The organ dies mid-note.
I see her.
Anya halfway down the aisle, white dress glowing under candlelight, facing Konstantin at the altar. The priest is frozen mid-sentence, book trembling in his hands. Witnesses gasp, a woman screams.
Anya’s voice cracks on the words. “…to love and to cherish, until death do us part…”
Tears streak her face, ruining the makeup.
I roar her name. “Anya!”
Her head snaps toward me. Eyes wide, shock and relief crashing together so hard she sways.
Konstantin spins, face twisting from victory to fury. He yanks a pistol from inside his jacket, levels it at my chest. “You’re too late, Kovacs. She said yes. She’s mine now.”
I keep walking, slow, gun up but finger off the trigger. “She’s never been yours.”
Anya moves faster than I expect. She steps right in front of me, arms out wide, putting her silk-covered body between me and Konstantin’s barrel. “No! Stop! Don’t shoot him!”
My heart stops dead. “Anya, move!”
Konstantin’s finger tightens, eyes wild. “You think this saves him? It just makes watching him bleed sweeter.”
The shot cracks sharp from behind her.
Konstantin jerks, blood blooming dark across his white shirt, pistol clattering to the stone. He drops to his knees, then face-first with a wet thud.
Dmitri steps out from the side aisle, pistol still smoking, face blank as ice. “He’s done.”
Anya spins, sees her brother, then me. She’s shaking so hard the bouquet falls, roses scattering across the floor like blood.
I’m on her in two strides, hands cupping her face, thumbs wiping at the tears. “What the hell were you thinking? You don’t put yourself in front of a gun for me.”
She grabs my jacket, fingers digging in like she’s afraid I’ll vanish. “I couldn’t let him take you. I couldn’t watch you die. I thought I had to say it, I thought I had to marry him to keep you alive.”
I kiss her hard, tasting salt and fear and relief, hands fisting in her hair. “I love you. So fucking much. I thought I lost you.”
She kisses me back desperate, sobbing against my mouth. “I love you too. I love you so much. I thought I’d never see you again.”
The priest is stammering behind us, witnesses frozen in the pews. Viktor’s at the back door, gun still up, scanning for more threats. Lucky and Blade are securing the entrances.
I pull back just enough to look at her. “We’re not waiting. Not for anyone to try this again.”
She blinks through tears. “What?”
I turn to the priest, voice rough. “Finish it. Right now. Marry us.”
The old man stutters. “This is highly irregular—”
Dmitri steps up beside me, pistol still in hand, voice cold. “You heard him. Do it.”
The priest swallows hard, looks at Anya. “Do you… take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
Anya doesn’t hesitate. Voice shaking but clear. “I do.”
He looks at me. “And you, do you take this woman?”
“I do,” I say, eyes locked on hers.
