“Then don’t follow in his footsteps.”
“I won’t,” I said, “How can I when I have you beside me?” My mouth curled into a smile.
Hers did too.
“Now, where were we?” I leaned in, planting a soft, passionate kiss on her lips.
On this day, I finally accepted the truth I’d spent years denying. True power never came from instilling fear in others. It came from having something worth protecting, something worth dying for.
Mine was my family.
I would never hesitate to lay down my life to save them if it ever came to that. I wouldn’t mind burning the world to the ground just to keep them safe, either.
They were my home, my peace, and the light in my dark. These two were everything I ever needed and more. Why wouldn’t I protect them?
“What’re we gonna name him?” she asked me.
I glanced down at the infant in her arms. “Nikolai.”
“Nikolai Tarasov,” she said, beaming. “The name has a ring to it.”
The boy was named after strength. Not legacy. Because it took his mother every ounce of strength she had to push him into this world.
Epilogue — Kiera
This past year had been the best so far, and I was forever grateful for how my life turned out in the end. I had a cute little baby boy who recently said his first word: “Dada.” And a husband who literally worshiped the ground I worked on.
What started out as an incident I thought was going to ruin me ended up becoming the best thing that ever happened to me. If I had the power to change the past, I wouldn’t tamper with anything in my life.
The heartbreaks, the pains, and the hatred I once felt were all part of fate’s grand scheme. I needed to feel those emotions and experience those bad things so I’d become the woman I was now.
I’d gone back to work, but this time, I was doing things differently. I wasn’t fighting against the darkness; instead, I’d learned to use it to my advantage.
As the Bratva’s legal backbone, it was my job to fight the legal wars, ensuring our enemies met me in court. My victories had built a reputation that preceded me, one that taught people never to cross the Tarasov Bratva.
This life I chose wasn’t innocent, nor was it easy. But I’d choose it time and time again because I couldn’t imagine a life where Nial and I weren’t a couple.
Fatherhood had changed the man—it brought out a version of him the public would never see. He was still the same ruthless brute people knew him to be, and their fear for him hadn’t dwindled.
However, when around baby Nik and me, he was a completely different person: softer, less controlled, and more loving. His human side was reserved only for his family. We got the man while the rest of the world got the monster.
Things with his father had been getting better since baby Nik arrived. The old man often dropped by whenever he could. He would never call. He’d just show up out of the blue, even though he knew Nial hated it so much.
He got tired of repeating the same thing to his old man, so eventually, Nial was forced to accept his father’s stubbornness. The two had come a long way since last year, and although they’d never admit it, they loved each other.
Their relationship was a complicated one, and personally, I preferred to stay out of their business. My only consolation was the fact that I was certain my Nial would make a much better father than his old man.
The signs were already made clear—plus, he was intentional about putting in the work. That was one of the many reasons why my love for this man was new every morning.
After nailing yet another case in the courtroom today, I stepped out of the building, proud and confident. My heels clicked against the concrete as I climbed down the steps at the entrance.
My husband was waiting for me across the street, leaning against the car with baby Nik in his arms. The boy was a spitting image of his father, but he had my golden-brown hair and sharp green eyes.
His tiny fist clenched around his father’s coat as though he already recognized where safety lived. The second he spotted me walking over to them, he began giggling, those adorable eyes crinkling at the corners.
I quickened my pace, my heart racing in excitement. “Hey, buddy, miss me?”
He leaned toward me, and Nial handed him over, a small grin tugging at his lips.
