As the curtains were closing, she looked at the front row, squinting, trying to make out as much as she could, but there wasn’t much.
At least…she thought she might have saw a flash of blond as someone moved into the aisle.
More cheering and celebrating awaited her as she headed back toward her dressing room, ready to change into something more comfortable. She smiled graciously, allowing herself this moment of happiness.
After a brief chat with Madame Toulles about her costume and the alterations that would need to be made before her next performance, Alex was finally able to slip into her dressing room, breathing a sigh of relief…at least until she caught sight of who was waiting for her.
“Should I even ask how you were allowed back here?” she asked as her gaze skipped over her brother to the arrangements of flowers that now littered her vanity.
She knew at least one was from him and Lauren, another from her friends, and maybe one from the company, but the other two, she was clueless.
Mishca got to his feet, smoothing a hand over the front of his suit jacket. “I’m sure you know the answer to that. Besides, you wouldn’t have seen me otherwise.”
“Really?” Alex asked dryly. “And why is that?”
“You know…I specifically remember asking you to trust me one night, and you promised you would.”
“Yeah, well that was before you turned your back on someone I cared about.”
Mishca looked thoughtful. “Did I?”
Narrowing her eyes on him, Alex asked, “What are you really doing here, Mish? I know you. There’s some ulterior motive.”
“Sometimes I hurt the people I love because that’s what’s needed at the time. If—”
“When the hell did you start speaking in code, Mish? Just spit it out so I can get back to my life and you can get back to being the boss.”
“One day you’ll understand that what I did…it wasn’t just for you, but for him too. Maybe you’ll actually forgive me for the pain I caused you, but until then…congratulations. I never doubted that you would be anything less than amazing.”
Even with the way she felt toward him, she couldn’t help the small smile that spread on her face. “Thanks, Mish.”
He crossed the room, pulling her into a tight hug that she was helpless not to return. She had missed him dearly.
Kissing the top of her head, he released her after a moment, his gaze straying to the flowers. “I’ll see you in two weeks.”
Frowning as he headed for the door, Alex asked, “What happens in two weeks?”
But he merely smiled and slipped out the room.
Between Mishca and Klaus, she wasn’t sure who was rubbing off on who.
For the time being, however, she decided to put their conversation, or lack thereof, to the back of her mind as she undressed, pulling on a pair of loose sweats and a tank top. Her feet practically cried in relief as she unlaced her pointe shoes and gingerly pulled them off, carefully replacing them with shoes that were little more than socks with a hard sole.
Packing up her bag, she swung it over her shoulder, but before she exited, she headed over to the flowers, inhaling the delicate perfume that wafted from them. One in particular stole her attention, mainly because it was not a bouquet at all. It was a single flower, an orchid she believed, that had twine carefully wrapped around its stem to a stick that kept it standing tall.
The petals were white and satiny, beautiful in its simplicity, but as she peered closer, past the delicate folds to the very heart of it, her heart skipped a beat at what she thought she might have seen inside.
But…that had to have been a coincidence.
What were the odds?
Even so, she blinked to make sure that she was seeing properly because, within the sea of white was bursts of yellow and stripes of orange and burnished red, she could have sworn that within the orchid was the face of a tiger.
____
The others she left in her dressing room, but the orchid she couldn’t bring herself to leave behind. The journey back home was far different from how it was normally. Usually, she took the time to reflect and think about her day, but now she couldn’t help but think of everything Mishca had said and what this orchid meant.
Alex didn’t believe in coincidences, not since she was a little girl, but she just couldn’t bring herself to believe in hope.
Hope that Luka was coming back.
Whether that was back to New York or back to her, she didn’t know, but she desperately hoped for the latter.
Loki whined when she unlocked and opened the door, waiting on the other side, his tail wagging furiously. She scratched behind his ears, dropping her bag on the way as she headed for the kitchen, opening the freezer to grab the small bag of ice she’d stashed there.
With another performance just around the corner, it was best she doctored her feet and took an ice bath to keep from pulling anything.
It was an hour-long process, and by the time she was finished, she was ready for bed.
Alex wasn’t sure when she had dozed off, but Loki’s whining woke her up. Then his sharp barks got her out of bed. He was sitting at the door, his attention solely on it. Not even when she called his name did he turn to acknowledge her.
Then someone knocked.
Just two short raps that made her entire body lock up.
She knew, without having to see, who was on the other side. Even without the way Loki was acting, she knew.
Each step she took closer felt impossibly long as time seemed to slow. She wanted to mentally prepare herself, wanted to think of what her first words were going to be, but rational thought fled her mind.
Finally, with a shaking hand, she gripped the door handle, only hesitating a second before pulling the door open wide.
And there he stood, with one hand in his pocket, the other raised as though prepared to knock again.
It felt like her throat was closing up as her eyes scanned over every inch of him, trying to drink in as much as possible. She wanted to verify with her own eyes that it was actually Luka standing in front of her.
His hair was cut shorter, his cheekbones were more pronounced as though he had lost some weight, but there was no mistaking the blue eyes and the colorful tattoos. Or the way his gaze softened and his lips turned up into a gentle smile.
“Alex.”
Hearing her name from his lips after so long…
She choked back a sob, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. Loki darted past her, launching himself at Luka with all the joy in the world. He nearly knocked him over in the process, but even as he reached to pet his most beloved friend, his eyes never left her.
