Page 79 of The Stalking King

I look around the room, waiting for somebody to speak up. I can see that they want to. I can see that, if I weren’t Maksim Volkov, the king of the DC Bratva, they might have something to say.

But none of them are prepared to fight me on it.

I nod, then walk over to my little brother. My heart breaks as I lower my voice so only he can hear.

“This may be the last time we see each other,” I growl. “Redeem yourself. Be better.” I hesitate, then lower my voice so only he can hear. “I hate you for the danger you put Lia in. And I love you for the brother you were before that.”

Lia and I walk into her apartment, her boxes of belongings returned.

“I can help with any repairs,” I say, looking around.

She turns to me with those bright, beautiful eyes. Chewing her lip. There’s no reason for her to remain under my protection now, no reason for us to stay in each other’s lives…

Except that I love her, and that’s never going to change.

I pull her into my arms, kissing her gently. Both of us are banged up, still suffering from our injuries.

“You’ve done enough,” she says softly.

She’s talking about the course of grief therapy I’ve paid for her mother, with the best therapists on the East Coast. Or maybe she’s talking about saving her life too. Though, she played a larger part in that than I did. God knows what that scumbag would’ve done if she hadn’t knocked him out.

“Are you sure you want to move back here?” I say, voice going husky.

“I need my independence,” she replies. “But…” She hesitates.

“But what?” I say fiercely.

She clings to me, staring into my eyes. “I’m not ready for this to end.”

I kiss her passionately, her breathing going quicker, more urgent as she presses herself against me. I hold her as tightly as I can without hurting her.

“Me neither,” I groan. “I want to be with you. And I know you’re not ready to rush into anything.”

She laughs. “More than we already have?”

“But stay with me tonight,” I go on. “We’ll watch sitcoms and lie together and pretend the rest of the world doesn’t exist. I’ll try my best not to say I love you.”

“Don’t try that hard,” she says.

I smooth her hair from her face, kissing her again. “And let me help you. I don’t want you working yourself ragged. Let me make it so you can live a life, not just give pieces of yourself to others.”

She swallows, clearly nervous, but then she nods. “Yes,” she says, as if she’s surprising herself. “I think I’d like that.”

I kiss her again, then wrap my arm around her and lead her from the apartment.

I don’t know what the future will bring. I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive my brother for what he did. I don’t know if Lia will ever say she loves me too.

But I know that life is lighter when she’s at my side.

EPILOGUE

LIA

Four Months Later

Idrive home, humming a tune under my breath. My body is pulsing from all the dirty texts my man and I have been sending each other all day. A smile touches my lips when I realize that home now means Maksim’s place. I’ve been spending more time there than at my apartment.

Mom is doing much, much better after the intensive therapy. She’s even got a part-time job, which means, with Maksim’s help, I’ve been able to reduce mine to something more manageable.