Chapter 24
LYAH
I ’ve learned more about my husband and what motivates him in the past hour than I have in the last three years.
But holding him while he struggles not to fall apart in my arms takes surreal to new limits.
It’s enough to have me wondering if I’m dreaming and the effects of the drugs and concussion are still affecting me.
Except Niko’s welcome presence is wrapped around me. The hard planes of his body solid under my fingers.
"I know I've been detached, but it's because I'm terrified, Lyah. Terrified of losing you, of losing our child. The thought of anything happening to either of you..." He trails off, like he’s unable to voice the horror he imagines.
I bring my hand up to cup his cheek, wanting nothing more than to soothe his nightmares. I notice he’s taken to calling me Lyah, when in all the years of our marriage he’s refused to. It’s a sign he’s softening.
“And yet, despite that, it almost happened anyway.” His voice sounds almost tortured at the admittance.
I swallow hard, feeling the weight of his words.
The fear in his eyes is palpable, and for the first time, I truly understand the burden he carries.
"Niko," I say softly, my thumb rubbing his cheek in a way I never would have dared in the past. "I'm here.
I'm safe. We both are." I guide his hand to my belly, letting him feel the slight swell where our child is kicking.
His breath catches and he looks awed as he drops to his knees in front of me, pushing my clothing aside so he can press a sweet kiss to my baby bump. “I’ll protect you with my dying breath,” he vows, his voice thick with emotion. "Both of you. No matter what.”
He raises uncharacteristically vulnerable eyes to mine as I run my fingers through his hair, savoring this tender moment. I know we still have a lot to discuss, but for the first time I feel real hope.
"Niko, I need to tell you something," I say gently. "About my marriage to Zack Kincaid."
He tenses beneath my touch but doesn't pull away. "What is it?" he asks, rising to his feet, his tone wary.
I take a deep breath. "It's been annulled. Legally, it's as if it never happened."
Niko's head snaps up, his eyes searching mine. "What? How?"
"When you threw me out, I went to find him. I wanted to try and make things right,” I admit, biting my bottom lip at the lingering hurt.
“Zack… has a lot of influence. Like you always say, money talks, and he was able to have the marriage effectively voided, as though it had never happened.
The paperwork has all been signed and documented, and the lawyer I spoke to assured me this means my current marriage - our marriage - is legal. "
I watch as understanding and disbelief war on Niko's face, followed quickly by relief. But then his brow furrows.
"Why didn't you tell me this before?" he asks, almost breathless.
I quirk an eyebrow at him. “You didn’t exactly give me a lot of opportunity. And besides,” I drop my gaze from his, choosing my words carefully. "I wasn't sure how you'd react, or if it would even matter to you.”
His face scrunches like he’s in pain, but then he looks at me, his expression determined as he sweeps me into his arms, bridal style, and sits down on the only clear part of the couch, settling me on his knee.
“That ends now,” he states, his tone brooking no argument.
“I’ve been an asshole, I know, but now we’re talking through all this.
Starting with why you thought it wouldn't matter to me," Niko says, his eyes intense as they search mine.
"Did you really believe I wouldn't care? "
I sigh, resting my head against his shoulder and reveling in this normally forbidden closeness.
"Honestly? You've been so distant, so cold, and then you were so angry. You told me to leave; told me you were done with me…” I trail off, struggling to put my feelings into words.
"I thought maybe you'd see it as a convenient way out.
That you could wash your hands of me, of us, without any legal complications. "
Niko's arms tighten around me. “Never," he growls, his tone fierce. "What I said that night…” His voice catches, and he clears his throat. “I never meant for you to leave the safety of this compound. I just needed you out of my sight, because I was so damn angry…”
I search his face, and I believe him, I really do.
"I could never just wash my hands of you, Lyah.
You're my wife, the mother of my child. You're..." he pauses, seeming to struggle with the words.
"You're everything.” His admission sends a shiver through me.
I've longed to hear those words for so long, but now that I have, I'm not sure how to respond.
"I know I haven't shown it," Niko continues, his fingers tracing gentle patterns on my arm. "But you mean more to me than I ever thought possible. Losing you made me realize…”
He takes a breath, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look so vulnerable. “I love you, Lyah. I didn’t plan to, and I know that makes me sound like a dick, but it happened anyway.”
Happiness bursts inside my chest like fireworks. My heart soars at his words, a warmth spreading through me that I've never felt before. I cup his face in my hands, searching his eyes. "I love you too, Niko. I have for so long."
His lips crash into mine, the kiss desperate and hungry. When we finally break apart, both breathless, I can see the conflict in his eyes.
"I want to give you and our child the life you deserve," he says softly. "But I don't know if I can. This world I'm in, it's dangerous. Unpredictable."
I shake my head. “I know what this life entails, Niko. I don’t need false promises. I just need you. And I need you to be honest with me. To tell me your fears. To warn me if danger lurks on our doorstep. To treat me with respect, like a partner, not a possession. Can you do that?"
Niko's eyes search mine, his expression intense. "I can try," he says softly. "It won't happen overnight. I've spent so long keeping everyone at arm's length, building walls, I’ve become set in my ways. But for you and our child, I'll try my best."
