“Each other. A real marriage, not a political arrangement. A partnership based on choice rather than obligation.” I brush my thumb across her lower lip. “A chance to build something that belongs to us, not them.”
“They’ll try to stop us.”
“Let them try.”
“It won’t be easy. Our worlds, our families?—”
“Nothing worthwhile ever is.” I kiss her then, soft and sure. “But we’re stronger together than we are apart. Tonight proved that.”
“You’re really willing to fight both our families for this? For us?”
“I killed for us tonight,” I remind her quietly. “Fighting our families seems like considerably less of a challenge.”
That draws a small smile from her, the first genuine one I’ve seen since we left the warehouse. “When you put it that way...”
“Besides,” I continue, reaching behind her to turn off the water, “I have something they don’t.”
“What’s that?”
“You. On my side this time, instead of being caught between competing loyalties.” I hand her a towel, wrapping another around my waist. “Think we can handle whatever they throw at us?”
“Together?” She considers this, as her analytical mind is probably calculating odds and variables. “Yes. I think we can handle anything together.”
“Good. Because starting tomorrow, we’re going to find out exactly how much they really value family unity versus personal ambition.”
“And tonight?”
“Tonight, we’re just us. No families, no obligations, no one else’s expectations.” I pull her closer, marveling at how perfectly she fits against me. “Just Rafa and Kira, figuring out what we want our future to look like.”
“I like the sound of that.”
“So do I.”
As we move toward the bedroom, towels discarded and skin still warm from the shower, I realize something that would have terrified me just hours ago: I’m no longer planning my escape from this life.
I’m planning my place in it.
With her. Despite everything. Because of everything.
Because some things are worth becoming someone new for.
And Kira Petrov is definitely worth becoming someone who can build a life in this world instead of just surviving it. I should’ve seen it coming. I was doomed from the first time my eyes lay on her.
CHAPTER 32
Rafa
I leaveKira sleeping in the pre-dawn darkness, her face peaceful in the pale light filtering through the safehouse windows. She looks younger like this, unguarded—nothing like the calculating Bratva Heiress our families expect her to be.
Nothing like the woman who’ll have to make impossible choices in the coming days.
The drive to Vito’s estate takes forty minutes through empty streets, giving me too much time to think about what I’m about to do. Betraying Kira’s trust by revealing her family’s plans before she can handle the situation herself. Potentially signing death warrants for people she loves, despite everything they’ve done.
But the alternative—waiting for the Petrovs to make their move, letting Vito discover the betrayal through violence rather than conversation—would be worse. For everyone.
The guards at the gate recognize me, waving me through without question despite the unusual hour. Vito’s insomnia is legendary; he’s probably been awake for hours, reviewing reports and planning moves on chessboards that span continents.
I find him in his study, exactly as expected. Still dressed in yesterday’s clothes, multiple phones within reach, documents spread across his desk like battle plans. Knowing Vito, they probably are.
