The End
Ten Months Later
Nikolai laced his fingers through Alex’s, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. He could feel the tension in her grip, her reluctance evident despite the soft, steady breaths she took. The Greco estate loomed in the distance, a monument to the kind of power and tradition that had shaped his father. Tonight was a family event, but not just any family—his father’s world, a place where capos gathered with their wives and children, a place that still felt foreign to Alex.
“You okay?” he murmured, his thumb brushing over her knuckles.
She let out a slow exhale. “I will be.” A small, tired smile played at her lips. “I just—your father’s events aren’t exactly my favorite thing.”
He chuckled softly. “Mine either.”
At first, Lucas Greco had invited only him, Alex, an
