30. Epilogue
EPILOGUE
DEMIN
Once Isabela's asleep and I'm sure she'll stay that way, I leave Danya sitting with her and head down to the basement to see her father, since it's something I should have done weeks ago. I've put off long enough that any more waiting would only make me a monster.
Octavio looks up from his bench when the door opens, setting down the glass tubing in his hands, and he doesn't bother to stand, only watches me cross the room with that careful, unblinking stare.
He's learned not to turn his back on anything and that cooking is his only value in life anymore.
I can't believe he's working after everything that happened tonight.
"You're still breathing," he says. "I thought maybe tonight was finally the night that somebody managed to finish you off." I appreciate the humor, scoffing as he offers a wry smile and then nods.
"Someone made the attempt and it didn't take, though it wasn't for any lack of effort on their part," I tell him as I drag the second stool over and lower myself onto it.
He studies me for a long moment, then he asks, "And my daughter? After all of it, is she alright?"
"She's safe and resting upstairs with Danya."
He closes his eyes and hangs his head, sighing. Then he says, "Thank you… for keeping her safe."
The gratitude in his voice is so thick it sounds like he might start crying any second. After the shit this small family has been through, I wonder how he even holds on to hope in times like this.
"There will be no more threats hanging over your head, Octavio." I rub a hand downward over my face and study his face as he reacts, but it's not exactly what I was expecting.
He laughs at me, shaking his head like I'm a boy spinning him a story. "I have heard this one before." His finger shakes at me. Then he scowls. "And next you'll promise to pay me."
It's frustrating but not surprising that he doesn't believe me. He's been abused for decades. He probably doesn't remember what living as a free man feels like.
"You'll have a real position in this house and be paid properly for it as a chemist of your skill should have been paid from the start, with a salary," I say, holding his eyes so he can see that I mean it.
"You and Isabela will be free to do as you please, but I do hope that if you see my generous offer you will agree to continue working for me.
" Sebastian hasn't approved this, but I know it's the right move.
Octavio knows I will never harm her. I've protected her from the worst that could happen. He has to trust me at least that much.
He searches my face for the catch, his eyes raking over me as he hunts for the cruelty he's certain is buried somewhere under this offer. "Tell me why you would do any of this," he says finally, "when men like you don't ever give things away but only take."
"I'm doing it because of her, and there's no other reason worth giving you," I answer, keeping my eyes level.
"Isabela's the only thing I've found in this whole life that I'm not willing to lose, and I won't have her spending the rest of her years knowing her father sits in a cage.
I can't take back what's already happened, but this much I can still give her, and so I'm giving it. "
Octavio's hands fold in his lap as his eyes mist over, and then he hangs his head.
He understands what has transpired between us, and I can see him wrestling with what it means for his daughter's future.
I don't need his blessing. I own her and she knows it, but having his compliance will be blessing enough.
"You love her, then," he says.
"I love her more than anything, and I'm extending a kindness…" I don't think I have to spell this out to him.
He nods and turns his scarred hands over in his lap, then he speaks again with no bitterness in his tone.
"I spent the whole of her life trying to keep her clear of men exactly like you.
" He drags a hand down his face and lets out a long breath.
"I am a tired old man, Demin Roshin, and I've grown far too tired to keep fighting my destiny. "
"Then take this one that I'm holding for you and relax. There is no trap. I am offering partnership… A team to work with you, retirement when you are ready, and security for your child and your grandchildren for the rest of their lives."
He weighs the offer as he looks up at me, and then he reaches one scarred hand out and his grip is firm when I take his hand.
"I accept what you're offering me, though I'll tell you plainly it isn't because I've come to trust you.
But my daughter trusts you, and for the first time in a very long while, I find myself thinking she might be right to. "
We chat for a moment about logistics and then I leave him to his work with a promise to come for him and show him to a better room and discuss his salary later, when the sun rises. Then I head back toward my room and my waiting beautiful possession.
Isabela stirs when I come back up the stairs and ease the door shut behind me.
Danya slips out past me with a small nod as I take her place in the chair beside the bed.
And finally, Isabela's eyes find mine before she's even all the way awake.
She reaches for me, so I catch her hand and hold it between both of mine.
"I went down to see your father, and he agreed to my terms…"
A soft smile curves her lips as she sleepily cups my cheek and strums my cheekbone with her thumb. "You are a good man, Demin Roshin… Nothing at all like that monster in Madrid."
"I hate to say I told you so, but…" My grin is infectious, but I only see hers mirror mine briefly before she grabs my tie and pulls me down to kiss me hard. Her lips are supple and I'm in awe. I get to keep this woman for myself for the rest of my life.
"And he knows you and I…?" she asks, pulling back to study me.
"I'll ask his blessing tomorrow. Tonight you both need rest, and we have to find out who is working against me and my family. Sergei was working with whoever it was, and they’re not going to stop.”
"Then we'll find them," she assures me. "And then I want you all to myself." She pulls me into bed where I curl around her naked body under the sheets, still clothed but wishing I weren't.
"Well, we'll have a wedding first—the largest in Berlin. And we'll fill a cathedral with our guests—"
"Oh, and flowers! I want so many flowers and doves… We can release them instead of throwing rice and—"
"And you'll be the most beautiful bride." I smile, leaning over her as she loosens my tie.
"Are you proposing to me, Mr. Roshin?" Isabela's grin is so beautiful, I can't look away. I don't want to look away.
"I thought you were proposing to me."
Her grin is priceless, and her heart is pure. When I pulled her out of that crate, I never imagined this would be the outcome. But if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing except telling her I've fallen for her sooner. "I love you, Milaya."
"I love you too," she whispers, clinging to me.
Tonight, I lie in her arms and rest. Tomorrow, I work with my family to end this assault from the Spanish against my family and root out a mole. And then the future is ours, and no man in the world is going to stand against us ever again.