Epilogue
SIX MONTHS LATER
BIANCA
“Holy shit, you’re a married woman!” Kira exclaims, wrapping me up in a big bear hug. “I mean, married again. Like for real this time.” She laughs, tripping over her words.
“I can’t believe it either,” I say, looking out over the crowd of people assembled in our penthouse.
An hour ago, we’d exchanged vows at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and now it’s party time.
Eris is even dressed in a little tiara, her tail wagging, as Daniil makes his rounds at the party, dog tucked under his big arm.
Our little fluff ball of chaos is no longer that.
After I admitted Eris’s original purpose to Daniil, he insisted we hire the best dog trainer in the country to work with her one-on-one.
And while she still has a little bit of naughty implanted in her DNA, she’s actually quite sweet, and for a man who’s allergic to dogs, he’s as bonded to her as I am.
As if he can sense my thoughts from across the room, Daniil looks over at me and winks. There is so much promise in that gesture. A promise of what’s to come as soon as we have a moment alone, which I’m guessing won’t be until we board our plane to Tahiti for our honeymoon.
I can’t believe I married my best friend, the person who matters most to me in this world.
As he stood across from me on the altar reciting his vows that we wrote together, promising to be my everything, my family, emotion heavy in his voice, the truth of his settled in my bones.
There was barely a dry eye in the crowd, perhaps the first time some of these vory had ever cried.
And I cried, too. Tears of sadness for the family I lost and tears of joy for everything I’ve gained. I have a new family now, a real one that loves and cares for me despite everything I did. If they understand one thing, the Kozlovs understand the need for vengeance.
I got mine. We all did.
“Girl, you look amazing,” Rowan says, holding my hands out to get a better look at my Vera Wang dress, sweeping me up in her tiny arms. I giggle. The women surrounding me now—Georgia, Kira, Alyona, and Rowan—are not only my family, they’ve also become close friends.
“I literally couldn’t stop crying.” Georgia dabs at her eyes. “Oh fuck, here I go again.” A fresh wave of tears falls down her face.
“Jeez, you're awfully emotional these days,” Alyona notes. “You cried through the entire Top Gun reboot. Seriously, what's going on?”
Georgia looks like a deer in headlights, and then smiles softly. Her eyes drift down to her flat belly.
Oh. OH. That’s what’s going on.
All four of us crowd around her in an enthusiastic group hug. “Congrats, this is incredible news!” I squeal.
“It is,” she admits, “but maybe keep it quiet for now. Andrei doesn’t know yet. I’m going to tell him tonight.”
Kira slashes her hand across her mouth. “Lips sealed.” And then her eyes glaze with emotion. “I am going to be an aunt.” She looks at Georgia as if she can hardly believe it. “And you’re going to be a mom!”
“Shit.” Georgia’s face pales. “I have no idea what I’m doing.”
“You’re going to be great,” I say, squeezing Georgia’s arm. “You’re the most nurturing person I know.”
“And you’ll have all of us to help,” Rowan adds, beaming. “I am going to spoil the shit out of this little one.” Rowan elbows her sister-in-law as Alyona looks off into the distance.
My gaze follows hers to find Leo standing in the corner, nursing a drink, returning Alyona’s broody gaze.
“Aren’t you excited?” Rowan insists. “We get to shop for adorable baby clothes!”
Alyona flashes Georgia a soft smile. “Of course I’m happy,” she says, “I can’t wait to meet this baby.
” But a second later, her focus is diverted back to Leo.
I haven’t seen them exchange a word, just moody glances.
Apparently these two have history. Whatever went on between them, they clearly have unfinished business.
I’m about to tell her that when a soft hand on my shoulder has me turning and staring into the eyes of Deidre.
What!? A federal agent is at my wedding?
A pit forms at the bottom of my stomach as I excuse myself from the group, and pull Deidre aside, frantically scanning the space for SWAT team or something equally messed up.
“Relax,” she chides. “I come in peace.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I’m here to offer my congratulations. Nothing more.”
At that moment, Daniil’s comforting presence settles beside me, his arm moving protectively around my shoulders.
“Deidre.” Daniil tips his chin in greeting. He must have invited her or there’s no way she would be standing before me right now with the amount of security we have everywhere. I tilt my head at Daniil, silently asking what she’s doing here, but he just smiles and kisses my head.
The truth is, the FBI has nothing on the Kozlovs.
The information Daniil had me feed Deidre in our final meeting was not incriminating, in fact, it proved that the Kozlovs have solid legal businesses.
Not that Daniil made it easy for them—he made sure the FBI chased their tail before realizing they had nothing.
