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Several Months Later
Planning this trip took no time at all. Carrying it out, however, took far too long. There’d been no need for my uncle to let Volkov know we’d caught his spy. The solution to that problem was easily worked out. Sophia found a ghost, a ruthless assassin to make the spy’s death look like an accident. Call it professional curiosity, but the more we learned about the assassin, the more I liked Constantine Drakos on paper. So, before we hired him, I met the bastard face-to-face, to see what kind of man this assassin was. I liked him. He took the job.
But Volkov’s man had made more than one enemy, and our assassin was caught in the crossfire.
I owed Drakos bigtime. And as it turned out, he needed me—and my sister—soon after the assassination. The more I interacted with him, the more I liked him. That shit-show, plus Briana’s hunger to learn everything and anything useful in her role as the lawyer for the Bratva, meant we were beyond busy for days on end. Those soon turned into weeks. And now, close to four months after I nearly lost her, I finally had her panting behind me on our walk to the waterfall.
“Keep up, suits!” I called back to her.
I could feel her scowl boring a hole into my back. It made me smile. My fingers itched to touch the three-carat pear diamond surrounded by the band of smaller stones that was safely nestled in my pocket. We were nearly there. To keep my mind busy, I focused my thoughts on the email that came through this morning. A business rival had taken advantage of some insider knowledge, and the Pelto family would suffer a large loss.
It wasn’t enough to destroy their legacy, but it was sweet vengeance for the grudge I held against them. While the version of me in Jamaica would have loved to beat them to a bloody pulp, I couldn’t do that to Briana. No, any moves to punish her family for their treatment of her needed to be done covertly. She might be alright with me getting my hands dirty with anyone else, but unfortunately, they were her family, and she would always have a sense of loyalty to them. It was a good thing insider trading and leaks were just as effective.
The sound of crashing water increased, adding to the melody of the jungle’s sounds. I sprinted forward, breaking through the tree line. This was it—the perfect spot!
As Briana’s heavy breathing announced her arrival behind me, I turned and fell to my knees. An enchantress such as herself deserved utter devotion.
When she emerged from the jungle and took that first step onto the ledge, she froze on seeing me kneeling before her. “Tor—”
“Marry me.”
Stumbling forward, Briana sank to her knees as well. “Yes! Yes, with all my heart, yes!”
I captured her mouth in a swift kiss. Briana gasped, melting into my touch. I drank in her kiss, smiling at how natural this was. I would never grow bored of kissing the same woman over and over, because this one was mine.
When she finally pulled back, her eyes blazed bright and tears shimmered, making them come alive. “Marry me now, ussuri,” she whispered.
I pulled back. “Now? Like here in Mexico, or right this second? I didn’t bring an officiant, and we don’t have witnesses.”
“I don’t want our wedding anything like my sister’s. This is our moment, not a scheme.”
“The family won’t let us elope,” I muttered sadly. “Igor will want it in the church.”
Briana shrugged, because by now she understood the traditional side of my family very,verywell. “So be it. But as long as it’s to you, we’ll make it.”
I caught her hands, clasping them between mine. “I won’t let anyone bully you or make you feel less, Bri.”
“I know,” she said softly, squeezing my hand. Then she pulled back and looked up at me. “Wait! I have an idea! I marry you now, Viktor Markovich. I marry you with my kisses, and I swear to be faithful and loyal. I’ll take a bullet for you and always keep you out of jail. I’m yours, and you’re mine. Do you take me as your bride?”
I struggled to find breath.
She nodded, smiling up at me.
“I won’t let you take a bullet for me, Briana Marie, but I will marry you—right here and now. I take you as my wife and claim you as mine.”
“Then by the power of our love, I pronounce us husband and wife. Kiss me, ussuri.”
“Gladly,” I whispered, and then my lips found hers.
The End.
