Whiskey swashes in his glass between the ice. “I’m going away.”
I frown. “I don’t want to hear it. Just because I’m in charge now, it doesn’t mean—”
“Nah, it’s not that.” He downs the rest of his drink, then places it on the tray of a passing server. “I got something to take care of.”
“Where?”
“Los Angeles.”
Fuck.“That’s Italian territory and you know it. They’ll kill you on the spot if they see you.”
“I won’t be there long enough for them to figure it out. And I’m not here to ask your permission. I just thought you should know.”
I sigh. “What the fuck has gotten into you?”
“Starts withCecilia. Ends withFerrara.” He grins.
“You’re going after the don’s daughter? Are you out of your goddamn mind?”
I know there’s no getting through to him. Once Mikhail makes up his mind, good luck changing it. And good luck reeling with his impatience. Cause if he’s telling me he’s going, he already has a flight.
“Relax,” he says, cracking his shoulders. “I have a plan. Now, if I were you, I’d be careful with Cazimir over there.” His eyes flick to my wife. “Is it me, or did he just make her laugh?” He pats my back, and I watch him walk backwards to the door leading outside. “Enjoy your big day. I’ll see you when I see you.”
36
WOLFGANG
Eight months later
It’s April. The smell of blossoms floats in the air, the birds fully returned to the forest surrounding our new home. It’s nice and quiet here. No one ever bothers us, and my wife gets to enjoy all the time she wants outside with the horses.
Her birthday is in a few days. I haven’t told her yet, but I’ve arranged for Anya and her mother to come visit. They should be here soon. And so will Sasha. The message from Ivan pops up on my phone—they boarded the plane, and they’re on their way.
In the distance, I hear the gallop of a horse. If I were to guess, I’d say it’s Cerber, the black stallion I gifted to Victoria's family that first day I met her. She learned to appease him, and he’scompletely under her spell, needing her constantly. So much so that Alaska whines when she sees them together, even though most of Victoria’s attention remains on her.
I walk around the manor, her silhouette coming into view. Her hair is out, blowing in the wind behind her as she bounces on the stallion’s back seamlessly. Alaska follows right behind them, but she’s not ponied. She used to be for a while, until she got used to riding along Cerber, but not anymore.
I stop outside the fence, watching them, my wife’s back to me.
It reminds me of the first time I saw her—when she turned and finally saw me… I’ll never forget the look on her face. She was scared, her lips and the tip of her nose rosy from the harsh winter temperature. Scared, but contained, as if she knew better than to show that weakness in front of someone who could’ve harmed her.
I loved seeing that fight unfold inside her. The defiance she greeted me with was what piqued my curiosity in the first place. She doesn’t look at me like that anymore. Now, when her pretty blue eyes are on me, she lights up like a ray of sunshine. Looks at me knowing my demons will never get to her. Because they won’t.
When it comes to my wife, I’m worse than that stallion—every moment I’m free, I need her. Crave her. I have to go to great lengths to give her space to be herself without me. And I do it, because fuck, I love this woman.
“Haven’t we done this before?” she asks, catching her breath, jumping off the horse.
I raise a brow. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Yeah, right.” She smiles. “I thought you were going out with Ivan.”
She says that with a knowing tone. She knows what she did that made me cancel that meeting.
“Come here, love.”
She takes a sip of water from her flask. “Nuh-uh. I’ve got practice with the kids in an hour.”
She started training our men’s kids to ride shortly after we came back from our honeymoon in the Bahamas. It’s always been her dream, so I made it happen. One day, I’ll be seeing her teach our kids how to do the same.
