Chapter 50: Codename: Blackheart Epilogue
Elijah and I walk down the street arm and arm as I shove a very delicious mango mochi in my mouth. I glance to my right to see Elijah looking at me with shock on his face.
“What?” I ask with a mouth full of mochi.
“Did you just eat the last mochi?”
I swallow what’s in my mouth and smile at him, “Yup.”
“I can’t believe you,” he says, shaking his head.
“Hey, you drank the last of my vegetable juice this morning,” I remind him.
“Touché,” he concedes.
We continue to walk for another block, just enjoying the nice evening air. The streets aren’t too busy, so it’s relatively quiet. The peaceful stillness gives me time to think and reflect and get lost in my thoughts. Elijah’s business has been slow this month, as has mine, so we’ve both had more time to spend together just enjoying each other’s company. We’ve both needed it. Especially since my last job had me hunting someone down all over France which was goddamn exhausting.
After Peyton’s ‘accident’, it left Elijah as the sole heir to his business, properties, and money, making Elijah a very wealthy man now. He sold his father’s shipping company for a very handsome size and started his own car company, one with ingenuity, profitability, and a mission to not only help the environment but help the everyday person. He’s even giving Tesla a run for its money. He’s not working to build luxury cars, he’s working to provide everyday people with affordable, sustainable cars that aren’t likely to require the owners to spend tens of thousands of dollars a year on repairs or gas. I had no idea he was such a philanthropist, but it’s definitely something I admire about him.
“Do you recognise this place?” Elijah suddenly asks.
I snap out of my thoughts and focus on his question. Do I recognise this place? I carefully look around. It takes a few seconds, but it eventually hits me, and I look at Elijah wide-eyed.
“We’re in the neighbourhood where you were staying when I was surveilling you,” I say in realisation.
He smiles nodding, “I was a nervous wreck back then, and furious to boot. For a long time, I looked at those weeks living in that apartment as the worst weeks of my life.”
“Well, it was a shitty apartment, and you were practically sequestered the entire time,” I remind him.
“In hindsight, it wasn’t so bad.”
I chuckle, “Being threatened to participate in a plot to kill an assassin wasn’t so bad? Oh yeah, sounds like a real hoot.”
“When you phrase it like that, yeah, it was fucking shit, but it had one big, bright side and it’s the only thing that makes that shitty time in that crap apartment worth every second.”
“The café you went to almost every day?”
He rolls his eyes, “No, you big stalker. I’m trying to make a romantic gesture here.”
“Oh,” I say in surprise, “Please continue then.”
He smiles in amusement, “The big, bright side was you. If I hadn’t gone through all that shit I never would have met you.”
I smile touched by his sweet words. Okay, I shouldn’t have interrupted his setup, but the punchline was still effective.
“Was a crazy, dangerous time for us both and we’re both lucky to be alive,” I smile at him.
“Every day that I spend with you, I am grateful we made it out of that, and I am even more grateful that you gave us a chance to be something. I’ve never regretted a single moment with you, not even the bad ones, and I want more days with you,” he says as he pulls me towards a very familiar alley. Pretty sure this is the alley where I kidnapped him.
As we step into the alley, I freeze in my tracks. The alley is covered in beautiful candles and a stunning patch of wolf’s bane flowers are scattered across the ground, the candlelight illuminating their beautiful shade of purple. I watch in stunned silence as Elijah gets down on one knee in front of me and pulls out a ring box from his jeans pocket. He opens the box revealing a stunning, black wedding band with a gorgeous, heart-shaped black diamond at the centre surrounded by smaller black diamonds along the band. Holy fuck!
“Alina Istrati. To everyone in the world, you’re the infamous, cold, and ruthless Blackheart, but to me, you’re the woman who stole my heart and lights up my life every day. Two years ago in this alley, you blew into my life, and I was scared shitless. I never in a million years thought I’d fall in love with the woman who held a gun to my head, but here we are, and I couldn’t be happier. I love how unexpected life has been with you, I love the way you keep me on my toes, and I love that you make me a stronger person. Alina, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. No matter what dangers may come our way, I want to face them with you. Would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?” he asks, his voice trembling as he looks at me with more love and nerves than I’ve ever seen.
Happy tears sting my eyes, and I can’t stop the stupid smile that spreads across my face. There’s only one answer to a question like this.
“I would be honoured to be your wife,” I smile at him, “Yes, my answer is yes,” I giggle, throwing myself at him. He catches me with ease and holds me tight against him. He pulls back a little and captures my lips in a passionate kiss that shoots down to my feet and I swear sensation returns to my dead soles. All too soon his lips leave mine. He pulls the ring out of the box and slides it onto my finger, where it fits perfectly. I smile at the stunning piece of jewellery that screams me in every way. Who knew he was so symbolic?
“A black heart for my Blackheart,” he smirks proudly.
“I love it,” I smile at him, “But I love you more.”
“I love you too, Alina, I always will,” he vows, holding his hand to my cheek.
I remember thinking back when I first saw his picture, what a shame it would be to kill him. Back then, I didn’t know how much I’d grow to mean those words. Who could have ever guessed that an assassin would fall in love with the man she was sent to kill?
.
\[The following chapters are to book 2 in the Codename Trilogy\]
CODENAME: ACONITE
Being the daughter of a mafia boss and an assassin has led to an interesting life for Dasha Hatzis. The blood and knowledge of the women who came before her, taught her that if she’s going to be the only woman in a room full of men, to make sure she’s the deadliest thing in that room.
After finishing up a contract that ended with surprising results, she thinks that’s the end of the matter. But what happens when her prey suddenly becomes her ally? Dasha finds herself teaming up with an unlikely partner as they attempt to stop a plot that has assassins unknowingly targeting other assassins.
Tension and attractions rise, friends become enemies, and everything will be put on the line as Dasha fights to stay alive and secure her legacy as the infamous assassin known as Aconite.