Her Silver Fox Mountain Men (Lucky Lady Reverse Harems)

Chapter 33

33

Elise

M y whole head hurts.

The top of my skull, my cheek, my face, my jaw… all are pulsating with pain but at least I’m alive. Thank heavens I had the presence of mind to turn my earpiece back on.

All I can do now is pray that Oliver, James, and Roman are picking up on my signal.

“What’s your plan, Igor?” I ask, trying to stay calm as I watch the road open up ahead.

We’re out of Rustic now, driving fast around the mountain. I try to register as much detail as possible, my mind frantically working out a way to communicate our whereabouts without Igor or his goons catching on.

“What are we doing out of town? I figured you’d have a safe house somewhere in Rustic. How else were you able to keep an eye on me?”

“Oh, you’re finally putting two and two together,” Igor chuckles.

He sounds nervous. Agitated. Things didn’t work out the way he’d planned, and he reeks of guilt. I can smell it on him. “You didn’t mean to shoot Kara, did you?” I ask.

“That was your fault, Elise. You should’ve just come to me willingly instead of hiding behind my sister’s skirt. Behind your lumberjack dipshits.”

One of the guards is sitting next to me, a gun constantly pointed at my side. Igor is in the passenger seat, rummaging through the files I pulled out of my safety deposit box while Piotr keeps driving faster and faster on a road that wasn’t designed for this kind of speed.

“You might want to slow down,” I tell him. “You’re going to get us all killed.”

He ignores me and continues to speed along the narrow winding road.

Igor growls from the front seat as he continues to look through the ledger. “You stupid bitch, do you have any idea how badly you screwed up when you stole this?”

“It’s evidence of what you did to my parents,” I coldly reply.

“A different era is coming, Elise. The Bratva’s going to be under new leadership soon enough. My father won’t know what hit him and this ledger… this is the ammunition I need to get some of his lieutenants aligned with my agenda.”

I gasp. “So this wasn’t about proof regarding my parents’ murder?”

“It’s about that, too, but the ledger itself… Elise, you’ve made my work ten times harder than it should’ve been,” Igor says. “You stupid, selfish bitch.”

“You killed my parents so your father wouldn’t find out that you were stealing from him. Who’s stupid and selfish here?”

“I swear, the more you talk, the less I’ll feel bad about what’s going to happen next.” He exhales sharply, shoving the ledger and the manila envelope into the glovebox compartment. “Pull up that road,” he tells Piotr.

I glance ahead. “That’s a dirt road leading up the north ridge of the mountain. It’s too rocky and steep for this kind of car.”

“Will you just shut the fuck up for once?” Igor replies. “Just shut up. We’re not going far, anyway. It’ll all be over soon.”

My blood freezes. My joints hurt. My body trembles in anticipation of the worst that’s yet to come. I’m scared. I want to stay calm and keep a cool head, but I don’t know if anybody’s going to be able to save me, if they’ll get to me in time. I’m hanging from a loose and unraveling thread, and it could all be over in the blink of an eye unless I figure out a way to stall Igor.

“You’re just going to kill me, just like that?”

“You left me no other choice, Elise,” Igor grumbles.

“Could you blame me? You lied to me. You took me as your wife, we shared a bed. I gave you my body, my heart, and you—”

“Your heart? Come on, Elise. We both know you never really loved me. I could feel it,” he sighs. “I would’ve let you stay gone, to be honest, if only you hadn’t stolen from me.”

“You killed my family!” I scream. “My mom and dad. Michael looked up to you. He took to you as he would a brother. You broke bread with us, you absolute piece of shit. You laughed and cried with us, even though you knew you were the one responsible for all the pain and misery we had to heal from.”

“Don’t think for a second that I enjoyed doing that,” Igor says. “I didn’t want to kill anybody. But your dad didn’t really give me a choice. Had he gone straight to Papa with his ledger, I would’ve been fucked. I would’ve been shipped off to Siberia’s most remote gulag and left there to rot.”

“My father offered you a chance to come clean, didn’t he?” I ask, trying to imagine how that entire conversation must’ve unfolded. “He wanted to do right by you and Lev. He probably knew it would break Lev’s heart if they had to pull you into his private study and watch you lie your ass off before they slapped you over the face with that ledger.”

