“I’m fine because you’re fine,” I told her, kissing her soundly.
The rest that was coming would be hard work. Taking over my father’s mantle and flushing out any of his supporters who had remained hidden inside would be tricky, but I could do it. Slowly, we’d build the bratva again, stronger, richer, and more powerful than before.
“That being said, don’t think I’m letting it go that you ran away from the safety I arranged for you and agreed to Nikolai’s insane plan. You could have been hurt, Molly. The baby could have been hurt.”
“Well, don’t think I’ve forgotten that you had me arrested to control me,” she accused softly. “We’re even.”
“Oh, Princess,” I breathed, pulling her close and kissing her forehead. “We aren’t even nearly close, but don’t worry. I have lots of ideas for how to make us even.” I gave her a dark, hungry look that made her flush.
I lowered a hand to Ivan and helped him stand, then put my arm around Molly.
“Now, let’s get the fuck out of here and go home.”
EPILOGUE
MOLLY
Fall in New York was beautiful. I walked over the crunching carpet of leaves blanketing the cemetery where Henry had been laid to rest and headed toward the familiar tombstone. I didn’t come here often. Henry had been a bad person, and my life was better without him, but sometimes, on my way to visit Mara and Fiona at Cedar Green nursing home, I stopped here.
Max held an umbrella over my head, and a light misting of rain fell on my thick coat. I crouched over the grave and cleared some leaves from it.
“Do you want your mother buried here one day?” Max asked.
“God, no. I want a cheerful, happy place for her,” I said, hoping that day was a long time away.
Even if my mother hadn’t spoken to me or acknowledged my presence in over a decade, I still looked forward to bringing the babies to her. I hoped she’d know, somewhere deep inside, that everything we’d been through was over, and I was happy.
I attempted to stand and stalled. “Ugh, can you give me a hand?”
“On it,” Max said, taking me under the elbow and pulling me up.
He wasn’t the only one in my security entourage these days, but he was the boss, and he enjoyed the privileged position of being my friend as well. He was hauling me up a lot lately as I got heavier.
“The little one weighing you down today?” he asked as he held my arm over the slippery stone and guided us back to the car.
“The little one is always weighing me down lately. Seriously, men have no clue how hard this is,” I muttered.
“If it counts, I have been stabbed and shot on a semi-regular basis.”
“The fact that you can compare proves you’ve no idea,” I teased him.
Ahead, I could see the black SUV we’d come in and another pulling up. Lately, no matter where I went, Kirill found the time to drop in on me. He got out of the car with Ivan standing at his shoulder, and Pyotr at the other.
He was even more imposing these days with a thick scar on his neck on the other side of his fearsome looking tattoo. He was dressed head to toe in black, a six-foot-four demon who looked more at home here with a cemetery behind him than in the city.
He strode toward me, his black coat flapping wide, uncaring of the rain. Max stepped back as Kirill took the umbrella from him, wrapped an arm around my lower back and pulled me flush against him. Well, as flush as he could, considering my swollen belly.
We were having a girl. Suffice it to say, security had increased at The Tower, and Kirill had immediately made plans to move his base of operations from New York to Woodhaven. Soon, we’d move there permanently, and he’d travel to the city as needed. It wasn’t ideal, considering the way the bratva business was booming, but it was what he wanted. He needed a partner, and I’d told him that often enough. I’d made it no secret I thought it should be Nikolai. Lately, I knew he was considering it.
Kirill kissed me hard, his tongue sliding between my lips and across mine before I’d even had a chance to greet him.
“Excuse me, sir. Do I know you?” I teased him as he tucked his arm around mine, and we started toward the car.
If I’d thought the power and aura of danger he wielded before had been impressive, it was nothing compared to the kind of authoritative presence my husband commanded now. When he walked into a room, I’d seen world famous politicians and public figures stand a bit straighter. Kirill had arrived and was finally carving his own future.
And me? I was right where I’d always wanted to be: by his side.
“I had to come and see you, as I have a gift for you,” he murmured.