Page 94 of His Contract Queen

I refuse to cry for that man any longer. Even in death.

He presses his lips to my hair. “I’m proud of you. Not for the shot. For taking back what he stole. You should be proud too.”

I wrap my arms around him and squeeze him tightly. He guides me toward the stairs as my legs move on autopilot. Behind us, I hear Sasha on his phone, his voice low and clipped, calling in a crew to handle the body.

I don’t look back while we leave. When we reach the main floor, the house is quiet. Aleksandr stops in the hallway and turns me to face him. His hands frame my face, thumbs brushing under my eyes to catch any tears that threaten to fall before they do.

His eyes search mine. “You’re free now. The debt died with him. The bargain we made… our marriage… it died with him too. You can walk away right now if you want. I’ll make sure you’re safe. Money, a new name, a new life. Anywhere you want. No strings attached.”

For a second, I don’t fully process what he’s saying.

Then the meaning sinks in.

I look up at him—reallylook at him. Not just at the man leaning in front of me now, but everything that he represents.

The man who bought me, who saw through my father’s lies when no one else would, who dragged me out of a cage I didn’t even realize I was living in. Who bled for me and almost burned half the city down just to get me back.

The man wholovesme.

My chest tightens as the truth settles quietly into place.

He isn’t offering this because he wants me gone. He’s offering it because he thinks I deserve the choice. Because loving me doesn’t mean owning me the way my father once did. My father used control disguised as love to keep me close.

Aleksandr offers freedom even when it costs him his heart.

My hand lifts slowly, fingers curling into the front of his shirt. “Trying to get rid of me already? We haven’t even gone on our honeymoon yet.”

His brows lift slightly. For one heartbeat, he doesn’t move. Then the corner of his mouth curves up into a smile. The expression is fiercely proud, almost feral in nature. He pulls me into him, one hand fisting in my hair, the other splaying across my lower back, and kisses me.

It’s not the gentle one from before. This is every bit the claiming that he’s ever promised me. A vow sealed with teeth and tongue and the taste of him that will cling to me long after tonight. When he pulls back, his forehead rests against mine.

“How does Caicos sound? It’s supposed to be beautiful this time of year. Plus, I’d love to see you in a bikini.”

I exhale a laugh. “I love the beach.”

He pecks my lips again. “It’s settled, then.”

My hand slides gently to the back of his neck, pulling him closer until our foreheads touch. “You’re stuck with me now.”

He chuckles. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

25

ALEKSANDR

The summons arrives at dawn by a single encrypted line that reads,0700,and nothing more.

I don’t even bother responding.

We both know my attendance isn’t voluntary. Nikolai Malyshko doesn’t send invitations because he misses me. He is issuing a command he expects to be followed. Refusal isn’t an option, not for me after the last few weeks.

Katerina is still curled up in our bed when I slip out from under the sheets, one arm flung across the pillow she stole from me sometime in the middle of the night. Her dark hair spills like ink across white sheets. I stand at the foot of the bed longer than I should, watching the slow rise and fall of her breathing. She looks peaceful in sleep, fragile in a way that makes something vicious twist behind my ribs.

I force myself to turn away.

Right as the sun is pushing past the tree line, I slip behind the wheel of my car and take off on the familiar route to Malyshko’scompound on the western edge of the city. The roads are empty at this hour except for delivery trucks and the occasional patrol car that gives me a wide berth.

When I reach them, the gates open without a word. The driveway winds through pines heavy with snow, their branches bowing under the weight.