“Mr. Goody Two-Shoes. Like I said, he didn’t give me a choice.”

“You keep saying that but we both know you did have a choice,” I insist.

The silence that falls between us is so heavy that I can barely breathe. Igor knows I speak the truth.

“What are you trying to pull exactly? You want to overthrow Lev? Is that what this is about?” I ask.

Alarm bells ring loud in the back of my head as we pull up outside a small, seemingly abandoned cabin on the side of the mountain road.

“You don’t need to know about any of that. It doesn’t concern you anymore,” Igor replies.

“Come on, let’s get it over with and fly back to Chicago before Lev catches on,” Piotr says, turning the engine off. “You should’ve just killed her back at the bank.”

“No. I want to spend a couple more minutes with my wife, if you don’t mind,” Igor snaps. “I did love her at one time.” He looks at me. “It’s true, I really did love you.”

“You’ve got a funny way of showing it,” I reply. I start struggling as soon as his goons try to drag me out of the car with them. “Get off me!”

“Stop screaming,” Piotr groans, rolling his eyes. “No one can hear you up here anyway.”

“Let go of me!”

Igor takes out his gun and points it at my face, rage burning hot in his eyes. “Will you be fucking quiet for once, Elise? I’m trying to say goodbye here.”

I freeze. So much for buying time. He’s going to kill me.

I still have one shot. Maybe.

“I’m pregnant.”

“You’re what ?” he gasps. I quickly decide that telling him was a bad idea as my confession only manages to make him angrier.

“You heard me. There are innocent children growing in my womb that deserve to live,” I say, my voice trembling as fear ties thick knots in my throat. “Don’t kill me, Igor. You got what you wanted. You have the ledger. You have men loyal to you within the organization. You have everything you need to push your father aside and take over. It’s what you’ve always wanted, isn’t it?”

“You did something unforgivable,” Igor says, not lowering his weapon. “You betrayed me, Elise. Me. Your husband.”

“You betrayed me first, Igor, when you murdered my parents. You then had the audacity to lie about it. If you want to talk about not having any other choice, I’m afraid I’m the one who was out of options. I’m the one who had to do what I did.”

“What about our wedding vows? Did those words mean anything to you?”

“Those words meant everything! And I was ready to be your wife until the end of my days,” I cry out, tears streaming down my cheeks. “I was ready to support you. Had you told me about what you’d done, maybe I would’ve found a way to forgive you.”

That’s a complete lie but I’m staring down the barrel of his gun. I’ll say anything at this point to protect my unborn children. “You kept lying to me. Even when I confronted you about it, you called me crazy. You bullied me. You hurt me. Abused me. What was I supposed to do? Just sit there and take it while you got away with murdering my parents? While you gave Mikey brotherly advice as you lied to his face?”

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” he exhales sharply. “It all ends here.”

“You’re such a coward, Igor. Don’t think for a second that killing me will get you the respect you so desperately desire.”

Igor seems confused. “What do you mean?”

“How many men do you have supporting you right now within the Bratva?” I ask.

Piotr and the two others exchange nervous glances.

I was raised in the Bratva. I know how these people think. The fake loyalty and respect they show before turning around and stabbing you in the back.

“Enough.”

“Not enough clearly,” I chuckle dryly, my synapses firing rapidly. The pregnancy angle didn’t work, but I am still determined to survive, for my baby to survive. So if I have to fuck with Igor’s head, I will.

“What about Lev’s lieutenants? How many can you squeeze the door on? How many can you keep under your control with the ledger? What of the others?”

“Since when are you a fucking strategist of the Bratva?” Piotr cuts in, somewhat annoyed.

I point a finger at him. “You’re a snake. You turned on Kara in the blink of an eye. If I were Igor, I wouldn’t trust you. You’ll betray anyone if it suits you. What will it take for you to turn on Igor? Money? The promise of a seat at the table?”

“Nonsense. I’m loyal to Igor. It’s why I did what I did. I tried to get Dmitri on board,” Piotr insists.

“Ah, so you betrayed Dmitri, too,” I scoff. “Figures. It’s what you do. What you’ll always do.”

