EPILOGUE - SERA
One month later
Snow swirls around me as I stand on the balcony overlooking the drive.
Below, Alik is in a heated discussion with his father, the older Valentin growling something at his son before getting into the waiting SUV.
He slams the door. Snow trembles, sliding off the roof and hitting the windshield before getting obliterated by a flick of the wipers.
A hand juts out from the driver’s side, giving Alik a quick wave.
Ruri, the younger Valentin brother, drew the short straw and has to drive their father to the airstrip where their private plane is waiting.
Now that Rina is back home and laid to rest, the previous pakhan is retiring.
Not a minute too soon, either. The tension between Alik and his father has been seismic since we returned with Rina’s body.
Konstantin Valentin is cold and cruel, just as Alik described. They barely interact unless it’s required, and even then, every conversation sounds like hand-to-hand combat.
Even so, ever since Alik returned to take his place at the head of the family, I’ve caught the old man looking at his son with something like pride.
Konstantin is never going to win the Father of the Year award, and he’s as combative as they come, but he does actually seem pleased that Alik has claimed the position of pakhan.
Alik doesn’t agree. Konstantin has done nothing but curse and complain since his heir-apparent informed the old man it’s time to retire.
But I pointed out that, no matter how much shit his father has given him, he did pack his stuff and agree to leave.
Even now, he’s headed somewhere warm and sunny and far, far away from us.
As of today, Alik is the official pakhan of the Valentin Bratva. We’ve spent the last month discussing what that means for him, for me. For us.
There is most definitely an us.
After the day Renzo, Shkodra, and Martina died, we both decided that we’d rather figure out our futures together than not have one as a couple.
I’m still wary of being a bratva queen, and Alik is still anxious about me finding my own path in the world, especially since I’m determined to get a degree.
But we’ve agreed to take everything one step at a time and figure it out as we go, the two of us.
Having a younger brother to boss around has certainly helped.
The only plans we’ve made involve us traveling around the world for the next year.
In part so Alik can check in on various business holdings, but also so we can spend some quality time together in places I’ve only ever seen on a map.
For someone who’s been locked in one city her whole life, I couldn’t be more excited.
Ruri, on the other hand, has been ordered back to Chicago to finish dismantling what’s left of the sex trafficking ring with Gio Marchetti.
Alik is sending him as soon the brothers are sure their father has left Russian air space.
I can’t imagine the ‘Ndrangheta boss will be thrilled to have another Russian to deal with, but they’ll just have to learn to play nice.
Back on the drive, Alik watches the SUV tear off. I tighten my coat around my chest, watching flakes dissolve on his sweater and wondering how he can be so impervious to the frigid temperatures. The cabin where we’re staying is gorgeous, but, damn, I’ve never been anywhere so cold in my life.
I say cabin. It’s more like the most luxurious chalet I’ve ever seen—in person or otherwise—with exposed wooden beams and fireplaces galore and so many blankets for snuggling under at the end of the day.
For miles around, there’s nothing but trees and snow.
It’s peaceful. Quiet. And absolutely freezing.
I shiver, despite being bundled up. Like he can sense me, Alik turns and looks up, concern shadowing his face. He points at the doors behind me. I roll my eyes at him.
He frowns. I laugh, giving him a cheerful wave before going inside.
I’ve only just managed to strip off my hat and gloves when he comes into our room, that adorable frown still pulling at his mouth.
“I told you to wait inside.” He crosses the spacious room in a few strides.
He cups my hands in his, lifts them to his mouth and blows.
His breath sends warmth snaking between my fingers and down my arms. “You didn’t need to be out there in the freezing cold. ”
“Yes, I did.”
Alik shakes his head and unzips my coat, helping me take it off. “I was fine, moya voitelnitsa. You didn’t need to help wave the old bastard off.”
“I wanted to.”
“Don’t lie,” he says with a grin. “You wanted to make sure I didn’t kill him and bury his body in the woods.”
“Maybe,” I answer with a laugh. “That would’ve taken too long and you told me you have a surprise waiting for me. I was getting impatient.”
His grin dims, a subtle tension infusing his shoulders. “I did say that, didn’t I?”
