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As in, Eve and myself. Together.
In another lifetime, that might have bothered me. Thinking that I don’t have the full control of my men. Thinking that I, in any way, had to share their respect, would have bothered me.
But now, I feel nothing but pride.
Eve is strong and respected. More than just my wife, my men see her as my equal. They see her as their leader. And I get to claim her as mine.
My wife, my love. My queen.
I can only see their respect for her as a compliment. As their blessing on us and our marriage and our leadership over the Bratva.
I reach out and grab Eve’s hand, kissing her knuckles. Then, I turn to Grigory. “You won’t hear another bit of gratitude from either of us on the subject.”
He lifts his glass again, downing the second half of it. Judging by the color in his face, that was not his first.
“I’m grateful to all of you for getting me out,” Eve says, winking at Grigory when he rolls his eyes. “But I can’t push aside the guilt I feel that we are all here and others aren’t.”
Eve talked to me about this last night when we were lying in bed. I knew the fact that so many of the women had been given over to bidders before we could save them weighed heavily on her. And I also knew there would be no way to deter her once she set her mind to it. So, I am now behind her one hundred percent.
She turns towards Kari and Maddie and the other women. “I am going to keep my job as head chef at Fleurs Vingt, but I’m going to spend as much of my time as I can tracking down the women who were sold and helping them get their freedom back.”
“And I told Eve she would have access to any service the Bratva offered that could help,” I say.
Grigory and the other members nod in solidarity. “Of course.”
“You don’t have to help me,” Eve says to the women. “But since I think this journey will be so important in my own healing, I thought I would offer you the opportunity to help as well.”
“Of course,” Kari says, her eyes going glassy with tears. “I would love nothing more than to help.”
“Me too,” Maddie says. Then, she bites her lip. “I just—I’m not sure I can face the Cartel members again.”
Her lip begins to tremble, and Vito reaches out to lay a meaty hand on her knee.
Maddie doesn’t bat him away instantly, which he seems to take as a good sign, his mouth twitching up in a half smile.
Eve sets her glass on the mantle and moves over towards where the women are grouped on the end of the couch. The part of the evening where we formally address the guests is clearly over.
I keep my distance while she comforts Maddie and talks through her plan. In fact, it is the furthest apart Eve and I have been in almost three days.
Since getting home, we have stayed close to one another. When we sit on the couch, she sits close enough that her leg brushes against mine. While she cooks, I am within arm’s reach, ready to hug her and kiss her between stages in the recipe. After being forced apart so much at the auction, we can’t seem to get enough of having full access to one another.
Milaya is still batting happily at her toys, and I’m watching her when Grigory lifts himself out of his chair and stumbles over to me.
The man is large and can hold his drink, but he is clearly pushing his limits tonight.
“You know,” he slurs, dropping down on the hearth next to me. “When you first married Eve, I wasn’t certain you were making the right choice. I mean, she is beautiful—”
He lifts his hand in surrender when my attention snaps to him, eyes narrowed.
“She is beautiful, but she was from an enemy family,” he continues. “A lot of us thought it would cause way more trouble than it is worth. To be fair, for a minute there it did cause a lot of trouble.”
“More than it was worth?” I ask.
Grigory smiles and shakes his head. “No, definitely not. We like Eve.”
“She’ll be glad to hear that,” I say.
“I mean it. We all like her. Even more now that she has shown us her true colors.” Grigory tips back his drink, and I consider reaching out and stopping him, but I don’t. He can sleep in the guest room if need be. Tonight is a celebration. A time for everyone to relax, Grigory included. “Eve is tough. And kind. She cares about people.”