Igor frowns slightly. In his crazed desperation, he is no longer the calculated and thoughtful mastermind he’s been renowned for. Something just clicked in his mind.

“This is who you’re working with, Igor.” I keep drilling because I can see I’ve struck gold. “Traitors. Backstabbers. Do you really think Piotr will just kick back and let you lead the Bratva? He already disagreed with you on when and where to kill me. We’re here because of your emotional impulse. How do you think that makes you look?”

“You’re just trying to stir up shit!” Piotr shouts, reaching for his gun.

“And you’re a two-faced barbarian who could never make it past the security guard level within the Bratva. Why’d you choose to betray Kara and Lev in Igor’s favor, huh? What did he promise you? More money? To move up the ladder? What was it?”

“I can grow with Igor. I can go higher than his father would’ve let me.”

“Oh, no shit,” I laugh, mocking him. “Look at Igor. Look at the doubt in his eyes. He now sees you for what you are and he’s probably wondering if you’re worth it. What if you kill him when he least suspects it, like you did Dmitri? What if he puts a bullet in you like he did Kara? She’s his sister and he shot her without blinking an eye.”

“Elise, you are really playing with fire here,” Igor snaps and switches the safety off his gun. “I’ve had enough of this shit. We had a nice run but it’s over.”

Piotr is now distracted, though, and so are his colleagues. They keep nervously looking at each other.

“What if this plan of yours fails, huh? Do you have any idea what Lev will do to all of you if he stays in charge?”

My last hurrah.

Piotr takes out his gun.

“Wait, Igor, hold on.”

“What the fuck are you doing?” Igor blurts out. He clearly did not see this coming.

POP-POP.

Piotr’s head explodes.

I scream as he falls to the ground, limp and bloody. The other two scramble to get their guns out.

POP-POP-POP.

Several more rounds are fired.

“Fuck!” Igor snarls while the rest of his men fall, joining Piotr in cold, quiet death. “Who’s there?”

I’m on my knees, huddled and shaking, praying that none of the bullets hit me. My heart rumbles in my chest, and I hold my breath as time seems to stop. I can almost see the projectile bolting through the cool November air, ripping through a cluster of pine needles, shards of green flying everywhere before it lodges in Igor’s shoulder.

He cries out in sheer agony, falling backward and landing with a heavy thud. The gun skitters away from him.

I hear heavy footsteps approaching. Everything is hazy but I recognize them.

James. Oliver. Roman. They’re clad in their tactical gear, assault rifles with sniper scopes in their hands. They scan the entire area as they approach, searching for me. Behind them stands Lev, unmoving. Watching. His heart breaking. Shadows mar his tired features with disgust, misery, and shame.

“Elise!” I hear James call out for me.

Red and blue lights flash somewhere down the mountain, an ambulance wails.

“Move, move, move!” someone shouts.

Roman points his rifle at Igor, still on the ground. “Don’t even think about it,” he says.

“That’s enough!” Lev raises his voice. “You got your pound of flesh, gentlemen.”

“The road’s too treacherous for the ambulance,” a deputy tells Sheriff Van Pelt. “We’re going to need gurneys to carry the injured down ourselves.”

“Only one injured,” Oliver replies as he checks the pulse on each of Igor’s goons. “These three are dead.”

Igor cries out, unable to move as blood pools around him, seeping through his clothes into the layer of dry leaves and cold dirt beneath him. “You son of a bitch.”

“Be thankful I didn’t kill you,” Roman hisses.

James climbs into the backseat of the car, wrapping me in his strong, comforting arms as I become conscious of what just happened. It didn’t take long for the rest of the cavalry to catch up with us, from what I can tell.

“Thank you for finding me,” I mumble, my head resting on James’s chest. He sits beside me, still holding me close, determined not to let me go.

“You’re okay, you’re going to be okay,” he soothes.

I look up and smile at Roman, then Oliver before turning to look back at James. “I knew that as soon as I saw the three of you.”

“You were whip-smart to turn that earpiece back on,” Roman says. “I doubt we would’ve found you in time otherwise.”

“Ditching Kirby was a crazy, stupid thing to do,” Oliver tells her with a furrowed brow. “But we’ll discuss that later.”

