Embrace of the Russian Tiger (Russian Mafia Kings #2)

Epilogue

EPILOGUE

T he room was empty now, save for the quiet hum of the air conditioner and the soft rustle of papers being packed away by the attorney. The formalities had ended, and all that remained was the heavy, tangible weight of reality settling over both of us.

Anna stood by the long oak table, her fingers tracing the edge of the surface as she stared at the now-signed documents in front of her. Her brow was furrowed, lips parted slightly as if she was trying to comprehend the enormity of it all. Millions. No, more than millions. Real estate, businesses, investments—it was more than anyone could reasonably grasp in one sitting.

Her world had just changed, irrevocably.

For a long time, neither of us said anything. I watched her, standing just a few steps behind, wanting to give her space to process. The transformation of the woman I had pulled into this world wasn’t lost on me. She was no longer the naive girl caught in the middle of a mafia feud. Now, she was the rightful heir to one of the largest criminal empires in Europe. And it was all on her shoulders.

"I can’t believe this is mine," she whispered, her voice small, almost as if speaking too loudly would make it all vanish.

I stepped closer, my hand resting lightly on her shoulder. She flinched slightly at the contact, but after a second, she leaned into it. I could feel the tension in her body, the uncertainty, the fear mixed with a kind of awe that mirrored my own.

"You earned it," I said softly, keeping my voice low. "Whether you wanted this or not, it's yours now. And you’ll know how to handle it. I’ll make sure of it."

She turned her head slightly, her eyes meeting mine. There was something vulnerable there, a hesitation that made me want to shield her from the world and hand it to her all at once. She blinked, her gaze dropping back to the table, her fingers fidgeting with the corner of one of the papers.

"But it’s so much," she admitted, a tremor in her voice. "I don’t even know where to start, Maxim. How am I supposed to handle all of this on my own?"

I felt a pang in my chest. There was something about her vulnerability that made me soften in ways I didn’t expect. For so long, I had been cold, calculated. I had built my life on control—on not letting anyone see the cracks. But with her, those cracks felt... safe. Like I could let her see the real me, and the world wouldn’t come crumbling down around me.

"You’re not alone," I said firmly, stepping closer until I was standing beside her. I placed my hand over hers, stilling her nervous movements. "I’ll be here. Whatever you need, whenever you need it—I’m here. I’ll help you run everything. I’ll teach you. I’ll do whatever it takes."

She let out a shaky breath, nodding, though the uncertainty still lingered in her eyes. "I’m scared," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I know," I said softly. "But you don’t have to be."

For a long moment, we stood in silence, the gravity of the situation weighing on both of us. I could feel the shift happening—this wasn’t just about power or assets anymore. It was about trust. It was about something deeper that had been growing between us, something I hadn’t been ready to face until now.

"Maxim," she said suddenly, her voice pulling me from my thoughts. "What if... What if I make the wrong decisions? What if I’m not strong enough for this?"

I turned her to face me, cupping her face in my hands. Her skin was soft, warm under my touch, and for the first time in years, I felt something stir inside me that wasn’t anger or vengeance. It was... love.

"You’re strong enough," I said, my voice more certain than ever before. "You’re stronger than you think. I’ve seen it in you from the beginning. And with me by your side, you won’t fail. I won’t let you."

Her eyes searched mine, as if looking for the truth in my words. I could see the wheels turning in her mind, the fear still lingering, but something else was there too. Something softer, more trusting. Slowly, she nodded.

"Okay," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "But I’ll need your help. I’ll need you, Maxim."

I felt something in my chest loosen, a weight lifting as her words sank in. She needed me. And, as much as I had resisted the idea, I realized I needed her too. More than I had ever needed anyone.

"You’ll always have me," I said, my voice rough with emotion. "Always."

For a moment, everything seemed to still, the world outside fading into the background as we stood there, connected in a way that felt unbreakable. I leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead, and she closed her eyes, letting out a soft breath.

The moment lingered, but soon the weight of the world came crashing back down. There were still decisions to be made, responsibilities to face. She had an empire now, and with it came danger, threats, and challenges that would test us both.

Weeks passed, and we worked together. I guided her through the intricacies of running a criminal empire—teaching her how to spot the power plays, how to navigate the ruthless world she was now a part of. She learned quickly, faster than I expected, and before long, she was making decisions on her own, decisions that made me proud.

But it wasn’t just business. Something deeper grew between us, something neither of us could deny anymore. The walls I had built around myself slowly crumbled, piece by piece, and for the first time, I let someone in.

