Page 96 of Beautiful Agony

"But?" he asks, tension creeping back into his shoulders as if bracing for what might come next.

I smile and shake my head. "No but."

Rising up on my tiptoes, I press my lips to his in a gentle kiss. He responds immediately, pulling me closer as if he can't bear any distance between us. The kiss stays soft and tender—not drivenby desperate need or burning desire, but by something deeper. Something real.

His lips taste of coffee and promises.

As we kiss, my mind drifts through everything that's led us here—from that first heated encounter at Mrs. Klossner's, to losing Irina in Paris, to that dark moment we've shared on the stairs of Pankration.

We've both lost so much.

The bruises may have faded, but the emotional scars will always remain.

Yet somehow through all that pain and darkness, we found each other. We've grown stronger together. He helped me reclaim my identity while I showed him he's nothing like the monster who sired him.

Where once there was fear between us, now there's only trust.

Where there was doubt, now there's certainty.

He pulls back slightly, that familiar knowing smile playing at his lips. "I can hear you thinking again,zvyozdochka."

"Can you blame me?" I trace my fingers along his jaw. "I'm just thinking how crazy it is that I found someone like you through the most insane circumstances. That somehow walking into that dry cleaner on what I thought was the worst day of my life led me to exactly where I was meant to be. Right here next to you."

His eyes soften at my words. I continue, my voice barely above a whisper.

"I can't wait to spend forever with you. To raise a family with you. We just need to get through what comes next."

"We will." He pulls me closer as his hand drifts to my belly, where the slightest hint of a bump is starting to form. "Together."

30

VADIM

The automatic doorsslide open with a soft hiss as I enter the police station with Aleksey at my side. The familiar stench of bureaucracy hits my nose. A few officers look up from their desks, their hands instinctively moving closer to their weapons when they see me.

"This is a terrible idea, Vadim Petrovich," Aleksey mutters under his breath. "Rutledge would love nothing more than to slap cuffs on you the moment you walk in."

I keep my face neutral as we approach the front desk. "I'm well aware of the captain's feelings toward me."

"Then why are we here?" Aleksey adjusts his tie—a nervous tell I've noticed over the years.

"Because this is part of Lacey's plans," I reply quietly. "And it's a good plan. We need Rutledge, even if I don't like it."

"Your wife's influence is making you soft," Aleksey says with a slight edge to his voice. "The old Vadim would never walk willingly into a police station."

I turn to face him, letting just enough of the pakhan show in my eyes to make him take a small step back. "The old Vadim didn't have as much to protect."

The desk sergeant recognizes Aleksey and picks up his phone without prompting. Within moments, Rutledge emerges from his office, his weathered face hardening when he spots me.

"Mr. Stravinsky," he says, voice dripping with barely concealed contempt. "To what do I owe the... pleasure?"

I reach into my jacket, noting how every officer in view tenses, and pull out my phone. "I have some information about one of your officers that might interest you, Captain."

Rutledge's jaw tightens. "Information about one of my officers?"

I pull up the video on my phone and hit play. Mackland's bruised face fills the screen, blood trickling from his split lip. His eyes dart frantically back and forth like a cornered animal.

"Jesus Christ," Rutledge mutters, leaning in closer. "What the fuck did you do to him, Stravinsky?"

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