“What matters right now is that she’s alive,” James responds curtly.

Roman scoffs, shaking his head. “And that this asshole is down,” he nods back at Igor, still writhing in pain.

My gaze wanders around, trying to observe every detail of what is becoming an increasingly more crowded scene. Paramedics run up the path with a gurney for Igor and a first-aid kit, while deputies move around securing the perimeter with yellow tape.

How many near misses do I get in a single lifetime?

“How could you do this, son?” Lev asks Igor as his wounds are dressed and his vitals are checked. A needle is inserted into a vein in his hand for the IV and he winces from the discomfort.

“You’re too old fashioned, old man. You’re unfit to lead the Bratva anymore,” Igor addresses his father, groaning. “It was my time.”

“You were never worthy of my throne,” Lev snarls. “You killed good people—Laura and George were my friends, Elise and Michael’s parents. Michael, the boy you so often referred to as your kid brother. You shot and almost killed your sister, my daughter. Igor, do you realize what you have done?”

“I did what I had to do!”

“And I have no choice but to do the same with you as soon as you’re healed.” Lev sighs deeply, watching with glistening eyes as the paramedics transfer Igor onto the gurney and carry him back down the mountain. Two deputies join them, while the sheriff stays behind with the crime scene unit. “Elise. I cannot express how sorry I am,” Lev says as he walks over.

I should feel vindicated, but all I’m carrying right now is grief. Years worth of pain and anguish have built up in my chest. It will take some time to flush it all out of my system.

“How’s Kara?” I ask.

“She’s stable for now,” Lev replies. “Andrei and Michael are with her at the hospital.”

“Which is where you’re going,” James tells me. “We need to get a doctor to look at you, to make sure that you and the baby are both okay.”

I nod slowly as Lev gives me a soft smile. “I just hope you’ll forgive me for letting you down, for not giving you enough reason to trust me,” he says as he approaches.

“He’s your son. I tried talking to all of you. I really did.”

“I know that now,” Lev lowers his gaze in shame. “And I can never repair what I am responsible for breaking, Elise. But the fact remains, you are still my daughter. When we buried George and Laura, I made you a promise, one I intend to keep long after I’m gone and despite the circumstances of this past year.”

“Elise needs some time to figure out how she feels, Lev,” James politely interjects. “Be thankful we respected your wishes. Igor is alive.”

“Dying will feel like the better option by the time I’m done with him,” Lev replies. “What Igor did goes beyond betrayal. It cuts deep for me as a father, but it has also injured the entire family. I have no choice but to punish him.”

“What will happen to him?” I ask Lev.

“You don’t want to know,” he says, shaking his head slowly.

Roman chuckles dryly. “That actually sounds better than me blowing his brains out, I’ll give you that.” He kneels in front of me and plants a kiss on my forehead. “Thank fuck we got to you in time, you reckless, wonderful creature.”

“I’m so sorry. I had to get to Kara. Something just didn’t feel right, and I had to get to the bottom of it.”

“Yes, well, that’s a problem in our family it seems,” Lev says. “Nobody communicates anymore. Igor was doing his thing and Kara was doing hers. I was trying to keep everything else tied together so our enemies wouldn’t catch the scent of blood in the water… it’s all so ridiculous. This could have been avoided.”

“But can you really blame me?” I ask him. “For leaving the way I did?”

Lev thinks about it for a moment. “No. We didn’t give you a good enough reason to stay, to trust us, especially not when my own son was doing what he was doing.”

“Maybe I should’ve fought harder, but family—”

He cuts me off. “You are family, my sweet girl. Whatever Igor told you to deter you from speaking the truth, Elise, put it out of your head. The minute I took you and Michael in, you became my children, my daughter and my son, with as many rights and privileges as my own blood. I never felt any differences between the five of you.”

“You married your adopted daughter to your oldest son,” Oliver grumbles, arms crossed as he oversees the crime scene with hawk-like eyes, one ear glued to our conversation.

