Page 85 of The Enemy's Defector
Slowly facing me once more, she sighed. “You know I don’t always listen.”
I pulled her in for a soft kiss. “But listen to me now,” I urged as I cupped her face. “I love you, and I love that nothing will stand in the way of our future now.”
Like the sun rising after a bleak spell of grayness, she smiled. My soul rejoiced at her satisfaction, at the peace she could embrace with this closure about her father’s death.
“I love you, too, Nik. And I can’t wait for our future to truly begin now.”
35
KATERINA
Nik and I returned to the main Ivanov residence after the next day. To keep my mind off all that had happened, he took me on a short trip out of the city. The change of scenery served as a reset, and I wanted to call it our honeymoon.
“No.” He shook his head as the driver pulled into the parking area behind the building. “We’ll have a real honeymoon later.”
I smiled, sighing at his confidence.
It seemed so simple, going away for a day, but it worked. I was calmer. Adjusting to all that happened was somehow easier when I wasn’t facing his family or the place I’d now call home. Just the two of us. It allowed me to wrap my head around the fact that I’d never have to deal with Anton again. That the organization everyone assumed I’d be loyal to was no longer in existence as a threat.
“We can also have a real wedding later, too,” he added, kissing me once before we got out of the car.
I huffed a laugh. “Why, because Anastasia wants us to have one?”
He smirked. “No. She has no room to complain. She made it her big campaign to have heirs in the family, and now we’ve got three on the way.”
“Maybe Saul can give her a wedding.”
He rolled his eyes, holding my hand as we walked into the building. “I highly doubt that. It’s a miracle that any of us are settling down, but I wouldn’t count on him falling into line like that anytime soon.”
“Because he’s too much of a player?”
“Bingo,” he said as we entered the foyer and met the others.
Lucy and Sloane rushed up toward me first, all smiles.
“Here’s the lady of the house, the heroine of the century,” Sloane praised.
“How are you feeling?” Lucy asked, much nicer now and more like her sweet self. Perhaps all it had taken for me to get back on her good side was to save her life and take out the assassin who could’ve killed her.
“I’m feeling…” I opened my eyes wide as I saw all the boxes stacked up. “Wow.”
“Isn’t it sweet?” Sloane glanced at the piles of deliveries.
“Whatisall that?” I asked, stepping forward.
“No, stop changing the subject,” Lucy insisted, trailing after us. “How are you feeling, Katerina?”
“About what?” I glanced at her, unafraid to be blunt. “About killing my uncle? I’m relieved.”
She might be too new to this Mafia world to be able to understand that I also felt really freaking proud of myself to have had the honor of taking out Anton Kozlov. In my opinion, it was as close to an eye-for-an-eye as I could get. He’d killed my father, and I’d killed him for that. All was right in my world, and I hoped that my father would be proud of getting that closure.
Lucy nodded slowly, as if trying on that concept, that it was a good thing to wish someone dead.
“And you’re physically okay? The baby too?”
“Aw, are you worried about me, Lucy?” I teased, hoping we were closer to friends than not.
“Of course she is. I was too,” Sloane said. “You’re too badass not to worry about.”
