Epilogue
LUCIA
I ’ve never seen a more beautiful Vegas sunset.
I stare at it through the glass back door of Mila’s and Vitaly’s lake house. Every time I catch my reflection in the glass, I feel a source of vanity that makes my face blush, so now I try not to pay attention. But I have to admit, I really do look good in a wedding dress.
This is the second one I’ve worn in the last two weeks, and if Luka doesn’t hurry, it’ll be for nothing. The sun is setting quickly. I suppose we could have a wedding in the dark, though the lights are all by the house where the reception will be. The wedding is taking place down at the lake. If I squint, I can see everyone there waiting for us. Everyone except the person Luka really wants there.
When Mila steps into the kitchen, I turn to her and force a smile.
Her jaw drops. “Is he still not ready? Does he not get it’s the bride we’re supposed to be waiting on, not the groom?”
“Maybe he’s getting cold feet,” I tease with a shrug.
Mila snorts and comes to stand beside me. Even irritated, she looks radiant in her red dress with red lips to match.
“Pretty sure you can only get cold feet at your first wedding. Fuck, I really wanted to blow your father’s shindig out of the water, but we’re gonna have to take flashlights out there if he doesn’t hurry up. Whose idea was it to do this thing at sunset?”
“Yours. Definitely yours.”
Mila looks up at the ceiling and blows out a breath.
“Mila, it’s fine. We’re already married.”
“Not in my family’s eyes,” she says, real worry filtering into her voice.
By “family,” she means her mother. Leo isn’t coming. He does seem to be doing okay if Mila is to be believed, but understandably, he isn’t speaking to Luka. Even if he was coming, though, Mila would still only be talking about her mother.
In the three months that we’ve been back, Mila and I have grown close, and frankly, she’s been a godsend. She helped plan this entire wedding, plus took me dress shopping for the wedding we had in Mexico and went to it despite the obvious discomfort she must’ve felt being around my family. She and Vitaly have been incredible.
Her mother, however, is still her mother. We’ve seen her once since getting back to Vegas, and it was as strained and tense an interaction as I could have imagined. I’m almost glad for it with how cold my father is to Luka. It’s safe to say our parents are not our biggest supporters… Yet. Maybe someday they’ll come around. But if not, our siblings are truly the only family we need anyway.
Well … almost .
I sigh and look toward the hall as if Luka will appear, but I know he won’t. Not yet.
“I’m just going to check on him.” I start toward the hall.
“What?” Mila asks, following my gaze as if I could be talking about anyone else. “You can’t. You’re in your dress.”
I look back at her. “It’s fine. I’ll tell him to close his eyes.” She starts to say something, but I leave before it can register and find the guest room assigned for him to get ready in. I give the door a gentle knock before opening it.
Luka has his phone pressed to his ear, but after a pause, he yanks it down and redials. He brings it to his ear and tries to smile at me, but it’s so forced that it looks sad.
“Hey, Peach. I’m just going to be another minute, all right? I promise. I’ll be right there.”
I frown. “Still no luck?”
He shakes his head and lowers his phone, redials, then puts it to his ear. I go to him and place my hand on his wrist. At my touch, he lowers the phone.
“I love you. You know that, right?” I ask, running my hands up his arm then over his chest.
He forces a chuckle. “Well, we’re here, aren’t we?”
“Right. And I’ve known you, what, four months ? Arseni has loved you for years. That doesn’t just go away. Even if he isn’t here today, he’ll come around. You have to give him space … and time.”
“It’s been three months.”
“You don’t get to decide how long someone hurts. Whether it’s three days, three months, or three years , you don’t get to tell him when it’s been long enough.”
Luka pauses for several seconds, as if considering it, but finally, he nods. “You’re right… I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. I love you… Now let me marry you again.”
He smiles tightly and kisses me on the lips, a mistake considering how much lipstick I’m wearing. When he pulls away, I rub the maroon color off his lips and press myself against him.
He’s happy. I know he’s happy. He laughs more than I ever would’ve thought capable, and not just when he’s being cruel. He fucks me with passion that he swears he never knew possible until me.
And when we lay tangled together at night, he jokes with me, he talks to me, and sometimes, he tells me all his deepest fears, his darkest secrets. It’s those times when I feel closest to him. When I feel like he’s my best friend, and I’m his closest confidant. He is my exhilarating high, and I am his safe place.
But it’s also these times that I feel the pain of his loss, and I see no matter how good of a friend I am to him, no matter how much teasing I tolerate or sometimes enjoy… I’ll never be Arseni. I’ll never be his best friend the same way he is mine.