“It was my way of securing Elise and Michael’s rights to their inheritance in the event of my passing,” Lev explains. “Had I not done things the way I did, it would’ve been much easier for any one of my nieces and nephews to try and contest the will. There’s only so much that Igor, Kara, or Andrei could’ve done to stop them. My attorneys are good, but my extended family is riddled with greedy hyenas and state lobbyists. I did what I thought was best to keep Elise and Michael safe under the Konstantinov umbrella.”

“I don’t need your money,” I tell him.

“Well I don’t care. You’re pregnant with my grandchildren. No matter what you decide to do next, I will never stop doing right by you, whether you like it or not,” he retorts. “Now, let’s get you to the hospital and make sure you’re okay.”

Despite my lingering pain, it feels nice to know that Lev is still there for me. I know that he is truly grieving over what Igor did. Kara, too, and Michael. The disappointment he must be feeling after having worshipped Igor for so long must be huge. I still feel guilt over what I had to do in order to survive—running away from everyone, including my little brother. I spent a year alone and scared but then again, the universe led me to this place.

To James, Oliver, and Roman.

Other than a spike in my blood pressure due to obvious reasons, I get a clean bill of health at the hospital along with an order for lots of rest and relaxation for the next couple of weeks.

“You’ll need to follow up with your OB/GYN within a couple of weeks to get a regular checkup schedule going,” the doctor tells me.

I’ve been pumped with fluids and vitamins aplenty, and the adrenaline from earlier is finally wearing off. Clarity has returned, and with it a sea of calm and hope for the first time in over a year.

“Oliver and Roman are downstairs giving their official statements to the sheriff,” James tells me. “I should join them soon.”

“You can go now, baby. I’ll be fine on my own,” I tell him.

“There are deputies posted outside your room but call me if you need anything.”

“What for?” I ask, briefly tested by fear. “Igor was caught. Three of his men are dead. The others won’t even think about coming after me, not with Lev determined to clean up the Bratva and settle the score with every traitor in its midst.”

“For our peace of mind,” James replies.

The doctor gives us both a slight nod and steps out. We immediately kiss and hug, James’s embrace enough to soothe my injured soul. To think I might’ve not lived to feel this way again is unfathomable.

“It will please you to know that everyone who played a part in Igor’s scheme will be held accountable,” James says.

“Who else besides Igor and his men?”

“Shauna Selznick.”

“Shauna?” I pause, my mind briefly going back to the flower deliveries. “All she did was refuse to divulge her client’s name.”

James nods slowly. “And it put you in grave danger. I don’t think anything she did is a chargeable offense, but deputies are interviewing her at the station while others are at the flower shop, going through her files. She knew from the moment you asked about the first bouquet that you were worried, yet she kept going, if only to torment you. Instead of going to the authorities and being a decent human being—”

“She kept taking Igor’s flower orders.” I sigh deeply. “Yeah, I suppose it is only fair that she be held accountable. You’re right.”

“If nothing else it will teach her a painful, bitter lesson. I reckon she’ll keep her distance from you, and from us, going forward.”

He kisses me tenderly again, a reassurance of justice and confidence, of love and protection.

“I was scared out of my mind,” he says. “Don’t you ever pull a stunt like that again.”

“I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you. But you do understand why I did it, right? Why I had to do it?”

“Yes, but I don’t have to like it. The risk was too much, Elise.”

“In hindsight, I guess I could’ve—”

“For fuck’s sake, enough with the apology bullshit,” Kara’s voice cuts through the room, startling both James and me.

She sits in the doorway in a wheelchair, looking drained and pale, but there’s still a sparkle in her eyes.

“Kara!” I exclaim, attempting to jump out of bed to hug her but James lovingly holds me back, a light laugh escaping his lips.

“Let’s not forget she was shot. Give her a little space,” he says.

“And some quiet,” Kara mutters. “All this moaning about who did what… enough already. It’s tedious.”

“I’m glad to see you haven’t lost your spunk,” I shoot back, giggling.

“It would take more than a bullet or two to kill me, sister,” she replies, then winces as she moves her arm to the side.

“Thank you for trying to protect Elise,” James says. “I’m sorry for what happened to you in the process, though.”

“I knew Igor would do something desperate one day,” she says and sighs heavily. “I just didn’t think it would involve hurting his own sister.”

