Page 51 of Bride of Vengeance

Mariana

I wake up in Mikhail's bed. Again.

This time, he's still here—sitting on the edge of the mattress, fully dressed, staring at his phone like it might bite him. The early morning light catches the silver in his hair, and for a second, I let myself imagine this is normal. That we're just a couple dealing with family drama instead of fugitives about to drop a bomb on unsuspecting relatives.

"How long have you been awake?" I ask, my voice rough with sleep.

"A few hours." He doesn't look at me.

I sit up, pulling the sheet around me even though he's seen everything already. Twice. "What did you tell Alexei?"

"That Ghost needs an urgent meeting. That it concerns Harrison and the federal trafficking network." His jaw tightens. "He agreed immediately. Said you'd be welcome too, despite your... current legal situation."

Current legal situation.That's one way to describe being America's most wanted.

"They know I'm coming?"

"I told them you had critical information about the case." Finally, he looks at me, and the vulnerability in his dark eyes makes my chest tight.

"Mikhail—"

"She's going to hate me." The words come out rough, like they've been scraped from his throat. "She wore black for a year, Mariana. She even named her son partly after me."

I reach for his hand, and he grips mine like an anchor. "She'll be angry. But she won't hate you. You are her family. And she’ll know what you've sacrificed to keep her safe."

He brings my hand to his lips, kissing my knuckles with a gentleness that seems at odds with everything Ghost represents. "What if she tells me to leave? What if she doesn't want—"

"Then we deal with it."

We.That word, again.

My phone buzzes on the nightstand. Text from an unknown number, but I recognize the style—encrypted, routed through multiple servers.

Agent Castillo - This is Alexei Morozov. Looking forward to seeing you despite the circumstances. Mila says to tell you the twins miss their Aunt Mari. - AM

Something warm unfolds in my chest. They're not going to cut him off. I’m sure. Even with federal manhunts and treason charges, they're still family.

"What is it?" Mikhail asks.

I show him the message. "They called me Aunt Mari. That's what the twins—well, what Mila says when she holds their hands to wave at me."

"You're close with them."

"I've been their FBI liaison for the legitimacy project for over a year. You already know that part. I remember the twins' first birthday party several months ago..." A laugh escapes, slightly hysterical. "God, that feels like a lifetime ago. I was still a real agent then. Still believed in the system."

"You're still real. Just fighting from a different position now."

I lean into him, breathing in his scent—expensive cologne mixed with something uniquely him. "I'm nervous."

"About?"

"Seeing them. They trusted me to bridge their world with law enforcement, and now I'm a fugitive. What if they think I betrayed that trust? What if—" I stop, the other fear too big to voice.

"What if they find out about us?" he finishes.

"Yeah."

He's quiet for a moment, then: "Would that be so terrible?"