Something inside me relaxes to hear her describe it this way. Like it was normal, like we’re still a couple.
“I hope so,” she answers with a shake of her head. “That I’m like my mother. But also, I hope you end this like you say.”
“I will. That’s my promise to you, Sasha. I know I’ve never been a real father, but I’ll give you that.” Then he looks back at me. “But I do need one thing first.”
I don’t say a word as I wait. Gently, I pull Sasha against my body, adding a few feet between her and Sver.
He pushes up and Killian uses his foot to press him back down.
“What do you want?” Dimitri asks.
“To know where I can find Katarina,” Sver doesn’t resist. “Because where she is, that’s where we will find Ivan.”
Fuck.
All eyes turn to me.
Sver’s nostrils flare, his eyes narrowing, as he studies me. With a sudden jerk, he rolls into Killian, sweeping his legs out from under my brother.
“Fuck!” Killian yells as he falls, the gun going off. I’m on top of Sasha before I can even think, tucking her under my body as everyone dives for cover.
Sver vaults through the open balcony door, and dives over the side.
“What the fuck?” Triston rages. Then, slightly calmer. “Was anyone hit?”
“Someone was hit,” Killian spits from his spot on the floor. “Sver. Everyone up, there will be a trail of blood to follow.”
I look at my brother, and he nods in affirmation. Everyone but me. Because my place is with Sasha.
Always. Forever.
EPILOGUE
364 days later…
“I have to leave soon,”Ryker kisses me as we lay on the hotel room bed. Ava is coming to stay with me, but she won’t arrive until midnight.
It’s 11:54, which means I get Ryker for five more minutes. “We’re already married. You don’t have to go.”
He chuckles. “But we decided, remember? This time, it’s by the book.”
He means it. We went shopping together and bought the most stunning empire waist gown, that somehow manages to completely hide my baby bump.
Because yeah…after I got over being angry, which took a few months. And I started with a therapist, who has diagnosed me with ADHD, social anxiety, and high-functioning autism, I’ve really been working on how to be happy with myself.
And I realized, it would have taken me a lot longer to get here if Ryker hadn’t both pushed me and then loved me.
And he does love me. We’ve started running the three casinos together, though I made the decision to bring them under theSmith banner. I like keeping the books. It gives me purpose, and control.
But I don’t want to run the staff or make major business decisions. And joining with his brothers has meant we have a lot more funds for renovations.
And I got the big family that I love being part of. My sisters-in-law are the best friends I’ve never had, and my brothers-in-law…
They are this presence in my life that I feel deeply in my soul. They don’t have to say much, I just know. They’ve got my back.
And as for my husband, “I’m already pregnant with your baby. Is a night apart really necessary?”
He pulls my hips tight to his, my little baby bump pressing to his stomach. I’m about four months along and just starting to show. “No bad luck, baby.”