“What did the doctors say?” I ask.

“The bullet went through and through. I lost a lot of blood, which is why I feel like I’m slogging through mud,” she says. “But I’ll be okay. Where is my traitorous big brother by the way?”

I shrug slightly. “I don’t know. They arrested him but your father made some kind of arrangement with the sheriff.”

“Which means Igor won’t go to trial,” Kara says. “He’ll get sent to Russia and that’s just deserts. American prison is like a sweet dream compared to what they’ll do to him over there.” She pauses, suddenly aggrieved. “Poor Papa. It must be tearing him apart knowing what he has to do to his own son.”

“What are they going to do to Igor in Russia?” I ask.

James shakes his head. “You really don’t want to know. Seriously, trust me on that.”

“But I do want to know. That bastard damn near killed me more than once.”

“There are privately funded prisons in Siberia,” Kara says. “It’s one of the family secrets you were never privy to because Papa wanted to shield you from it.”

“Okay…”

“It’s where his enemies go,” she adds with a grim look on her face. “Traitors. People he hates enough that a simple execution would be too light a punishment. Death would be mercy for the likes of them. It’ll be the first time that a Konstantinov will be joining the current guests there.”

“Wait, so you’re telling me that Lev privately funds his own gulag in Siberia, where he sends people who pissed off the Bratva? Am I getting that right?”

“Yeah. It isn’t pretty,” Kara says. “American prison is practically akin to the Four Seasons by comparison. Igor will die there, working his ass off for absolutely nothing, not even a piece of bread. Believe me, you really don’t need, or want to know more, but rest assured, it’s a just form of punishment for what he did. To your parents, to you, to all of us.”

James nods in agreement. “It’s also proof that Lev meant what he said. You are family to him, Elise. And he will forsake his own son to keep you safe.”

“You agree with the head of the Russian mob now?” I quip.

“I have met much worse in my previous line of work. Regardless of what Lev does for a living, I’ll admit the man has some principles. If the feds ever get to him, however, I won’t shed a tear for the guy, but hey, life is complicated like that.”

“Oh, I like him,” Kara chuckles, then curses under her breath. “The painkillers are wearing off.”

Michael’s face slowly appears in the doorway, his eyes wide with emotion. “Can I?” he asks.

“Of course,” I say and reach out to him. He pauses for a moment while James and Kara watch in absolute silence.

“It’s okay,” I tell Michael. “I need to hug my little brother if you don’t mind.”

He laughs lightly, trembling as he comes in for a hug. I hold him tight, reveling in the familiarity of his presence. I’m thankful to see that he’s alive and well, and I can’t help but notice he’s even taller than the last time I saw him.

“I hope you’ll forgive me one day,” I whisper.

“I think you’re the one who needs to forgive me,” Michael says as he blinks back tears. “I was so blind, Elise. So fucking blind.”

“Hey, we were all there with you,” Kara reminds him.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Michael tells me. “You are okay, right?”

“Yep. I get to walk out of here today.”

“Unlike me,” Kara grumbles. “They want to keep me overnight, in which case I’ll need more pain meds. I’m never going to sleep otherwise.”

“Andrei went over to the station,” Michael says. “He’ll be in charge of Igor’s transport.”

“Who’s going to take the rap for everything that happened then?” I ask, somewhat confused. “Igor was the mastermind. I would imagine there’s going to be federal involvement eventually.”

Michael shakes his head, giving me a sheepish smile. “Lev made some calls. Friends of his who called friends of theirs, all the way up to the Department of Justice. Long story short—”

“Igor is fucked sideways and no longer a part of the Konstantinov family,” Lev declares as he joins us, holding two flower bouquets. “Roses for my sweet rose, Kara, and lilies for my darling lily, Elise.”

“Thank you, Papa,” Kara swoons softly while I give him a subtle nod and a weak smile.

He sets them on a side table by the window, then comes over to stand between Kara and me, while Michael and James discreetly shift to the other side of my bed. The air seems thicker whenever Lev is present—this is a powerful man, one of the most powerful men in Chicago. His reach crosses state lines as does his influence.

Yet I see him as a wounded father, a lion still licking his wounds.

