Epilogue

Nova

The baby cooed in my arms, and I smiled down at her, murmuring softly as Ciana fed one of her sisters. It had been an eventful day and my entire body was sore, but it was worth it. Getting Ciana and her babies away from the monster that was Bain O’Farrell was all I’d been able to think about since returning from my honeymoon. Not even moving in to our brand-new house within the Vitucci compound walls had been able to distract me.

Anya had sensed my preoccupation, and after seeing how stressed Scarlett was over worrying for her daughter and grandchildren, the two of us had decided we couldn’t just let Ciana stay locked away from those who loved her.

It had taken weeks of planning, but we’d finally accomplished what we’d set out to do. Of course, we knew Bain would try to come for them, but he’d never find Ciana unless she wanted to be found. And from what little she’d said since we’d made our exit from Bain’s fortress, I doubted she wanted that anytime soon—if ever.

“He had one of his men put a sniper on Ryan when he came to get me,” she whispered, trying to keep her voice steady as she nursed her daughter. “He said if I didn’t do what he wanted, he’d kill Ryan and send Anya his head. He showed me Sheena’s, so of course, I believed him.”

“No one is blaming you, myshka,” Anya assured her soothingly, rocking the third baby in her arms. “I knew there was a reason you wouldn’t come with Ryan.”

“Don’t worry about anything,” I told my cousin. “You just concentrate on taking care of these beautiful girls and yourself. We’ve got everything else taken care of.”

Worry darkened her beautiful face. I didn’t know if it was having to handle three babies at once, or from having to deal with Bain for so long, but Ciana looked exhausted. She’d always seemed to glow, no matter what was going on in her life, but now she looked like a shell of the vibrant girl I’d always known and loved. “He won’t just let me go. If he’d been home, things would have gone a lot differently when you two burst in like that.”

I smirked over at her. “Good thing we knew he wasn’t home, then.”

“How?”

“Everyone has a price,” Anya muttered. “And I can be very persuasive when I need to be.”

“How many people did you have to kill?” Ciana asked, deadpan.

“As many as I had to,” she said in a gentle voice, rubbing her nose against the baby’s, making her coo. “And I will kill many, many more to keep you and these angels safe.”

“What will you do when Bain comes for us?” Ciana asked with concern.

Anya looked over at her niece and slowly released a heavy breath. “As Nova said, don’t worry about anything. He can come for you all he wants, but he won’t ever find you.”