EPILOGUE
NIKOLAI
I SAT IN car with the engine off, watching snow crawl down the windshield in slow, silent streaks. The kind of quiet that made the world feel too still. The kind that reminded you no matter how many men you killed, how many cities you burned, there were still things out there that could bring you to your knees.
That thing sat in my coat pocket, burning a hole straight through my chest.
I wasn’t afraid Claude would say no. That wasn’t what had me gripping the wheel tight enough to leave marks. He’d already given me everything that mattered. His love. His trust. His broken pieces. But this was different. This wasn’t claiming him. It was offering him a future.
I stepped out of the car, lit a cigarette even though I didn’t need it. Just needed something to do with my han
