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He went down with one little hit. I wanted to hit him again, over and over, like he had struck my wife.

But at this moment, Alina was my only concern.

There would be plenty of time to work my rage out as I slowly tortured him to death later.

Kicking him over, I reached into his pocket for his keys.

Alina flinched at the sudden violence.

A whimper left her lips, and her eyes were glassy with unshed tears.

She wasn't sobbing, but her lips trembled, and when I reached for her cuffs, her breath hitched.

"Please, Pavel," she whispered. "It wasn't me. I didn't betray you. I would never–"

Finding the small handcuff key, I nodded. “I know, kitten. I'm so sorry this happened, but I am so proud of you for the way you handled it. You did everything right."

The cuffs fell away with a sharp click, and the moment her wrists were free, I grabbed her face in my hands and crashed my lips against hers.

I needed her lips against mine; I needed to taste her and know that she was back in my arms where she belonged.

That I had her now, and she was safe.

She kissed me back, her kiss just as desperate.

Her hands grabbed the lapels of my jacket as she pulled me close, pressing her body against mine in a way that was possessive, hard, claiming.

She needed this contact, the reassurance, as badly as I did.

"I know, baby," I murmured against her mouth. "I have you now. These assholes are going to pay for laying a finger on you. I am going to make every single one of them wish they were never born. They will be a warning to anyone who thinks about touching you again."

"Because I am yours," she said before kissing me again.

Fuck, that felt good to hear.

She was mine; she was always going to be mine.

Body and soul.

She was the woman I was going to come home to every night, the one who would make life worth living. I had always lived to further the interests of my family. It was my passion, my meaning behind life. Now it was her.

Everything was for her.

It was strange, how certain I'd been—how, from the moment I learned the police had taken her, I knew it hadn't been her doing.

I knew she wasn't going to betray me.

There was no logical reason for that certainty. I was aware that our relationship was built on force, manipulation, and control.

But still, when it came to Alina—I trusted her. Completely. Even though I had forgotten that I controlled her grandmother's fate.

That was a terrifying revelation. Leverage was how I knew who to trust and who not to. Leverage and blood.

But Alina was different. I didn't need the leverage, but just the same, I trusted her.

A knock at the door had me breaking the kiss andturning to the now open door behind me, ready to lash out with the fury still simmering beneath the surface.

Artem entered and looked down at the detective still unconscious on the floor. He grabbed his sleeve and ripped it up to show theLos Infidelestattoos on the inside of his forearms.