Chapter 16 - The Return of the King
|
Emma sat on the floor for hours, unable to move, completely consumed by the devastating grief. The sun began to rise over the Adirondack mountains, casting a pale, cold light through the massive windows of the estate.
She heard the faint, rhythmic thudding of helicopter blades approaching in the distance.
She didn't run to the window. Kolov had promised to come for her. She assumed it was his men, arriving to finish the job.
The heavy front doors of the mansion groaned open.
Emma braced herself, pulling her knees to her chest, preparing for the end.
Heavy, deliberate footsteps echoed across the marble foyer, moving slowly toward the living room.
A figure stepped into the doorway.
He was covered in soot, ash, and dried blood. His expensive tactical gear was torn, his face battered and exhausted. He looked like he had literally walked through hell and fought the devil himself to get out.
It was Dominic.
Emma gasped, her eyes widening in absolute, paralyzing disbelief. "Dominic?"
"I told you," I rasped, my voice hoarse from the smoke, "I always come back."
Emma didn't hesitate. She scrambled to her feet and sprinted across the room, throwing herself violently into my arms. I caught her, groaning slightly as my bruised ribs protested, but I wrapped my arms fiercely around her waist, burying my face in her hair.
"He called me," Emma sobbed hysterically into my ruined shirt. "Kolov called me. He said you were dead. He said they killed you at the docks."
"Kolov is a liar and a coward who fights with ghost stories," I murmured, holding her impossibly tight, inhaling the sweet, safe scent of her skin. "His assault force is completely eradicated. He has no army left, Emma. He is nothing."
She pulled back, looking up at my battered face, her hands gently touching my soot-stained cheeks. The emotional walls between us completely shattered. She didn't care that I was a mob boss covered in the blood of my enemies. She only cared that I had survived.
May you like
"I thought I lost you," she cried, leaning up and pressing her lips desperately against mine.
I kissed her back with everything I had left in me. It was a kiss fueled by survival, adrenaline, and absolute, undeniable love. The war outside didn't matter. In that moment, holding the woman who had become my entire world, I had already won.
