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Subtext: Don’t tell me this was for nothing.

Nikolai: It will. You did well. But from now on, we work together.

Serena: I told you how I felt about your original plan. And you said you were going to do it anyway. I’m sorry. I should’ve told you. But I just wanted to protect you… protect us.

Nikolai: I saw something when he put that gun to my head. A flash, like something I needed to see before he pulled the trigger. It was you and Zoe. I know we’re only at the start. I know we’ve got our reasons to take it slow. But when I thought it might end, I saw you.

Emotion grips me.

“Everything okay?” Sasha asks softly.

“Just Nikolai…” Messing with my head, I was going to say, but I can’t make light of it anymore. “Saying something that needed to be said.” Oh, I’m an idiot! Guilt cuts into me. I’m so into my own stuff, I forgot the most important news. The vital news. “And Sasha.”

She looks up with tired eyes. “Yeah?”

“He’s dead,” I tell her. “Rafael. Nikolai confirmed it.”

She raises her eyebrows. A soft smile touches her lips. She quickly hides it away. “Okay.”

I reach over and take her hand. “Sasha? Fuck him. I’m glad he’s dead.”

Her lip twitches again. “You can’t say things like that.”

“I can. He did unspeakable things to you. To Owen’s sister. To who knows how many others. He treated me like crap. He sent men after my daughter, mother figure, and my man. Then, as his final act, he confessed to his crimes and tried to kill me. So, I’ll say it again. Fuck. Him.”

“Serena!” Sasha says, but she’s laughing. She looks at the door.

“You need to say it,” I tell her. “Or I’m screaming it for the both of us.” I pause, then raise my voice. “Fuck⁠—”

“Fuck him!” she says quietly, squeezing my hand. “Okay? Fuck. Him.”

“To the moon and back,” I say.

I lean back, a big smile on my face.

Serena: I think I’m going to hell.

I text Nikolai, then fill him in on what happened.

Nikola: I agree with you both. He proved himself to be a coward and a thug. I didn’t want him to die, but I’m not sad he’s gone.

That last part is more texting speak. He wanted him to die. He wanted to end him.

Soon, Nikolai is here. Sasha stands and goes to the door. She pauses, nodding at Nikolai. “Thank you,” she says after a moment of hesitation.

Nikolai smiles wryly. “It was self-defense,” he says. “But you’re welcome.”

“She won’t say anything different,” I murmur.

Nikolai waits for her to leave, then rushes to me. His hand is swollen from where he hit Rafael, wrapped in white gauze. I reach out for his wrist. “Nikolai, are you⁠—”

He takes my hands gently, shushing me. “You’re still worrying about me?” He says, leaning forward and kissing me softly. “Serena, you scared the hell out of me. But…” He smiles ruefully. “I’m proud of you. And I shouldn’t have expected anything less.”

He leans in for a kiss. I meet him in the middle. He’s so careful with me, his hands on my face like I might break, and he’s holding me together. He ends the kiss, but keeps his face close, his warm breath moving over me. “That recording will tear down the Marlin’s reputation,” he says softly. “Without it, we still would’ve had to handle the group as a whole. Not now. They’re done. You did that. Not me. Not my swollen bloody fist. You, Serena.”

“I think Iris did that,” I whisper.

“I think we need to combine them,” he replies. “Siris. Irena?”