Page 47 of Savage Pakhan

“Thank you for the coffee. I’m glad you are brave. It takes courage to not only flee a dangerous situation, but a situation involving the last name Bykov. You made the right choice,” he tells me.

He digs in his pocket and hands Alek a small black phone. “A burner I got for you. Don’t answer it ever unless it is from me. I have my number saved as Sasha.”

“Sasha?” A mischievous twinkle in Alek’s eye shines.

“Da. If I put Nikki, it is too—” He snaps his finger as he thinks, trying to find the right word. “—I don’t know the word.”

“Obvious,” I finish his sentence for him.

“Da! Obvious. Wait for me to call, Sweetie,” he teases Alek, patting him on the face.

Alek shoves his arm away and Nikolai cackles on the way down the steps to his car.

The tires crunch along dirt driveway, finding every twig and pinecone in their way. Nikolai honks the horn, waving at us through the window and the red taillights fading in the distance.

A comfortable silence falls between Alek and me. Nothing is forced. We let the reality of our situation settle. The harsh truths, the difficulties, the hope, and the fear.

I hope war won’t be started over me. I don’t want that. As much as I despise Ivan, I don’t think I want him dead. I only want him to realize what kind of man he is so he changes and maybe he can have a better life.

That is wishful naive thinking, though. Ivan is who he is. No matter how many times he is at fault, he won’t ever admit he is in the wrong. He will die before he admits to any wrongdoing.

I can’t be with anyone like that. Accountability matters. Being responsible for your actions and words matters. Ivan will always believe he has the power of every god that people worship because of his last name and until he realizes that he isn’t the one with all the power, nothing will change.

I stare out at the beautiful view in front me, relaxed and at peace for the first time in my entire life. That is a sad realization. This is the most peace I’ve ever had minus the few minutes I was dead.

The rain falls onto the leaves, a gentle pattering against the branches as they sway. Thunder growls across the sky, the vibrations tingling my palms. The river flowing down below sounds harsher, the hiss of water from down below can be heard from where I’m sitting, the storm strengthening the current.

“Would you?”

I blink away my trance and give my attention to Alek. “Would I what?”

“Marry me. If it was possible. Would you marry me?”

“Are you asking me to marry you or are you curious?”

A sly crooked smirk tilts his lips to the left. “A little bit of both.”

I stare into my coffee, watching the liquid in hopes it can tell me my future. “I’d marry you, Alek.” I lift my chin to look at his handsome face. I want nothing more than to run my finger through his silver hair and feel his body against mine.

I want him in ways I’m not allowed to.

And yet, I’m going to allow myself anyway.

“I’d marry you today. I would have married you yesterday or the day I was supposed to marry your son. I would have happily walked down that aisle with you.”

He doesn’t say anything. Alek sets his cup down and lunges at me, capturing my face with his hands. Before I can ask what’s wrong, his lips are on mine.

For a second, I’m stunned. I don’t kiss him in return. My entire body freezes. My mind halts to a stop. My eyes widen.

He pulls away, his hands still holding my face as if I’m a precious rare jewel he doesn’t want to lose.

“Fuck. I’m sorry, Mia. I⁠—”

I cut him off with my own kiss, dropping my own mug onto the deck. It doesn’t break. Coffee drips between the wooden planks. The aroma morphing with the moment of his kiss—a memory I’ll never forget.

Every time I have coffee, I’ll think of this.

Him holding me. The rain. The thunder.