With my uncle out of the way, the Kozlovs delivered proof to the feds that the Zegas were a danger to Americans. The authorities took the peace offering that the Kozlovs gave them and walked away without further questions. They had been bested.
Deidre swallows heavily and takes a sip from the champagne flute in her hand.
“I owe you an apology, Bianca. I wish I had pushed harder to get the Bureau to pursue your uncle when he was alive. I always believed you. I know he was a monster and …” She shakes her head, dismayed.
“Well, what’s done is done, but I want you to know I’m not with the Bureau anymore.
After all of this, I realized it’s time for me to move on. ”
I look away for a moment, needing to process her words.
I’m not sure how I feel about Deidre’s apology.
Triumphant on one hand, but also bitter that I was put through hell and back all in the name of vindicating my family.
But Deidre can’t wear the blame all on her own.
We all serve the people above us, and I understand there were other factors at play.
So I offer her a smile, and tell her, “I forgive you.”
Daniil looks a little less forgiving, but he’s protective of me, and I understand why.
“Well, you certainly make a beautiful couple,” Deidre remarks, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “After all you’ve been through, you two deserve happiness.”
“Thank you,” Daniil says plainly.
“My door is always open to you.” Deidre nods, before turning on her flats and disappearing in the crowd.
“Well, that was unexpected,” I say, as Daniil loops his arms around my waist and pulls me in tight to his side.
“Not for me it wasn’t. You deserved that apology. It was a long time coming,” he murmurs, kissing the side of my neck.
“Thank you,” I say, looking up at him. His gaze searches mine, flickering with dry amusement.
“Thank me after I fuck you six ways to Sunday.” His voice is black silk, a promise of what’s to come.
He quickly scans the room, and then smiles down at me.
“Speaking of which …” He practically drags me down the hall to his office.
The office I now have free access to. Closing the door behind us, he wastes no time hoisting me onto his desk and settling himself between my legs.
“A quickie,” he explains, as if it wasn’t clear.
“Luckily, I came prepared,” I boast, and gather the hem of my dress, flashing him my bare pussy. I figured panties would only get in the way today.
“Shit.” His pants are lowered so quickly, you’d think they were on fire. “I need to be inside you right now.”
He holds the nape of my neck as he lines himself up between my legs, and in one wicked thrust, buries himself inside of me. My eyes roll back in my head.
As usual, I am blown away by the intensity of our bond.
It must be illegal in some states for sex to be this good, because this connection between us, it’s like fire and oil, one only fuels the other.
I spread my legs wider and tilt my body back in order to take him deeper.
To savor every minute that we have alone together, wrapped up in each other.
With a groan, he brings his hand up to cup my cheek, staring intensely into my eyes.
“I love you,” he groans, brushing his thumb over my throbbing clit.
I can already feel him swelling inside of me, on the verge of release.
“And I can’t wait to make you swell with my babies.
” At that, he pounds into me one final time before filling me with his hot cum.
My back buckles at the unexpected sensation, and with one more flick of my clit, my orgasm crests, consuming my body like a raging fire.
He collapses forward, holding me against him. “I love you, too,” I murmur against his neck, drinking in his scent. I’ll never get sick of this—his touch, his smell, his Daniil-ness. “But hold on, partner, I’m not quite ready for those babies.”
He laughs and kisses my neck.
We didn’t only exchange vows today, we made a pact.
No more lies between us, no more secrets moving forward.
And that includes freezing me out of bratva business.
Daniil admitted that Jorge had been fucking with him from the moment we got married.
It’s not a surprise to me, but from now on, we’ve agreed to be truthful with each other, no matter how much it hurts or how much worry it may cause.
We’re building a life together—a real one—and for it to work, there’s no more room for deception.
I’ve decided to go back to school and study business management.
Observing Daniil in his element, crunching numbers and making strategic business decisions, is honestly one of my favorite things.
When I graduate, I’ll work for the Kozlovs on the legitimate side of the empire.
What feels like forever ago, I tried to convince Daniil to give me a job working for him—of course I had ulterior motives then.
Now, I want to do good work that has meaning.
And that’s why, with the family’s blessing and Kira and Georgia’s assistance, I will spearhead the creation of the Kozlov Foundation.
This fund will help women leaving abusive relationships get back on their feet.
Maybe this will balance out some of the brotherhood’s sins.
My husband is bratva, and I’ve learned to make peace with it since he’s nothing like my uncle or Jorge. He’s a good person who sometimes does bad deeds.
But the world is not black and white. It’s gray, and I can live with the in-between if it means I get to sleep next to and wake up beside this man. This man who risked life and limb to rescue me and would do it all over again in a heartbeat.
He is my family now.
My guiding light.
My everything worth living for.
Thank you so much for reading Cruel Deception!