“So, you’re saying we don’t have to worry about Russo?”
“Nope.Not anymore.You see, the guys at Sigma let his, for lack of a better term,bosses, know the shit he was pulling.They also let them know that we planned on launching an in-depth investigation into Russo, which might lead to certain affiliations coming to light.They didn’t want that,” Nathan tells me.
“You fixed it, then?You did all of this without even telling me?”I ask, but I’m not angry.
How can I be when this miracle of a man basically saved us from who knows what would have happened?
A tiny sliver of fear slithers up my spine because with the threat of Russo gone, is there any reason for Nathan to stay?
“I would do anything for you, Sparky.Anything at all.But what I need to know is whatyouthink about us, Ad?Are you ready to trust in me?Inthis?”
I don’t even realize I’m crying until he wipes a tear from my cheek with his thumb.
“Oh, Nathan, are you sure?”I whisper.
He cups my face with both hands and kisses me—slow and deep and absolutely certain.
“Fuck, yes.I mean every single word I’ve said,” he says against my lips.“Every.Single.One.I want you.I want Bella.I want this family.I love you, Sparky.”
And just like that—I fall for him.
Fully.
Hopelessly.
Irrevocably.
Again.
And I decide to trust in us because really, what value is there in a life half-lived?And without Nathan, that’s all I’ve ever been doing.
“I love you, too.Always.”
Epilogue1: Nathan
Another few weeks pass, and I swear I’m so fucking full I feel like I could burst.
Full of what, you ask?
Joy.
Peace.
Love.
Her.
And I won’t fuck it up.
Not this time.
Not now that I know—really fucking know—that what Adrianna and I have is real.
Every night, I fall asleep with her in my arms.
Every morning, she wakes with her hand searching for me before she’s even fully aware she’s awake.
We make love—soft or slow or hungry or sweet—or sometimes we just lie there in the dark, tangled together, talking about nothing and everything.
