“Also true.”
“And you have terrible communication skills.”
“I’m aware.”
I drop my hands from his face and wrap my arms around his neck instead. “Lucky for you, I’ve always had a weakness for difficult men.”
He pulls me closer, and his arms encircle my waist. For a moment, we just stand there, breathing each other in. The anger and hurt from the past few days slowly drain away, replaced by something warmer. Something that feels like coming home.
“I love you,” he murmurs against my hair.
“I love you, too.” I pull back just enough to look at him. “But if you ever pull something like this again—”
“I won’t.”
“I’m serious, Menlow.”
“So am I.” He cups my face in his hands, mirroring what I did to him earlier. “You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I’m not going to be stupid enough to throw that away twice.”
“Good.” I rise up on my toes and brush my lips against his. “Now take me home.”
The kiss starts soft. Gentle. A promise rather than a demand. But it quickly grows as weeks of fear and longing and unspoken words pour out between us. By the time we break apart, we’re both breathing hard.
“Home,” he agrees roughly. “Now.”
“We could stay here a little longer.”
“I want you in our bed. Not some hotel room.” He grabs my bag from the bed and slings it over his shoulder. “I’ve spent too many nights without you already.”
I laugh and let him lead me toward the door. But before we leave, I stop him with a hand on his arm.
“Menlow?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you. For coming after me. For not giving up.”
He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, his touch unbearably tender. “I will always come after you, Kirsten. No matter where you go. No matter how angry you are. You’re mine, and I don’t let go of what’s mine.”
“That’s very possessive of you.”
“I warned you I was.”
“You did.” I smile up at him. “I’m starting to think I don’t mind it as much as I should.”
We leave the hotel together with his hand wrapped around mine, and for the first time in days, I feel like I can breathe again.
This isn’t the end of our problems. Jovan is still out there. The Bratva world is still dangerous. Our marriage started as a contract, and trust doesn’t rebuild overnight.
But we have each other. And right now, that’s enough.
Epilogue - Menlow
Three months later, I watch my wife take down a Bratva empire with nothing but her memory and a laptop.
“There.” Kirsten points at the screen and traces a line of code that means nothing to me but apparently means everything to her. “That’s the connection. Jovan’s been routing money through a shell company in Cyprus, then funneling it back through these three accounts.” She pulls up another window. “And look at this. The dates match up perfectly with the shipments Pavel tracked last month.”
I lean over her shoulder and review the data. “You’re sure?”