“How are you both feeling?” Lev asks, his warm gaze bouncing between us.

“She gets to go home today,” Kara says and rolls her eyes. “I get all the fried chicken and bacon fries I want, though, right?”

James chuckles softly. “Pretty sure the cafeteria here doesn’t serve that.”

“You obviously don’t know my sister,” I chuckle. “She’s pretty persuasive.”

Lev holds back a smile. “You two,” he starts, prompting Kara and I to go quiet and meek all of a sudden, “should trust your father a little bit more next time. I promise, I will do a better job of listening from now on.”

“We all let Elise down,” Michael cuts in. “I didn’t believe her either when she tried to tell me that Igor wasn’t the great man I thought he was.”

“You have to admit Igor played his part well,” I say. “I bought into it, too. Once I found the ledger, though…”

“Let us not rehash the past again. I will do my penance soon enough on the matter. As soon as we get back to Chicago, I will have my work cut out for me,” Lev replies. “Elise, I know you’re not even considering it right now, but I want you to know the door is always open. You can always return home. You have my name, legally speaking. Perhaps I should’ve just adopted you and Michael. It might’ve saved us all this trouble.”

“Actually, it might’ve made it worse,” Kara says. “I don’t think we would’ve picked up on what Igor was doing until it was too late. As terrible as this whole thing was, it got the rats out of the cupboards, didn’t it?”

Michael nods in agreement. “It hurts today but it’ll get better tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Lev,” I say with a trembling voice, “but I’ve built a new life in Rustic. I like it here. I’ve got good friends, good men by my side. Chicago holds too many bad memories for me, but it is nice to know I still have family there.”

“Complicated, walking on the wrong side of the law kind of family, but yeah,” James mutters, giving Lev an amused grin.

The old man mirrors his expression then looks at Michael. “Son, I guess it’s time I ask you, would you like to come live here with Elise? Or would you like to continue your own path in Chicago? Whatever you decide, I will respect and support your wishes. No strings attached.”

Now that Igor is forever out of our lives, the threat hanging over Mikey is gone. My brother is free to do whatever he wants, and I’m glad to see Lev being so flexible and kind. Then again, he was never ironclad, not with us, his kids, anyway. It feels as though the fates are finally catching up and putting all the pieces together, back in their places, away from the unnecessary bloodshed and suffering.

“Honestly, I’d like to spend some time with Elise here, if that’s okay,” Mike says, giving me a warm smile. “We have a lot of catching up to do obviously.”

“You’re welcome to stick around for as long as you’d like,” James says. “There’s plenty of room at my house for you as well.”

“I thought you had your own place,” Mike gives me a confused look.

I respond with an awkward smile. “Long story short, some really big cats kicked me out of my place, and I’ve been staying with James and his twin daughters along with his friends while my cabin is being renovated. You’ll love them. They’re super sweet and funny.”

“Wow, it looks like we’ve stumbled into some kind of rom com here,” Kara mutters, half-asleep in her chair from exhaustion and pain, the meds leaving her system. “Elise, you saucy minx.”

“Elise is family,” James says. “We love her deeply.”

Lev nods. “I’m glad to hear that. And I also saw it for myself, the way you and your friends mobilized to keep her safe. I have no doubt that she will be well looked after here.”

“I do want to come back after I spend some time with Elise,” Mike tells Lev. “I want to come back and finish school, then work for you and the family.”

“Are you sure?” I ask my little brother. It makes me feel a tad uneasy, knowing he’d be so deep within the Konstantinov nest.

“Yeah,” he says. “Igor has done so much damage to the family, the same family that has been so good to us. Lev is our dad, whether you want to admit it or not. I do. I see him as my father. I see Kara and Andrei as my siblings. I love them as much as I love you. And I want to help them. I belong there.”

It’s a hard pill to swallow, but Michael is old enough to make his own decisions. Whether they’re the right decisions or not, only time will tell. But I do know that Lev would never intentionally put him in harm’s way. I’ve got a feeling that Kara and Andrei will look out for him, making sure he sticks to the safer side of operations.

“Whatever you decide, kiddo, I support you,” I say. “I always have.”

The words roll off my tongue with greater ease than I had originally anticipated.