30. Katerina

When I wake up I’m in a hospital bed. My sister’s asleep with her head on the bed but she wakes up as soon I move.

“Kat,” she says and I watch her eyes well up with tears.

“I’m okay, sorella,” I assure her.

“How could you have been so stupid? You should have never gone there alone.”

“I know,” I mutter. As if it wasnt already obvious, I seem to have a talent for making stupid decisions. Where are they?”

She’s quick to reassure me. I’ve been unconscious for half a day. They kept me for observation because they wanted to ensure that I didn’t have a concussion. In that time Xander’s had surgery and is currently out of danger. He’s still unconscious and will continue to be so for the rest of the day. Nate’s at home resting. Richard and Isabella came to take him away after the hospital confirmed that he was okay. He doesn’t remember much of what happened because he was unconscious the entire time.

I listen quietly as she tells me everything.

“And everyone is okay?” I confirm. “No one was hurt.”

“There were some casualties. Sokolov hired about fifty armed men to guard the warehouse. We lost about five capos, the De Luca’s lost some too. But all in all, the casualty rate was low. I was so scared, Katerina. When we found out you were gone, Xander got to work on tracking you immediately. It was difficult because your location kept changing. And then it started to look like something was jamming the signal. But he managed to work around it all. He was so focused on finding you. That man loves you so much, sorella.”

“I know,” I whisper.

“After we got your location, everyone practically raced out of the mansion. Even Papa. I stayed behind but Tony already told me everything that happened. As soon as they arrived, the fighting started and it was a mess. He thinks Xander got hit when he was trying to get in. According to Tony, he’s never seen anyone fight that hard before. Are you sure he’s never had any combat training?”

I smile. “Positive.”

“Well, he’s great at it. And a good shot. He took down three of the men outside before rushing inside the warehouse. He must have gotten shot in the middle of it all. Thank God, the bullet wasn’t too deep.”

“Yeah,” I breathe. “Soph, I need to see him. I need to see him and confirm he’s okay.”

My sister nods in understanding. She helps me out of the bed, leading me to Xander’s room. At the door, I run into the last person I was expecting to see leaving his hospital room, Jessica Steele. She stills when she notices my approach.

I brace myself for whatever she has to say. I’m sure she blames me for what happened. And rightly so. It’s all my fault. Instead of yelling at me though, Jessica sighs.

“I know you think of me as a horrible mother,” she begins. “And maybe I am. But you need to understand, child. That I did what I thought was best for him.”

“We all think we’re doing what’s best. Most of the time we’re wrong,” I tell her.

“I love my son,” Jessica says. “And I know you don’t believe me. He probably doesn’t believe it either. But I’m going to do my best to work towards getting him to do so. After what happened, almost losing him,” her voice cracks on the last word.

“I understand, Jessica,” I say gently. “And I’m sure Xander will forgive you eventually.”

She offers me a small smile. “His brother and sister are in there with him,” she informs me before walking away.

I ask Sophia to leave while I enter the hospital room. I find Mikayla and Graham on opposite sides of Xander’s bed, seated with worry on their faces. They get to their feet as soon as they notice me.

“Katerina,” Mikayla says softly, moving to hug me. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“Thanks, Kay.”

My gaze moves to the silent man in the room. He clears his throat, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Hey, Katerina,” he greets.

Despite everything I’m glad he’s here. At his brother’s side when he needs him the most. Xander was right. There might be hope for him yet.

“Kay and I are going to leave now,” he says, nodding at his sister.

“Wait. Can you ask your parents to bring Nate here?” I question.

They assure me that they will and then they leave. I take a seat beside Xander’s bed to wait for him to wake up.

When his eyes finally open,the first thing I do is call his doctor and nurses into the room. After they confirm that he’ll be okay, we’re left alone once again. I stare at him for a couple of seconds, trying to memorize every inch of his face.

“I love you, Xander,” I say softly, the words leaving my lips as easy as breathing.

His green eyes land on me and the sight of it is like a punch to the stomach. “I love you and I’m so sorry that it took me so long to be able to say it. But I’m saying it now and I’ll say it every single day for as long as you continue to find me worthy of your love. Thank you so much for taking care of me. For saving me, for always being there, even when we were apart.”

I’m crying by the time I’m done. Xander doesn’t say anything for a few seconds. Then he’s trying to sit up.

“You probably shouldn’t,” I start, trying to stop him.

He raises an eyebrow. “Just help me, woman.”

So I do, placing his back against the wall. “You know the first thing I want to do?” he asks and I shake my head.

“I want to hug you and Nate for as long as it takes to convince me we’re all safe. Then I want to kiss you for as long as I want.”

My breath leaves me in a rush. “You’ll get to do both those things soon, I promise.”

“Good. Because I also need you to understand that you don’t need to thank me. Being with you is as easy as breathing, Katerina. You’ve owned my heart for so long I’m not even sure it belongs to me anymore. It belongs to you. Every inch of it.”

I smile, feeling my chest threatening to cave in on itself as my heart swells.

“I love you, princess,” he tells me, eyes never leaving mine.

I shift forward and throw my arms around his neck, carefully not to hurt him.

“I love you too.”

All the years we’ve been apart add up to about twenty eight years. Counting the 9 years after Nate and the 18 years before I met him for the first time. Twenty seven years wasted. It only seems fair to me that we should get two or three times as long to make up for it.

Nate arrives at the hospital about two hours later. His expression is worried as he enters his father’s hospital room, but we’re quick to assure him that nothing is amiss. After a hug session in Xander’s bed, we both share a look, coming to a wordless agreement.

“Sweetie your father and I have something to tell you,” I start.

“Your mother’s going to move in with us. Actually we’ll be moving into her house. The mansion. You like the mansion, right?” Xander asks our son.

He nods. “It’s big. Lots of space to play in. I like it.”

I smile, glad that he’s at an age where things like this are still easy for him to accept.

“That’s good, buddy. And there’s one more thing. Your mother and I are in a relationship.”

He blinks, letting that sink in. “Like Daniel’s parents are in a relationship?” he finally asks.

I nod once. “Exactly like that.”

When he beams, it feels like a boulder is lifted off my chest. He tugs my hand and I crouch down so I’m eye level with him.

“So does this mean I get to call you mom?” Nate asks softly.

My eyes well up with tears, I hug him to my chest as tight as I can, “Yes, sweetie. You can call me mom. In fact, it would make me very happy if you did.”

He smiles and nods once before looking up at his dad. “Get well soon, dad. You said we were going to Paris.”

I arch an eyebrow at that. “Paris?”

“Dad said he was going to ask you an important question there. He said you love Paris.”

When I look back at Xander, he’s rolling his eyes. “I asked you to keep it a secret from her, sport.”

Our son giggles. “I’m sorry.”

My heart races as I consider exactly what important question he could possibly want to ask.

“Don’t think too much about it, princess,” Xander says. “At least not until I get down on one knee.”

I gasp softly, “Xander.”

“You’re going to say yes when I ask, right?” he prompts, uncertainty in his green eyes.

“Of course,” I say softly, feeling a shiver roll through me. “I would say yes a thousand times to a future with you, Xander.”

THE END.