I didn’t think I would be capable of missing the slimy, psychopathic bastard, but for my husband’s sake, I wish he’d come around. Even if it’s just for this wedding. Sometimes I even wish Luka and Arseni were still guards just so the two men would be forced to be in the same vicinity. Vitaly has taken Luka under his wing these last few months while Nikita, the previous Pakhan, seems to have needed Arseni more and more. At Arseni’s request, I’m sure. It’s created an even greater rift between his and Luka’s worlds.
Luka leaves the house to head for the lake as the sky darkens, and I wait another few minutes before I follow after.
I smile at two of my sisters, free from the compound for a short while, as I walk the aisle on red colored rose petals. I’m happy they get to be away, if for only a day. I’m not sure if me leaving softened my father or made him even more protective of my sisters. But he let the eldest two come, knowing it means the world to me.
As my feet kick up a pedal that kisses my toes, I wonder if the flowers came from the infamous garden. I wish I could’ve shown it to Maria, my botany-loving sister. I almost asked if we could hold the wedding there, but it felt too awkward to broach the subject. Mila has done an incredible job here anyway. I can feel her love in every detail, every ribbon-adorned chair, every flower filling the arch.
When I step up to Luka, I take his hand and smile as the minister begins his speech. My smile slips as I spot people in the distance walking this way. I move my gaze to them, and even from here, even with the darkening sky, I can tell one of the men is Arseni. He walks with a bounce in his step, a sharp contrast to the man next to him walking with a cane.
I take in a low gasp and smile, which turns Luka’s gaze that way as well. I wait for the happiness to enter his expression as the two men approach the last row of chairs and sit. But it doesn’t come. Instead, his eyes narrow.
The mystery man is soon identified as those seated turn in their chairs to peek. Low murmurs catch my ears, Nikita’s name reaching me.
So this is the infamous Nikita.
He sits beside Arseni at the end of the row with a clear shot of me, his cane leaned against him. He looks too young to need a cane, though it could just be the lighting making me think that. Still, I assumed Vitaly’s uncle would look decrepit with the way he’s talked about.
I fix my gaze on Luka and clear my throat to get his eyes back on me. We repeat different versions of words we’ve already said and pretend, for his mother’s sake, that this is the first time.
When the minister pronounces us, and Luka kisses me, it isn’t the first time for that either. Cheers erupt as he dips me, his lips melded against mine, and I smile so big that a laugh rumbles along with it.
This isn’t the first kiss, and it certainly won’t be our last.
In fact, we’re just getting started.
Thank you so much for your interest in Luka! I hope you’ve enjoyed his and Lucia’s story as well as the introduction to my favorite bromance! I had no idea what fun I would have with Luka and Arseni during the plotting stage, but I wasn’t halfway finished when I knew Arseni’s book would have to be next.
ARSENI ’s book features himself as the hero and his former foster mother, Margot, as the heroine. He was mean to Lucia, I know. I wish I could say he was nicer to Margot, but after a lifetime of abandonment, Luka’s betrayal has pushed him over the edge. When he stumbles across a foster mother who kicked him to the curb long ago, he decides to get revenge.
And he does. Ohhhh he does. But honestly… She kind of loves it.
TROPES/TRIGGERS:
Captor/captive, N0n-c0n, She’s Older Age-gap, Mafia Romance, He Has Competition, Predatory Behavior/Fantasies, Graphic violence and gore, Abuse
TEASER:
“Arseni, stop, please . I don’t want this.”
His fingers weave through my hair to yank me upright. He pulls my back against his chest while his cock grinds inside of me.
“I want you to listen carefully, Margot. Try to pay attention.” I close my eyes as he pinches my nipple. He lets go of my hair to wrap his arm around my throat, pinning me to him. When he speaks next, he does so with such a lack of compassion that I wince at his tone.
“I do not give a fuck what you want. This cunt…” His hand burns its way down until it’s between my legs. He spreads my hood to tap his finger directly against my clit. I arch my hips, trying to get away but just increase the pressure. “This cunt is mine . From this moment forward, every time your striped-suit-wearing pussy of a boyfriend touches you, you’re gonna think of me. Every time you close your eyes in this bed, you’re going to wonder if I’ll wake you up with my finger inside you.” His teeth graze my ear, sending a shiver across my neck. My shoulders bunch in response.
“One day you might forget about me, but just know… That’s the day I’ll be back.”