The Edge of Light ✔️

Chapter Twenty Three

N I K O L A I

I watched Elena's chest rise and fall calmly as she slept away next to me. She had grumbled about her back hurting last night. It was the first time she had complained about pain around me and felt good to know that she was starting to rely on me. I made sure she kept her back warm and helped her apply some ointment before we went to bed. I had to get an appointment at my doctor back in Russia as soon as possible. Maybe he was able to help her. He was after all the best doctor out there.

My fingers brushed against her cheek softly as she stirred in her sleep. She scrunched her nose in an adorable way and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"What time is it?" she grumbled, still drowsy from sleep.

I chuckled softly as Elena wiped the drool from her face. It were moments like these that caught me off guard — seeing her so vulnerable, so completely unguarded. Her usual walls were down, and for a second, it felt like we were two people, not tangled in the mess of this world, but just... us.

"It's still early," I murmured, glancing at the clock on the wall. "Plenty of time to sleep in."

She groaned, pulling the blanket up over her head, and I shook my head, smiling. There was a moment of peace in that, something simple. But I wanted more. Not just fleeting, stolen moments in the early hours of the morning or late at night when the world stopped moving.

"Elena," I said softly, trying to find the right words. "How about we do something different tonight?"

The blanket shifted slightly, revealing one eye peeking out at me, curious but wary. "Different how?"

"Dinner. Just the two of us. We could take a walk by the river afterwards." I hesitated for a beat, gauging her reaction. "You know, like a date."

She blinked, the sleepiness slowly leaving her eyes as she processed what I'd just said. "A date?" she repeated, her voice low, almost incredulous.

"Yeah," I said, feeling a small surge of nervousness, a strange sensation I wasn't used to. "I thought... we could have dinner together. Something nice. You don't have to cook or worry about anything. Just... enjoy yourself."

Elena didn't respond immediately. Her expression was unreadable, her gaze searching mine as if trying to decipher my true intentions. For a moment, I worried that she'd refuse, that she'd pull back into that cold, distant shell she'd been living in for weeks now.

But then, she nodded slowly. "Okay," she said, almost cautiously. "It's a date."

A sense of relief washed over me, but I tried not to let it show too much. "Good. I'll take care of everything. Just... wear something nice."

She raised an eyebrow. "Nice?"

I smirked, leaning back against the headboard. "Yeah. You know, something that'll make me forget how to breathe."

She scoffed, rolling her eyes, but I could see the flicker of something in her gaze — maybe curiosity, maybe even a hint of amusement. It was the closest thing to warmth I'd seen from her in weeks, and it was enough.

Hours passed, and as I prepared for the evening, a thought struck me. The necklace. I had bought her a necklace a while ago. It was a dainty little thing but it served a bigger purpose. The pendant was a GPS tracker. Back then I got it in case she'd run away again but now I only wanted her to wear it for her own safety, in case something bad ever happened to her.

Business has been harsher than usual lately. More and more shootouts were happening and a lot more threats were surfacing, even for Elena. My enemies always aimed for people around me, people dear to me, instead aiming directly at me. But I knew I'd protect her at all costs, no matter what.