“Thank you,” I said after a long moment. “For everything. For having the foresight to put the tracker in her boot. For coming back for Mikhail.”
He pressed a kiss to my temple, his lips warm against my cold skin. “Always.”
Declan entered the room, his expression grave as he approached us. He leaned his forearms on the back of the sofa. “Local authorities just reached the Petrova compound,” he reported in a low voice. “Alexei Petrova is dead, along with most of his security team.”
Jake looked at me, then at Declan. “He was alive when we left him.”
Declan straightened. “I don’t doubt it for a second. What Alexei was about to face likely was even too much for him to handle.”
Relief washed through me, so powerful it left me dizzy. “It’s really over then?”
“Not quite,” Declan cautioned. “But I’ll take care of it.”
I nodded, too tired to process the implications fully. All that mattered was that Nora was safe, that Alexei could no longer reach us.
“Where’s Mikhail?” Jake asked, glancing around the room.
“Doctor’s patching him up,” Declan replied. “He took a beating, but nothing serious. He’ll be fine.”
The words hung in the air, laden with unspoken questions. What happened in that study? Clearly, someone pulled the trigger.
Nora looked up then, her eyes finding mine across the room. Whatever she saw in my face made her scramble to her feet and hurry over, climbing into my lap as though she were much younger than her eight years. I wrapped my arms around her, breathing in the scent of her hair, still wet from the snow.
“Can we go home soon?” she asked, her voice muffled against my shoulder.
Home. The word carried so much weight now. Which home? My little house in Wolfcreek? Jake’s ranch? Or somewhere new entirely?
“Soon,” I promised, meeting Jake’s eyes over her head. “Very soon.”
Later that night, after Nora had finally fallen asleep in one of the mansion’s many guest rooms, I found myself wandering the quiet halls, too wired to rest despite my exhaustion. The storm still raged outside, snow piling against the windows, but inside all was warm and still.
I followed the sound of voices to a study at the far end of the east wing. The door was ajar, and through the gap, I could see Jake and Mikhail, seated acrossfrom each other in leather chairs; neither looked exceptionally comfortable.
“—need to discuss what happens next,” Mikhail was saying, his voice low but intense.
“That’s up to Ella,” Jake replied, his tone firm. “And Nora.”
I pushed the door open wider, stepping into the room. Both men rose immediately, their expressions guarded.
“Ella,” Mikhail acknowledged, gesturing to an empty chair. “We were just talking about arrangements going forward.”
“I gathered,” I said, choosing to remain standing. “But I think we should all get some rest first. It’s been a long day.”
“Of course,” Mikhail agreed, though he made no move to leave. “But there are practical matters to consider. Security arrangements. Living situations.”
I felt a flare of irritation. “Nora is safe in bed for the first time in twenty-four hours. Everything else can wait until morning.”
Jake moved to my side, his presence steadying. “Ella’s right. We all need rest.”
Mikhail’s eyes moved between us, something like resignation settling in his expression. “Very well. But we do need to talk, Ella. About our daughter. About the future.”
The possessive pronoun grated on my nerves, but I nodded curtly. “Tomorrow.”
As Mikhail left the room, I let out a long breath, some of the tension draining from my shoulders. Jake’s hand found mine, his thumb tracing gentle circles on my palm.
“You okay?” he asked quietly.
I considered the question, really considered it. “I don’t know,” I admitted. “It’s all happening so fast. First, Mikhail comes back from the dead, then Nora is kidnapped, now we’re talking about... what? Custody arrangements? Co-parenting? I can’t even think straight.”
