I nod, as tears fall down my face. “Yeah.”
She’s alive, and for now, that’s enough.
Roman
“Do you hate me?” Watching Xena’s features morph from sated and freshly fucked to confusion. Her pouty lips purse together and her thin brows furrow… but still, she smiles.
“Don’t be silly, Roman, I could never hate you,” Xena breathes as she brushes her finger down my jawline. It feels like a dream being here with her, being free and clean. Even though I hide things from her, it’s all to keep her safe. I couldn’t tell her that Vik isn’t the only threat to us, but there’s someone else. Someone hell bent on making sure I don’t forget…
Dread coils up my spine, moving quickly to my throat and choking me with lies. My mouth opens before slamming shut, taking into consideration how happy my little snake is nowthat she has a friend. Someone who sees her for who she is and not her past.
And though I want to keep her safe… her joy will always be the source of mine. Pulling her close to me, I inhale the sweet smell of her shampoo, closing my eyes as her finger traces a pattern on my chest before I drift off to sleep.
“Roman, wake up!” Xena shouts. “WAKE UP.”
The ache in my body doesn’t go unnoticed as I’m pulled out of my dream. The sound of Xena’s soft snores and the beeps of the machines greet me before I open my eyes. For a second, I lay there in complete awe—watching my little snake curled up in the hospital’s lounge chair. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I think back on the last couple of hours and feel relief that the last of them are dead. Kai killed him, and now, he’s nothing but a fucking memory I’ll soon bury. Thanks to all the videos uploaded on the night of the rave, the cops found more than enough evidence to arrest whatever members of ODM were left behind. According to the detective, that was the last of the golden boy’s brothers, so thankfully, there should no longer be any problems. The case made it to the news, raising awareness of the corruption within the circle of rich assholes and how the missing people factor in. Now it’s time to start fresh.
I sit up, trying to be as quiet as a mouse, and careful not to startle my little Xena Bean, but it’s useless when we’re so connected. My very presence alerts her, and she stirs in her sleep before she opens her eyes and smiles. “Ro.”
Shifting to the side, I pat the now-empty, but warm, spot beside me.
“Come, too much distance.” My girl chuckles at that, and the sound is music to my fucking ears. Xena wraps herself up in the hospital’s blanket before walking over to the bed and lying next to me. “You’ve been out for a while,” she whispers, interlacing her fingers with mine. “No more looking over our shoulders.”
I snort at the comments. There will never be a time that I wouldn’t look over our shoulders—my job is to protect her. Protect what’s mine and the life that I’ll soon place inside her. There was no more waiting. No more hiding. This is it.
“Marry me?”
This time, it is she who scoffs, as if the question surprises her. Why? Who knows, but I meant it. “Don’t look shocked, I told you I wanted to make an honest woman out of you.”
I wasn’t a traditional man; however, I wanted to be so locked in with Xena—so close that if we could share the same body, I would crawl inside her. Since I can’t do that, I want to give her everything else: my name, my body, my fucking soul, and my seed. Anything that can permanently stain her with me. “You’re gonna make me fuck the answer out of you?”
“Ro.” She laughs nervously, causing her to snort again. “Of course.”
“Good.” We lay in silence for a moment, enjoying the sound of our mingling breaths and the warm sun that shines through the small window.
Chapter Twenty Two
Tokyo
Days Later….
I look down at Kai, who is dead asleep by the foot of the bed. My eyes still feel heavy from crying. It’s been a couple of days since the rave and since the doctor told us the news. While I can still walk, due to the nature of the injury, I will have to learn how to walk and do pretty much everything all over again. At first, I was angry and devastated as Kai held me. I didn’t know how I could possibly manage to continue living if I couldn’t do what I love the most, and that’s when it hit me. The moment that something inside me shifted, realizing that I have everything I love wrapped around me.
Kai.
The tears stopped then, replaced by sheer determination to make all his efforts worth it. Be the very person he deserves. For the first time, I didn’t want to run or escape. I wanted to fight to deserve his love. Or his forgiveness. Be everything but what my mother raised me to be. For the first time in forever, I wanted tolive a life worth fighting for. My gaze falls to the door, my fingers twirling a loose blue curl on Kai’s head as my mind drifts to my last conversation with Xena.
“Hey,” she says softly as she steps inside the room, dressed in grey sweats and a grey crewneck courtesy of the hospital.
“Hey,” I reply, my eyes already brimming with tears as I take in her appearance, all bruised and battered. Plump lips split open, right eye blackened, and her nose was under bandages. I swallow hard, bracing myself for her to rip into me, but she just lunges forward and hugs me. A shaky breath escapes me, and tears slide down my warm cheeks.
“Thank you for saving him. For helping me,” she sobs, and that makes me weep in her arms. My own wrapping around her, and from the corner of my eye, I can see Kai’s shadow hanging around the outside, granting us this moment and giving us privacy. “You are free now.” She sits up, cupping my wet cheek in her palms. “We are free now. I hope you can find peace and happiness.”
I didn’t deserve her either, but I didn’t tell her that. “You too.”
She smiles softly, tears sliding down her face. “We are alive because of you,”
“We were there because of me.”
