Epilogue

Nikolai

Three months later

I waited for Hannah outside of her Calculus class, as I had for all her classes since that day at Katya’s house. I was dead fucking serious about what I’d said to her about commitment. I was through doubting how I felt or why I felt it. I finally accepted my feelings for Hannah, and I didn’t do anything by half measure.
Needless to say, I’ve responded to all of her texts.
Incredibly, my father was still on the loose, though he was practically a fugitive with the entire syndicate gunning for him. We found out the man driving the car was Andrei Orlov, previously a minor player in our organization. Apparently, Yuri had chosen him to run the trafficking operation even though he was barely out of his teens. I wasn’t surprised. I knew first-hand how vicious Orlov could be, having worked with him briefly last summer. He was fond of using torture, even when we were dealing with petty shit. I’d seen him shoot one of our own men for scratching his car, his black eyes intense and hard in his baby face as he casually pulled the trigger. He was not to be fucked with. The thought of him and Yuri teaming up was disturbing, but with so many people targeting them, I felt more at ease.
Unbelievably, instead of disappearing completely, Yuri was still trying to target Katya, still considered her his property. He sent her messages, flowers, creepy shit, but so far, he hadn’t made a move. It was making Drago fucking nuts, so he was protecting Katya day and night. At least that’s the reason he gave for practically moving into her father’s house with her.
Due to my father being a crazy fuck, I told Hannah she couldn’t hang out with Katya until my dad was taken out. It wasn’t safe. Although Hannah understood my rationale, she sulked about missing Katya. I almost caved because she looked so fucking sexy when she pouted, but my concern for her safety overrode my lust-fueled decision making. They still talked on the phone and texted, but until my dad was dead, I didn’t want Hannah anywhere near Katya. A lot of their conversations were centered on Emmy, who, according to Hannah, had nightmares about the kidnapping and was quieter since the incident with my father. Hannah tried to get her to talk about what had happened, but it seemed like Emmy just wanted to play her harp and forget.
Hannah exited her class chatting with some girl, which was fortunate since I didn’t love seeing her talk to other guys. I knew it was irrational, and sometimes life required her to communicate with men, but I still hated it. She gave me a lot of shit about my jealousy and possessiveness, but I didn’t care.
Hannah smiled as she walked up to me, and I felt my chest tighten with a myriad of emotions—love, pride, affection, wonder. I still found being in a relationship a jarring adjustment, even after all these months, but when I saw Hannah walking towards me, it didn’t matter.
“Hey,” she whispered and planted a kiss on my lips. She started to pull back, but I thrust my fingers in her loose hair and deepened the kiss. Her body relaxed against mine, and I knew I had to stop or find us a more private location.
“Hey,” I responded gruffly, staring into her half-lidded eyes, now foggy with newly sparked passion.
“Ugh, you two are sickening. Get a room already,” snarked Ava, good-naturedly as she walked up to us.
Hannah laughed and stuck her tongue out at Ava. “You’re just jealous,” Hannah replied jokingly.
“Ha,” Ava started to retort, but then Jack walked by. He nodded his head at us but kept walking down the hallway and out of sight.
Ava deflated in front of our eyes, as she watched him walk away.
“You okay, Ava?” Hannah asked, her brow wrinkled in concern. “Did something happen between you and Jack?”
She sighed and put her hand to her forehead, as though she had a headache. “Can we get together this weekend? I’ll tell you the whole story.”
Hannah shot me a quick glance to make sure I was okay with Ava’s suggestion. We were together all the time, so we had standing plans every weekend. Again, this used to be one of the things I hated about relationships, the checking in, but I could not deny how gratifying it felt when Hannah checked with me before she made plans. I subtly nodded my head.
Hannah smiled at Ava. “Of course! Let’s get together Saturday and get brunch or something.”
Ava smiled in gratitude. “Thanks, Hannah.” She shot me a quick smile, too, as if understanding that for Hannah to be with her, I would be sacrificing my time with her. That was exactly how it felt, too. Ava left in the same direction Jack had gone in.
“Poor Ava,” Hannah said as we walked hand in hand down the hall.
“Yeah, I think Jack is kind of fucked up right now, too.” Jack was about as prone to sharing his feelings as I was, but I’d noticed his behavior change over the last couple of months.
“Why don’t those two just get together, already?” Hannah half-wailed, and I smiled at her dramatics.
I was about to needle her about our strange path to commitment when Jeff Connors hurried by us. It was hard to miss him, as he often hugged the side of the wall when I passed him. I guess he was afraid I would randomly swing on him—a reasonable concern on his part.
After Jeff had disappeared, I assessed Hannah’s expression carefully, relieved to find no lingering expressions of panic or uneasiness. Instead, she looked thoughtful.
“What?”
“When I see Jeff now, I’m not scared anymore.” She shrugged, then shot me a relieved smile. I could not help but feel a surge of possessiveness and pride at her admission.
I cocked my head. “What do you feel?”
“Gratitude,” she responded simply.
My head jerked back. “Gratitude? For him? What the fuck, Hannah?”
Hannah laughed at my dramatics. “Well, if he hadn’t been a lunatic stalker asshole, we never would have met.”
“You think that?”
Now her head jerked back, a look of disbelief on her face. “Of course. Don’t you?”
I stopped her and turned her towards me and looked into her beautiful, beloved face. “I don’t know, Hannah, but a part of me wants to believe if Jeff hadn’t been there, I would have found you.”
Her jaw dropped, and she had the same look of astonished pleasure she always did when I said shit like this to her. God, she was fucking sweet.
“Because,” I continued, “I don’t like imagining any reality where you’re not mine.”
Hannah jumped into my arms and hugged me tightly, then started kissing my neck. The hands I had previously wrapped around her waist started drifting down to her ass.
“Hannah, do you know what you’re starting?”
Her eyes flashed with humor and heat. “Oh, absolutely.” With that, she dashed towards the door to the parking lot, figuring I would chase after her.
She was right.