“Okay.”

We climb out of the car, and when we walk into the house, it’s to find Alexei waiting in the foyer with his arms crossed over his chest.

He gives Ariana a dark look, then slowly walks closer to her. “Do you have any idea how worried I was?”

“Ah… sorry,” she pulls a cute face.

Alexei opens his arm. “Come here.”

I watch as they hug, then Alexei says, “It’s good to have you back. Don’t ever give me a heart attack like that again.”

“I won’t.” Ariana pulls back and grins up at him, and patting his chest, teases him, “Who knew I could make the head of the Bratva sweat?”

Taking hold of Ariana’s hand, I pull her away from Alexei and to my side, which only makes Alexei grin at me.

“She’s moving in,” I tell him. “With me.”

“Like you even had to add the last part,” Alexei taunts me.

“How many people live in this house?” Ariana asks.

“Four. Alexei, me, Sacha, and Nikhil. And now you.”

“I’m not cooking,” she blurts out, making Alexei laugh.

“I do the cooking,” I tell her. “That way, I know no one’s going to be poisoned.” Not wanting her to worry, I place my hand on the back of her neck and say, “The left wing is ours, so you’ll have all the privacy you need while being safe.”

She gives me a happy smile which makes me feel better.

Nudging her forward, I say, “Come on, let’s get you settled, and then I’ll show you the rest of the mansion.” To Alexei, I say, “Can you get Sacha to bring in Ariana’s luggage?”

“Sure.” He watches us with a smile, then calls out to Ariana, “It’s good having you here, little one.”

I take Ariana to our suite, and heading to the walk-in closet, I begin to move my things over to the right side.

Ariana begins to help me then asks, “Do you wear any other color but white and black?”

“No, you’re all the color I need.”

“Aww…” She drops the shirt she was holding and lunges at me, slamming a hot kiss to my mouth.

ARIANA

It’s been three months since I moved in with Demitri, and it still feels surreal.

I get to fall asleep in his arms.

My life has done a total one-eighty. I’m now surrounded by people who care about me.

The other day there was a spider in the bathroom, and I screamed. Seconds later, I was staring wide-eyed at four armed men while clutching a towel around my body.

Not my proudest moment. Demitri wasn’t happy, either.

Now I can laugh about it. Demitri still growls when I bring it up.

I let out a chuckle at the memory and then get back to work. I took one of the guest rooms in our wing and converted it to an office for me.

My inheritance came through, and after thinking long and hard, I decided to help people like my mom. If I had died, there wouldn’t have been anyone to look after her. After doing some research, I found out there are many elderly people who can’t afford the care they need.