He seemed to realize, almost belatedly, that she was too frozen to move, so he came to her instead. He didn’t stop until his scent was surrounding her. He was so close that if she reached out, she could touch him, feel him, and then she thought she would know for sure that this was real.
But he took the choice away from her, his hand sliding around the curve of her shoulder until he was cupping her neck, applying slight pressure to propel her forward.
And a second later, his lips were on hers, coaxing hers to part, an unspoken promise that made her heart sing.
She wanted nothing more than to lose herself in this, in him, but she couldn’t. Not yet.
Breaking away, she took a calming breath, trying to gather her thoughts.
He cradled her face in his hands, swiping the tears away with his thumbs as he smiled down at her. Once, she had thought she’d experienced the worse kind of pain there was, but seeing him now, this was a different kind of pain. It still didn’t feel good, that pain in her chest, but she didn’t think she had ever been happier.
“But…how? I don’t understand. I thought you were—” She couldn’t even bring herself to finish the statement.
“Klaus.”
She jerked in his hold, surprise clouding her face. “He never said anything, not even when I… When was this?”
; Since the moment he had stepped into the apartment, he’d looked sure of himself, at least until now. “Two months ago.”
She pulled away. “Two months? Where have you…wait. You were here, weren’t you?”
“Alex—”
“Was I the only one who didn’t know? I don’t understand.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know, and things you don’t understand, some of which only your brother can explain. No, don’t pull away from me,” he added as he grabbed hold of her wrists, preventing her from retreating further. “After Klaus got me out, I left. I told him not to follow me and not even to tell any of you that he had found me. At the time, I hadn’t known everything myself. I didn’t know how you would feel about me after everything, after what I told you. I was afraid of how you would react.”
“Luka—”
“No, let me finish. As I’ve said before, I wanted you to be happy, even if that wasn’t with me. You’ve found happiness here. You’re living your dream. I didn’t want to ruin that for you.” His thumbs brushed over her cheeks, his gaze drifting over her face. “But someone—or a few people—helped me see that only you could tell me if you didn’t want me in your life. So here I am, hoping that I’m still what you want. And if I am, I promise not to hurt you again. And I promise that there is nothing, nothing, that could make me leave your side again, ever.”
Alex was quiet. Her heart swelling so much that she could hardly breathe. She thought about the last six months, the heartache that she felt at Luka being gone …the resentment she felt at Mishca for being the one behind it.
Now that he was here, she finally understood what Mishca had been eluding to earlier.
And she knew that there was a conversation that needed to be had, but first…
“I want you, Luka. I’ve always wanted you.”
He laid one of her hands on his chest, right over his heart. “I’m yours.”
She pulled free of his hold, wrapping her arms around him and held tight. There was still so much to figure out about their lives. Her being here in Paris. His obligations to the Bratva, if he was even still a part of it.
But there was one thing she was sure of.
They would figure it out together.
Looking up at him, she gave him a smile. “I’m never letting you go again, Luka.”
“Të dua, Alex.—I love you, Alex.”
It was the first time he had ever said the words aloud and she felt them all the way down to her bones.
But it wouldn’t be the last.
“Je t’aime, Luka—I love you, Luka.”
Epilogue
_________
Six months later…
“I’ve always been a fan of the jeans, Luka, but this works for you.”
From her position on the bed, Alex stared over at Luka as he finished getting dressed, buttoning the last of the six buttons that lined the front of his vest. Unlike her brother, Mishca, who’d worn a three-piece suit since the time he’d turned eighteen, Luka had just traded in his T-shirts and jeans for attire that better suited his new spot in the Volkov Bratva.
Six months ago, he’d gone from Bratva enforcer to Captain. It hadn’t been a job he’d necessarily wanted, but one he had accepted all the same after he’d returned from Albania, leaving behind a life he had escaped from once before.
Since then, he hadn’t spoken much of what had happened to him back there, but that wasn’t very surprising considering Luka wasn’t much of a talker.
Finished with his vest, he glanced over his shoulder at her, a small smile tugging at his lips. “Enjoy it while you can. This won’t last long.”
Laughing, she climbed out of the bed, Loki jumping down after her. “Of course, it won’t.”
She straightened his tie, smoothing her hands over his front. “You know, it used to scare me, the emptiness I saw in your eyes. I only ever wanted to make you happy, bring you peace no matter what was troubling you.”
“And you do. More than anyone ever could.”
She smiled, touching his cheek. “Thank you for letting me.”
His smile was blinding a second before he kissed her. “Is this the part where you say I’m too much to handle?”
Laughing, she pushed him away. “Why would I say that?”
“You’d be shit out of luck if you did. You’re stuck with me.”
She caught his hand, bringing it up to her own chest, laying it over her heart. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way, Tiger.”
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
__________
As always, I would first like to thank my readers. I’m not sure where the hell I would be if not for you guys. So, thank you. For giving the Bratva a chance. For giving me a chance. And for loving these characters as much as I do.
Next, I want to give a special thank you to my editor, Jenny. I always send you my manuscripts at the last possible minute, but you always come through, and I would totally be lost without you. Thank you!
LM
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Hidden Monsters (Volkov Bratva Book 4) Page 38
