Page 49 of Angel's Forever

Viktor came around and placed his arm around me. He led me with Aleksandr over to the elevator. Aleksandr placed a key card against the panel next to the door. The doors opened and we all stepped inside. I noticed that Aleksandr pressed the button for the top floor. I guessed I shouldn’t be surprised. It made sense that they would pay for the best room in the hotel. The elevator doors opened, and we walked into the hallway to the only door on the floor. Aleksandr opened the door and we entered an amazing suite.

“Viktor, this is gorgeous. You really shouldn’t have gone to all this trouble.”

“It’s no trouble, malyshka. Now, do you want me to ask Aleksandr to leave? He won’t be offended and will understand after what you have been through.”

“No, it’s fine. But if you don’t mind, I’m going to lay my head down for a while. Munchkin here is telling me I need to get some rest.”

I walked over to Viktor and gave him a kiss on the cheek, then did the same to Aleksandr, to his obvious shock. I left them both standing there and headed into one of the bedrooms. I lay my head down, and in a matter of moments, I had fallen into a restful sleep.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

HUDSON

IT WAS NEARLY SIX in the evening when we arrived at the hotel just outside of Old Orchard Beach where Viktor had taken Gaby. He had called to say that she was safe and relatively unharmed, and they had gotten to her before Vincent could do anything. I had already called Monica at the clinic and gotten an appointment to have Gaby checked over tomorrow evening once we got back to New York. I wanted to make sure that everything was okay with the baby.

We parked up and headed inside the hotel and up to the reception desk.

I spoke to the receptionist. “Could you please tell us which room Mr. Koslov is staying in?”

The receptionist smiled. “You must be Mr. Bryce-Stanton. Mr. Koslov said you would be arriving. He is in the penthouse suite. If you would like to take this card and go over to the elevator, it will gain you access to the suite.”

I took the key, said thank you, and we all headed over to the elevator. It wasn’t long before we were walking toward the door to the suite and letting ourselves in. We found Viktor and Aleksandr sitting in the living room, enjoying a glass of scotch.

“Hudson, Nico, and Gino, so good to see you all. Especially you, Gino. Good to see you have recovered.”

I walked over to Viktor and held out my hand. He got up from his seat and placed his arms around me in a hug. I returned it, and we both stood there for a moment, no words spoken. They didn’t need to be; we both understood what a relief it was for this whole ordeal to be over. We released our hold, and I addressed them both.

“Thank you. You don’t know how much of a relief it is to know that Gaby is safe. I really cannot thank you both enough.”

I looked over at Aleksandr as I spoke, and he just smiled and gave me a quick nod.

Viktor placed a hand on my shoulder as he replied. “Hudson, you know I was never going to give up until I found my malyshka. What kind of a bratva boss would I be if I gave up? I needed her and her baby to be safe and well, and I hope I have managed that.”

I could see this had affected him as much as it had us. He really had grown to love Gaby as the daughter he had lost all those years ago, and who was I to argue? However, what I needed right now was to see that she was safe and well.

“Where is she?”

“She went to lie down a few hours ago. We have left her in there and haven’t disturbed her. For one reason, we didn’t want to frighten her. She is in the bedroom over there.”

Instantly, I walked over and let myself into the bedroom to find Gaby sleeping peacefully on the bed. I didn’t hesitate as I lay next to her and pulled her into my arms. Finally, I felt at ease knowing she was safe and looked relatively unharmed. I couldn’t see any marks on her face, which I hoped meant that Vincent hadn’t touched her in any way. I lay there with a tear rolling down my face, the relief finally letting out the pain I’d been holding back.

I could hear the rest of them talking in the other room, and it sounded as though Viktor and Aleksandr were about to leave, but I wasn’t going to say goodbye. I wanted to hold Gaby for as long as I could, and I was never going to let her go again. I knew that Viktor would forgive me this one time. I would make it up to him at some point. As I lay here listening to Gaby breathing, the lone tear turned into many as I couldn’t help but think of what could have happened.

I heard the door of the suite open and close and assumed that Viktor and Aleksandr had now left the suite. That was confirmed when Nico and Gino walked into the bedroom.

“Viktor said goodbye, and he will contact us in a couple of days to check up on Rosa. He said not to worry about Vincent, as he was going back to deal with him now.” Nico paused as soon as he saw the tears in my eyes. “It’s okay, Hud. She is back with us now. That is all that matters. As for the baby…well, we can deal with that tomorrow after Rosa has seen Monica. Please don’t cry. I hate to see you this upset.”

He came and sat next to me on the bed, while Gino stood there looking at the three of us. I could already tell what was going through his head. Gaby was safe, and that was all he needed to see. He was going to leave us all. I could see the pain he was feeling and understood it, because it was the same pain I was feeling at the thought of losing him. I was about to speak when Gaby started to stir from her slumber.

“Hudson. Is that you?”

Her small and tired voice was one of the sweetest sounds I could have heard at that moment. She snuggled into me and placed her hand on my heart. My tears finally stopped as I now felt the heat of her body radiating into mine and healing the pain I had been feeling for the past five days. I pressed a kiss on her hair and finally breathed a sigh of pure relief. She was safe and in my arms, and that was all that mattered.

“Yes, sweetheart, it’s me. Nico and Gino are here too.”

Her eyes opened slowly, trying to both shake the last remnants of sleep from her body and adjust to the brightness of the room. She looked up at me, and the biggest smile formed on her face. She turned her head and looked at the other men in her life that she loved with all her heart, first landing on Nico.

“Hey, principessa. You don’t know how much I have missed you. I’m so happy you are safe and back with us.”