And then, one night, everything changed again.

Anna came to me, her eyes bright with something I hadn’t seen in a long time—a kind of excitement that made my heart skip a beat.

"I want to show you something," she said, her voice soft but filled with determination. "Come with me."

I followed her, curiosity gnawing at me as we drove in silence through the city. I didn’t ask where we were going, trusting her entirely. And when we pulled up to the building, my breath caught in my throat.

The building was unmarked, a nondescript structure tucked away in a quiet part of the city. There was no sign, no indication of what it housed.

Anna parked the car and turned to me, her expression soft but resolute. "This is a shelter, Maxim. I called it Katya’s Shelter ," she said quietly, her voice laced with emotion.

The words hit me like a punch to the gut, and for a moment, I couldn’t move. I stared at the building in front of us, the weight of what she had just said settling over me like a heavy blanket.

" Katya’s Shelter ," I repeated, my throat tight.

"This is what I’ve been working on," she continued, her eyes searching mine for a reaction. "It’s a shelter for women who’ve been abused, who have nowhere else to go. I named it after your sister... in her memory."

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. The world around me seemed to blur, and all I could focus on was the sound of her voice, the soft, steady way she said my sister’s name. Katya.

And now, standing here, hearing Anna say it with such reverence, with such love... it broke me.

"Anna..." I whispered, my voice thick with emotion. "I... I don’t know what to say."

"You don’t have to say anything," she replied, reaching out to take my hand in hers. "I just wanted to do something that mattered. Something in her memory. Something good."

As I stood there, holding Anna tightly in my arms, the overwhelming emotions threatened to swallow me whole. I had never allowed myself to feel like this—to be vulnerable, to let someone in. My whole life had been built around walls, around control, around power. But in this moment, none of that mattered. What mattered was the woman in my arms, the shelter she had built in my sister’s name, and the way she had touched a part of me that I thought had long died with Katya.

I pulled back slightly, just enough to look into her eyes. Her face was soft, a warmth radiating from her that I couldn’t describe. Her gaze met mine, filled with something that I hadn’t seen in anyone in a long time—understanding. She wasn’t just looking at me, she was seeing me. Seeing the man behind the walls, behind the coldness, behind the mask.

“How?” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “How did you do this?”

Anna smiled gently, her hand coming up to rest against my cheek. Her touch was warm, grounding, and it sent a shiver through me that I couldn’t hide. “I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” she admitted, her thumb brushing lightly against my skin. “After everything you told me about Katya, I knew I wanted to do something... something that would honor her memory. She deserves that.”

I swallowed hard, my throat tight with emotion. I didn’t know what to say. I had spent so many years pushing the memory of Katya away, trying to bury the pain of losing her. And now, here was Anna, bringing her back to me in the most beautiful, selfless way possible.

“Anna,” I whispered, my voice cracking slightly. “I... I don’t deserve this. I don’t deserve you.”

Her eyes softened, and she shook her head. “You deserve so much more than you think, Maxim,” she said softly. “You’ve been carrying this pain on your own for so long, and I wanted to help you let go of some of it. I wanted to give you something good, something that would remind you that you’re not alone anymore.”

Her words hit me like a tidal wave, crashing over me with a force I hadn’t expected. I hadn’t realized just how much I had been carrying until that moment. The guilt, the rage, the need for vengeance—it had all consumed me, defined me. But now, standing here with her, I felt something else. I felt... hope.

I took her face in my hands, my thumbs brushing over her cheeks as I stared into her eyes, searching for the right words. I had never been good at this—at expressing what I felt, at showing vulnerability. But with Anna, it felt different. It felt right.

“I’ve spent my whole life trying to make up for what happened to Katya,” I began, my voice low, filled with emotion. “I thought that if I avenged her, if I took down the people responsible, it would somehow make the pain go away. But it never did. No matter what I did, it never brought her back.”

Anna’s gaze didn’t waver. She just listened, her eyes never leaving mine, as if she knew this was something I had never said out loud before.

“I became the man I am today because of her,” I continued, my voice rough with the weight of years of bottled-up grief. “I built my empire on vengeance, on control, because I thought it was the only way to survive. But you... Anna, you’ve shown me that there’s more to life than that. You’ve given me something I never thought I could have.”

She blinked, her own eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “What’s that?” she asked softly.

I smiled, a small, almost hesitant smile, as I pressed my forehead against hers. “You’ve given me hope,” I whispered. “You’ve given me a reason to believe that maybe, just maybe, I can be more than what I’ve become.”

