I murmured against her lips.
