Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 79211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79211 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Saul glares at me. You don’t look that way at me anymore, Saul. “Careful, Saul,” I say in a low voice. “My name is Harper Romanov now. The Harper you knew is gone.”
He clenches his jaw and nods to Marco.
“Don’t leave me,” Leonardo says, trembling. “You can’t leave me like—”
“Like the way you left me the night you raped me?” I ask, clenching my free fist.
“I’m sorry,” he says, shaking as the medication fully hits. He falls to one knee. Soon he’s going to pass out, but at the last minute, he stumbles back up onto his feet, takes one look at Aleks, and runs.
I cock my gun and shake my head.
Leonardo will never victimize anyone again.
No woman will ever suffer because of him again.
“Don’t shoot to kill,” Aleks says in my ear. “He deserves retribution before he dies.”
I nod and pull the trigger. I know exactly where I’ll hit him before he lands.
He falls heavily to the ground but is immediately swarmed on all sides by the people that came to take him.
Saul curses under his breath.
“Now get the fuck out of here, Bianchi,” Aleks says, as he stalks toward him. “Don’t ever contact my wife again. Tell your parents the same. If I need to interfere, you’ll regret it.” He grabs Saul by the front of his shirt. “Capice?” It’s almost funny to hear him speak Italian in his Russian accent.
Saul and Marco flee.
I look back at the gala.
We did this quietly. Efficiently. No one’s the wiser.
“Good girl,” Aleks says softly, running his hand down the length of my back. “You deserve a reward for this. What can I do for you, baby?”
I put my gun away ad delicately wipe my hands on a napkin Aleks hands me. “Can I go home? Did we do enough here tonight?”
“A few more basic formalities, and then yes, Harper, we can go home. Alright? That’s what you want?”
I nod my head. “Take me home, please.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Aleks
I call my new men to come take Leonardo’s sorry ass back to our house. He’ll be immediately put into a lockdown room and Harper will be none the wiser.
We finally have a moment of peace.
“You alright?” I ask, drawing her closer to me, right before we head back into the main area. Behind us, the forest speaks in whispers and sighs, a reminder of where we met. Of the first time I chased her down. Of the night I caught her.
My men sweep away all remnants of a struggle, the quiet undercover crew melting back into the night as if swallowed whole.
“Yeah, I’m good,” she says with a nod.
“How do you feel?”
“Relieved,” she whispers, leaning against me. “You know, I could’ve shot to kill him.”
“Of course you could have.”
“But I wanted him to pay.”
“I get that.”
“I’m just saying I could have. Like if I really, truly knew someone deserved it, I could pull that trigger with no regrets.”
I nod. “I’m proud of you. Jesus, woman, you’ve come so damn far. Look at you. Your hands don’t shake anymore. You’re confident. You know who you are.”
“A lot more than that’s changed,” she says with a nod. “Thank you, Aleks.”
I snort. “I brought you home and put a ring on your finger. You were the one that did the rest.”
“You brought my daughter to me, and somehow having Ivy with me made me realize that I would do anything to keep her safe. Anything.”
“Finally,” I breathe, shaking my head.
“What?”
“Finally we speak the same damn language, baby.”
She grins as I open the door to the ballroom and she sweeps in with confidence in her step, all elegant grace. God, I love her.
At the formal dinner, she speaks with ease with my mother and sister, who introduce her to their friends. A live band plays, and as the hosts of the evening, we’re the first people to take the dance floor. I walk onto the circular area with a swell of pride, with the knowledge that I’m here for the first time with my wife on my arm. A bold declaration, claiming her as my own.
She stands by my side during the auctions and raffles and other fundraising activities and in the end, we trump Mikhail and Aria’s efforts last year, and I let him know it.
“You’re not competitive at all, are you?” Harper asks with a laugh on our way out. “Speaking of which… should I just go ahead and take a pregnancy test?”
I freeze with my hand on the handle of the car door.
“Say that again.”
“Oh, my period might be a bit late,” she says with a teasing lilt in her voice.
“Is it? But Harper, you were drinking tonight.”
“I only had sparkling water, I promise you,” she says in a throaty whisper. “I didn’t have any alcohol.”
“Where do we get a test?” I ask. I don’t know shit about these things.