Her breath hitched, and I could see the tears beginning to spill down her cheeks. She didn’t try to hide them, didn’t try to hold back. Instead, she leaned into me, her arms wrapping around my waist as she buried her face in my chest.

“You’ve given me so much, too, Maxim,” she whispered, her voice muffled against my shirt. “I was lost when all of this started. I didn’t know who I was, I didn’t know where I fit in the world. Of course, you played a part in me being lost, but then you also played a big role in me finding myself.”

I held her tighter, my hands moving up and down her back in a soothing rhythm. The weight of her words settled over me like a balm, easing the ache that had been in my chest for so long. I hadn’t realized just how much I needed to hear that. How much I needed her.

For a long moment, we just stood there, wrapped in each other’s arms, the world outside fading away. It was just the two of us, in that quiet, intimate space where nothing else mattered. And for the first time, I let myself feel it. I let myself feel the love I had for her, the gratitude, the overwhelming sense of belonging that I had been missing for so long.

“I’ll always be here for you,” I whispered into her hair. “No matter what happens, no matter what you need—I’ll always be by your side.”

She pulled back slightly, her eyes red from crying, but there was a softness in them that made my chest tighten. “I don’t want to do this without you,” she said quietly. “I can’t.”

“And you’ll never have to,” I promised, my hand coming up to cup her cheek. “We will face everything together. You’re not alone, Anna. Not anymore.”

She smiled through her tears, and the sight of it nearly undid me. I had never thought I could love someone like this. Not after everything I had been through, not after everything I had lost. But here she was, standing in front of me, making me believe in something I had long given up on.

As I looked at her, standing there so strong yet so vulnerable, I knew that this was what I had been fighting for all along. Not the empire, not the power, not even the vengeance. It was her. It had always been her.

“I love you,” I whispered, my voice thick with emotion. “I love you, Anna. And I will for the rest of my life.”

She smiled, her eyes bright with tears, and for the first time in a long time, I felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

“I love you too, Maxim,” she whispered, her voice trembling with the weight of her own emotions. “More than you will ever know.”

We stood there, wrapped in each other’s arms, the quiet of the night surrounding us. The shelter, her gift to me in Katya’s name, stood as a testament to everything we had been through, to the journey we had taken together. It was more than just a building. It was a symbol of the love and hope that had grown between us, despite all the darkness we had faced.

And as I held her close, I knew that no matter what came next, we would face it together. Because in the end, we had found each other. And that was all that mattered.

As we arrived home, I swept Anna up into my arms, carrying her over the threshold. Our lips met in a passionate kiss as I gently laid her down on the bed. My hands roamed her body, savoring every curve.

"I want you," Anna breathed, her eyes dark with desire. "Take me, Maxim."

I slowly undressed her, trailing kisses down her neck and collarbone. Anna arched her back as my lips found her breasts, teasing and tasting. Her soft moans filled the room as I worked my way lower, worshipping every inch of her body.

"Please," she whimpered, spreading her legs in invitation.

I settled between her thighs, my tongue finding her most sensitive spots. Anna cried out in pleasure, her fingers tangling in my hair as I brought her to the edge again and again.

Our bodies moved together in perfect synchronicity, every thrust driving us closer to ecstasy. Anna wrapped her legs around my waist, pulling me deeper inside her.

"Harder," she moaned. "Take me harder, Maxim."

I quickened my pace, pounding into her with abandon. Anna's nails raked down my back as she cried out in pleasure.

"You feel so good," I growled in her ear. "So tight and wet for me."

I reached between us to rub her sensitive bud, feeling her inner walls clench around me. Anna's back arched off the bed as she neared her peak.

"That's it, baby," I encouraged. "Come for me. Let me feel you come on my cock."

With a scream of ecstasy, Anna shattered beneath me. The pulsing of her release triggered my own.

We moved together in a passionate rhythm, our bodies perfectly in sync. Anna wrapped her legs around my waist, pulling me deeper.

"Harder," she moaned. "I need to feel all of you."

I quickened my pace, driving into her with increasing intensity. Anna's nails raked down my back as waves of pleasure washed over her.

Anna's eyes locked onto mine, filled with lust and longing. "I’m yours," she panted. "Only yours."

I reached between us to stroke her most sensitive spot as I continued thrusting. Anna cried out, her inner walls clenching around me as she neared her peak.

"Come for me, my love," I commanded.

And with a final cry of ecstasy, Anna shattered in my arms.

She was mine, and I was hers.

That was all that would ever, really matter.