Finally, he nods once, sharp and resentful.
“Fine.”
It isn’t gratitude. It’s surrender wrapped in pride. Good enough.
He takes Ryder’s arm. She glances back at me over her shoulder and smirks like we’ve just shared a private joke. Then they disappear into the dark streets.
Liev exhales hard. “You’re just letting him walk?”
“I’m investing,” I correct.
He scowls as we head back to the SUV. “After what he did to Alyona?”
“I’m already negotiating with a contact up north,” I say. “Another Bratva leader. He runs weapons, not drugs. Cleaner margins. Higher returns. Hinto gets scraps and thinks he won something while we expand. And once we’re big enough, we can take him out of the equation entirely.”
Liev rubs his face. “He won’t be satisfied for long.”
“He won’t be,” I admit. “Men like him never are.”
“Then this truce is temporary.”
“All truces are.”
I’m restless on the drive back to the plantation, flexing my hands and leaning forward in the back seat. Liev is equally wound tight. Over the course of twenty minutes, it feels like something might have mended between us.
Will he ever forgive me for falling in love with his daughter? Probably not.
But he knows now just how far I’ll go to protect her.
The gates to the plantation come into view, iron bars sliding open as our headlights sweep across them. My spine straightens without thinking.
Every second since Devin’s call has felt stretched thin, like a wire about to snap.
The SUV barely stops before I’m out of it.
The front door opens.
Aly runs down the steps.
She doesn’t slow.
She crashes into me hard enough to steal my breath, arms wrapping around my neck, fingers digging into my jacket like she’s afraid I’ll disappear.
“I knew you’d come,” she whispers, voice shaking. “Thank you. Thank you for coming for me.”
My hands slide to her waist, pulling her flush against me, grounding me in the warmth of her body.
“There isn’t a place on this earth I wouldn’t burn down for you,” I murmur against her hair. “If someone takes you from me again, they won’t live long enough to regret it.”
It isn’t romantic. It’s a promise.
She shivers anyway, but she doesn’t let go. Behind us, Liev clears his throat.
Aly steps back and looks at her father. For a second they just stare at each other, years of distance packed into the silence.Then she moves forward and hugs him too. “Thank you,” she murmurs, finally acknowledging not just what he does, but who he is—to me, to her.
Liev freezes, then slowly wraps his arms around her like he’s afraid she might break. Something in his expression softens.
Their relationship isn’t anywhere near fixed; I know that much. But things are starting to mend tentatively.