I give his chest a playful slap. “Uh-uh. No changing your mind now. You can’t go back on your word when a surprise is involved. Especially when it’s a good surprise. I haven’t had a lot of those. I’d like to know what they feel like.”
Alik’s gaze flicks nervously to mine and my nerves start to rattle.
“It is a good surprise, right?”
“Yes,” he says quietly. “I think so.”
“Then, what are we waiting for?”
Alik’s murmur is noncommittal, but his hand is cool and strong when he grips mine, no hesitation as he leads me through the upper level of the chalet and down to the ground floor.
The only time he pauses is when we get to the Great Room.
The enormous oak doors, which are usually open to highlight the view from the picture windows, are closed.
In the two weeks we’ve been here, I’ve never once seen them shut.
“So…” Alik’s expression is split between nervousness and excitement, but it’s the intensity in his eyes that has my heart tripping.
We’re standing in front of the closed doors, both of my hands secure in his.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about all the things you missed during your captivity.
Your family took so much from you. Some of it you’ll never get back.
Some of it we’ll do everything we can to make up for—”
“Like going to college.”
“Like going to college,” he agrees. “And the job and the apartment and the car. We’ll tackle all the minutia of regular life that you want, Sera. Once we’re back from our travels, you can slog through as many of the mundane aspects of adulthood that you like. I promise I won’t stop you.”
I know it costs him a lot to say that. Alik wants to take care of me, meaning he wants to take care of everything.
My bank account, my apartment lease, my car—which would be driven by his driver.
It all comes from a place of love, I know that, but I’ve explained repeatedly that while helping each other is an integral part of our relationship, there are some things I need to figure out on my own. With him by my side, of course.
“But I’ve been thinking about the smaller things, too,” Alik continues. “The celebrations and little joys that can make everyday life really enjoyable.”
I think back to the last real celebration I had—the party my friends and I threw for our high school graduation. It feels like a lifetime ago. “Like graduations,” I say. “And birthdays and holidays, that sort of thing?”
“Exactly that sort of thing, rodnaya. I hate that you’ve missed so much, so I wanted to do what I could to give a little of it back.”
Alik gives my hands a squeeze before covering my eyes with one broad palm. I shudder as darkness descends but relax when Alik pulls my back flush against his chest. “Trust me,” he whispers against my ear. And I do, with everything I’ve got.
I hear the click as he unlatches the doors in front of us. Feel the air shift as they swing open. Inhale sharply when the scent of pine dances in front of me.
“Come.” Alik nudges me forward, guiding me into the room as he keeps my eyes covered. “Your surprise is waiting.”
The scent of pine gets stronger the deeper into the room we get. It’s fresh and bright and I’m hit by a wave of giddiness so strong I can’t stop my toes from wiggling inside my shearling-lined slippers.
After another breathless minute Alik says, “Ready?”
I am—I’m not—I have no idea, but I nod. Alik uncovers my eyes. I blink, first because it’s bright, and even more because I can hardly believe that what I’m seeing is real.
Alik has turned the Great Room into a Christmas wonderland.
Fresh garlands and twinkle lights crown every window and are draped decadently across the mantel of the fireplace that dominates one wall of the room.
A fire roars within it, sending a soft glow across the shiny silver and gold baubles tucked into the greenery.
Winter arrangements of green holly, red berries, and white roses overflow from vases scattered around the room. Candles flicker from every flat surface, guarded by finely painted Nutcrackers, each one a work of art.
But the real centerpiece, the thing that makes me gasp, is the twenty-foot tree in the middle of the room.
It’s full and lush and a verdant green, stretching so high it almost skims the vaulted ceiling.
What looks like tens of thousands of lights glimmer from within the branches, refracted across the most elegant array of ornaments I’ve ever seen.
I have to tip my head almost entirely back to see the star perched at the very top, tears blurring my vision as the beauty of the room overwhelms me.
“Oh, Alik… It’s…” I pause. Alik stays silent behind me as I search for the right words. “They’re the most beautiful decorations I’ve ever seen.”
He wraps his arms around my stomach, hugs me close. “You like it?”
“I love it. But—it’s March, not December. What’s it all doing here?”
“It’s for you, moya voitelnitsa. Your family took Christmas from you this year. I’m just giving it back.”