I nod, the love I feel for this man overflowing. "That's all I ask. We'll figure it out together, and I’ll kick your ass if it looks like you’re slipping back into old habits," I tease, lightening the mood.
Niko chuckles, a rare sound that makes my heart skip. "I have no doubt you will," he says, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “I like this version of you.”
“I’m glad, because there’s no way I’m going back to the meek, submissive wife I used to be," I declare, my tone firm but playful.
Niko's eyes darken with desire. "Good. I prefer this fiery version of you.”
His hands roam my body as he captures my lips in another searing kiss. As much as I want to melt into him, I know we need to address everything else, so I pull back before things get out of hand.
Reluctantly, he allows it, and we sit in comfortable silence for a moment, both processing the monumental shift in our relationship.
Finally, he speaks again, his body tensing beneath me and his voice tight. “I know I should have asked this sooner, but what happened to cause you to be flailing around in the everglades with the concussion the doctor says you have?”
I take a deep breath, steeling myself to recount the harrowing experience.
“I was in Miami after meeting with Zack on a nearby island.” I shake my head, trying to think back.
“Honestly, I’m normally pretty self-aware, but I never got the impression I was being watched or followed…
although I guess I was a little preoccupied with everything going on. ”
His arms tighten around me like he’s trying to keep me safe even though the danger has already passed. “I left the Miami Seaplane Base without any clear idea about where I was going or what I was going to do, so I was… distracted.”
His lips thin and for a moment I think he’s going to berate me. “This is my fault,” he says instead, surprising me. “You should never have been unprotected.”
“Stop,” I tell him, pressing my finger against his lips. “It happened. Laying blame doesn’t change that, so let’s just move past it.”
He nips at my fingertip, and I know he really is trying. Niko never would have done something like that before.
He pauses a moment then nods for me to continue.
“It was all so busy and chaotic, and I ended up in a quiet street, then a van pulled up and they were on me before I even realized what was going on. I tried to keep my wits about me. To do all the things that have been drummed into me over the years, but they chloroformed me, so I was out of it, and I banged my head when they threw me in the van.”
I can feel the anger vibrating through him, but he stays quiet so I can continue.
“I got lucky,” I explain, silently acknowledging just how lucky. “I was using a burner phone, so I deleted a lot of things from my iPhone.”
He doesn’t ask why, and I’m grateful for that.
“I had it in my hand when they snatched me, and because there wasn’t anything tying me to you or the organization on there, they believed me when I told them they had the wrong person. That and the fact I had the marriage certificate to Zack in my bag and all my ID was in my maiden name.”
Niko is quiet for a long while and doesn’t ask the barrage of questions I expect.
"I'm sorry you had to go through that," he says softly, his fingers gently tracing the fading bruise on my temple. "But I'm proud of how you handled it. You kept your wits about you even in a terrifying situation."
Not what I expected him to lead with.
“I managed to keep my burner concealed.” Yay for dresses with pockets. No man expects that. “I knew they were going to leave me there, but they wanted it to look like I’d wandered into the swamp, gotten lost, and died of natural causes.”
I swallow around the lump in my throat. Why does discussing it make it seem so much more real?
“My plan was to call someone on the burner as soon as they left. Then you turned up, but… I thought they’d come back, so I ran.”
“Do you have any idea who they were?” Niko asks and I can tell from his tone he’s struggling to keep his temper under control. Not that it’s a problem; I know it’s not aimed at me.
I try to wipe away the emotions and think about it clinically. “They were careful not to use names or give anything away. They seemed professional, well-organized; not some random thugs."
I close my eyes and think back. “The van was black, nondescript. There were four men in it. Two in the back with me. Two in the front. They spoke with Eastern European accents, but not one I recognized.”
Pausing to take a breath, I clarify my recollections.
“There was a fifth man at the cabin. He was in charge, but I didn’t see much because they put a sack over my head.
He said he got a tip-off from someone to be on the lookout for me.
He used the word kuchka to describe them, which implies a small group. ”
“Or bitch in Bulgarian.”
Huh, I hadn’t considered that, since I recognized the word. But he’s right, they weren’t speaking Russian, which my mother taught me as a child, or Ukrainian which I’ve picked up from Niko during our marriage since both languages evolved from Old East Slavic. Not that any of it helps us at all.
Niko's jaw clenches. "I'll find out who did this," he vows, his voice low and dangerous. “I’ll find out who dared betray me by leaking that you were out there on your own without the benefit of my protection.”
“There’s one more thing I remember, but I have no idea if it’s relevant. One of the men in the van had a tattoo on the inside of his wrist.”
Niko is suddenly alert, his body tense beneath me. "What did the tattoo look like?" he asks urgently.
I furrow my brow, trying to recall the details. "It was small, maybe only an inch across. I only saw it for a second. An insect of some kind, I think…”
He sucks in a breath.
“Oh!” I exclaim, remembering another small detail. “It was red.”
Niko’s snarl makes me jump, though his hands remain gentle.
“Fuck!”