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It hits me like a bolt of lightning—I believe Sera.
I don’t think I’ve ever not believed her.
I’m going to make this right.
***
Eight hours later …
I stand in front of my apartment door, taking a deep breath. I have to face my wife, but I need to make sure my mind is right first. I don’t feel guilty about what transpired today, but explaining it to her will be a little tricky.
When I met with Leo, he was frantic. His psychotic father had already ordered a hit on her for what he saw as a betrayal earlier in the day. He may be a ruthless bastard, but he definitely doesn’t want his baby sister dead. As luck would have it, Leo was already looking for ways and reasons to overthrow his father—maybe not as extreme a reason as what we were presented with today, but, well, that’s how things turned out.
The bottom line is that Leo is now running the Novikov organization. After removing Ivan from power, we quickly negotiated a peace treaty—a true alliance, which is what my marriage to Sera should have been from the beginning. I didn’t need the new territory, but Leo felt it was fair, and I wanted to be a good brother-in-law, so I accepted the deal.
I take another deep breath and open the apartment door. In a short amount of time, my life has changed. Not just this new rise in power. Much more important than that. I’m married to the woman I love, because damn it, I’m in fucking love with my wife. Her goodness, determination, and strength of character made me see what I’ve always worried about in my own life.
We were both raised by monsters, but we didn’t become like them. We found our own family. Or in our case, we were tossed into it with threats and blackmail. Either way, I’m not backing down from this marriage.
I only hope Sera feels the same, because I’d rather not keep her locked up until she comes to her senses. But I will if I have to, because she’s mine.
I almost walk right past her, curled up in a ball on the couch, fast asleep. Some of her medical books are in a stack on the floor, unopened. She’s wearing one of my sweatshirts and it nearly swallows her whole. I pause, watching her chest rise and fall, frowning at the way her hands are tightly clasped even in sleep. Her cheeks are red and tear-stained and even though her eyes are closed, I can see how puffy they’ve gotten.
My fists clench, but I can’t exactly knock myself out for hurting her like this. I’d love to see myself try. I wasn’t thinking straight when I stormed out and wasn’t yet sure how things were going to go down. It seemed better not to say anything, but the poor girl must have thought I was mad at her. Or worse, that I left her for good, despite my promises.
I take a step forward and she shakes herself awake, blinking a few times at me as if she can’t believe I’m really here. Her face crumbles and she hugs herself, sinking further into the couch cushions.
“Alexei, I’m so sorry. I promise I never—”
“Stop,” I say. My voice is too harsh. I can’t stand the pain she’s clearly in, that she’s still worried about me and what I think about her. Her damn father had a hit on her and she still didn’t run. She stayed here to apologize to me again. “Don’t say anything, just listen.”
I sit down next to her and take her hand, because in another few seconds she might despise me. She stares at me with her bloodshot eyes, still too beautiful for words.
No use beating around the bush, so I jump right in. “Your father is no longer in power. You’re no longer in danger, and as long as I’m alive, you never will be again.”
Her face goes slack as she struggles to comprehend. “What do you mean he’s no longer in power?”
“Your brother Leo and I came to an agreement. We’re splitting the territory and working together from now on.”
She chokes out a laugh of disbelief. “Papa would never stand for that.”
Her eyes want to hope so badly it’s breaking my heart. I fill her in on the rest. Her father is dead. I didn’t pull the trigger—that was Leo’s call. But I would have done it if I’d had to and I let her know that in no uncertain terms. I want her to believe I’m a good man and that I will continue to be one, but only if she’s safe. If her safety is ever compromised, there is no power in heaven or on earth that will keep me from protecting Sera.
“Do you understand?” I ask when she’s silent for a long time.
Her eyes are dry. She barely flinched upon hearing she’s now a fatherless, but she’s been silent for too damn long. I squeeze her hand.
Finally she nods and scoots closer to me, wrapping her arms around my middle. I pull her close, tucking her against my chest and smoothing my hand down her back. I drop a kiss on top of her head and she looks up at me.
“What does this mean for us?” she asks.
I squeeze her a bit too hard, then move her away from me, just enough so she has to look into my eyes. “We’re still married in the eyes of the law and God and all the little church grannies,” I tell her, which makes her smile softly. “I, for one, want to stay that way. If you want to have another wedding that you plan yourself, that’s fine, but I’m going to stay your husband until what we spoke about in our vows takes place.”
“’Til death do us part,” she says, shaking her head. “That’s not going to be for a long, long time.”
“Damn right.”
Her chin tips up, that steely determination that made me fall so hard for her shining through again. “Why?”
