“I’m always here for you, anytime.”
We sit in silence after that, sipping our drinks and letting the sun melt into the horizon. And I let her words settle into me, reminding myself that it was either him or us.
CHAPTER FORTY
FIONA
The next fivedays bleed into one another, and Aleksei and I find ourselves growing closer, finding a sliver of normalcy amidst the chaos that is our life. Each morning, I walk into work as if nothing in my world has changed, as if I’m not married to one of the most dangerous men in the country.
The ring stays on a chain beneath my blouse, hidden but close to my heart. The only way I can keep him with me without inviting questions I can’t answer.
I don’t ask what Aleksei does while I’m gone. I don’t want to know. Not because I don’t care, but because I care too much. If I let myself dwell on the details—on the blood, the brutality, the darkness—I might break. So I compartmentalize. I focus on my case files, the mountainous to-do list I have each day. And when I come home to him, I let myself breathe again. Let myself sink into his arms, where I feel more myself than I ever have.
It also helps that our families blend together so smoothly. We see Emilia and Konstantin when we can, and my parents are beginning to soften to the idea of him. My father even shared a glass of wine with him last night.
Then there’s Aleksei. He’s there for me in every way that matters, and he seems to know just what I need before I even do.With each passing day, I find myself falling more for him until it turns dangerously close to love, though neither of us has said it.
I melt against his side, the low hum of the movie fading into nothing as his arm settles around me. My eyes drift shut, breathing syncing with his without even trying. These quiet moments are the ones I crave. The ones where the chaos outside doesn’t exist.
When the movie ends, Aleksei turns toward me, brushing a stray curl away from my cheek.
“I have a surprise for you. It’s something I wanted to show you before everything happened.” That usual wicked glint in his eyes is softened by something tender.
I narrow my gaze, forcing myself to forget theeverythinghe’s talking about. “Now I’m curious.”
His mouth winds as he slips a hand into the pocket of his sweats and pulls out a black silk blindfold.
My brows shoot up. “Did you…conveniently have that there the whole time?”
A low laugh rumbles in his chest. “Yes. Now come on, get up. I want to take you somewhere.”
“Mm, I don’t know…” I scrunch my nose at him. “This is exactly what murderers say in horror movies before the girl gets chopped into pieces.”
His grin widens. “If I wanted to chop you up, detka, I would have done it by now.”
“Fine.” I sigh dramatically. “But only because I’m curious.”
He leans in and brushes a quick kiss to my lips. “Good enough for me.”
We walk out to the SUV together, and before I can climb in, he steps behind me, tying the blindfold around my eyes. The world goes dark, but his hands are there, steady at my waist, guiding me inside.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” I ask as he buckles my seat belt.
“No.” There’s an unmistakable grin in his tone.
“Are you going to murder me in the woods?”
“Not today.”
“I’ll take it.”
The drive is short. Less than ten minutes. When the car slows and stops, I sense the door open and Aleksei’s hand guiding me out.
“Okay, walk slow. We are on grass now.”
He steadies me with a hand on my waist as we make it a short distance.
“You ready?” he asks.
