Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 56572 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56572 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 226(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Mikhail smiles. “All right, bro, but you’re in the next one, deal?”
“Deal,” Drake says with a broader smile.
It’s hard for me to pose for the photo for a moment. I’m too busy drinking in my husband with my eyes, savoring the happiness in his expression when he looks at my brother. Anybody could see how much they care for each other, the genuine emotion there.
Mikhail winks at me, then turns to the camera. We both have the biggest, cheesiest smiles on our faces. After sending the photo, Mikhail says, “Come on, bro, don’t make me wrestle you for it.”
Drake springs to his feet, grinning, putting his console down. That’s a miracle in and of itself. Even though I’ve always found it challenging to get him to put it down, he wants to come out of his shell with Mikhail. My husband has that effect on people.
“Don’t make me embarrass you on your wedding day, old man.”
I’ve read the word guffaw before, but I don’t think I’ve actually ever heard anybody do it. I hear it now, coming from my husband and me, laughing like we never have before. Mikhail hugs me tighter, and Drake beams at us. I know I’ll understand how much light can come from dark places for the rest of my life.
I was pledged to his brother. He killed my father. We’ll always be a part of the Bratva world. Yet we made it on our own terms. We found our special place—our cave. Mikhail leans down, kissing the tears from my cheeks.
“Happy tears?” Drake says.
“Happy tears,” I reply, nuzzling closer to my husband.
EPILOGUE
DRAKE
One Week Later
“Wow, that’s cool,” I say when Ania, who I guess is sort of my sister now, in a way, does a ballerina spin across the studio. Ania is fascinating, honestly. She’s kind of unnerving because she stares and always looks a bit distracted. Then she’s super friendly, too, and way talented.
“Want to try it?” I swallow, and then she totally sees through me and says, “You wouldn’t have asked to come down here if you just wanted to watch.”
“I wanted to ask …” It’s hard even to say it because it feels like Dad will come down the stairs and yell at me any second. “Could I maybe get a lesson? Just a quick one? No big deal.”
Ania skips over to me with a big grin on her face. She can tell how amazing I find the way she moves and how easy she makes it look. “I’d love that.” She looks over my shoulder.
I turn, and Mila is there, looking so … It’s crazy to say but happy, like really happy all the time. I never dreamed of that, even if I let my imagination go wild. That’s why I can’t miss Dad and everything he did. I’m speaking to some counselor lady because he showed me some pretty horrible stuff. I’m strong, though, just like my sister, and I know I will someday protect her the way she protected me.
“Are you ready?” Mila asks.
This is a big job, just like when I walked her down the aisle. That’s the thing with Mila and me. I’ll always be there for her, and she’ll always be there for me.
“I think so.”
We go upstairs, and then I knock on the door to the computer room. They used it for some Bratva stuff, but now they’re working on Mikhail’s game.
“Yeah?” Mikhail calls.
“Can I show you something?”
“Drake? Sure, bro. Come in.”
It’s so awesome when he calls me, bro. I go into the room and give him the memory drive.
“I tried some programming. It’s just … You’ll see.”
He inserts the drive. Mila is at the door, watching sneaky-style while the program loads. The screen shows an image of a sketch that Lia did, a lady holding a baby. Then, the words I programmed start flashing on the screen.
Mia is pregnant!
“What!?” Mikhail jumps to his feet. “What!?”
He turns, and Mila is there, those happy tears in her eyes. “It’s true,” she says.
“Yes!”
Mikhail rushes over to her, lifting her like she weighs nothing, then waves at me. “Get over here, bro!”
Laughing, I run over to join them.
EPILOGUE
ANIA
Four Months Later
“Swish!” Drake says, a big grin on his face. Mila claps her hands as her brother’s shot goes through the hoop. Mikhail’s got a big smile on his face, too, exchanging a look with his wife and sharing a moment. I don’t think they realize how in love they look, and the same goes for Dimitri and Lia.
The compound feels like a different place with so much warmth, so many smiles, so many jokes, so much energy. It makes me feel so hopeful for the future, even if there will always be that little voice whispering I’m missing something.
Not someone. I don’t need love, but sometimes, watching them, I find myself thinking. I don’t dwell on it. I focus on my work and my craft.