She leans in and kisses me softly. “I know you need to work on this, but we also need to get the house ready for the little one.” The little one. Hearing her talk about our child fills my heart with joy. I never thought I would have a family, but here I am. Here we are. Nina is finally mine after all these years. I place my hands on her belly and place a kiss in the center. “I love you.” “Me or the baby?” She snickers. “Both. And that terrifies me.” “You—” “I know, I don’t need to worry, but I do. I want to keep my girls safe.” “He’s gone. Kirill isn’t here to complicate things anymore.” “You’re right.” I nod to rid of any negative thoughts I have. It’s been an entire year and there has been no news on the Stepanovs. Maybe killing Kirill was the best thing I could have done to keep her safe. What makes me nervous is that I haven’t heard anything on Mikhail. “Can you take a look at this?” I ask, pulling up something on my computer. “It should be everything we need for her.” She takes her time scrolling through everything on the list. I hope she appreciates it. I hired an interior designer to decorate our child’s room because I know that’s what Nina would want. I didn’t tell her about it because I wanted to see the smile on her face. There it is. That goddamn perfect smile. The one I’d do anything for. “This is amazing.” She chokes back a sob. “But I have something better.” I raise an eyebrow at her as she leaves the living room. A couple minutes pass. Curiosity getting the better of me, I get up and walk down the hallway to her. “Wait!” she shouts, but it’s too late. I look at the item she has in her hands. Taking it, I see an ultrasound scan of our daughter, with a name engraved in the metal of the frame. Mira. “Is thi . . .? What—?” I stutter. “Mirabella.” My mother’s name. “Yes.” She nods slowly.
I kneel to the ground, placing my head gently on her pregnant belly. I don’t know how I got so lucky with all the shitty hands I’ve been dealt in my life. Everything worked out. I played my cards right. The End. OceanofPDF.com
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To all the amazing people on BookTok: would this even be a book without you? Probably not. You guys put up with my annoying-ass posting spoilers all the time. While you may have hated me, the book is FINALLY out there. Now you can continue hating me while I post teasers for the second book. (; I love you all with every inch of my heart. Thank you for showing your love for this book before it even came out. One more thing, thank you for putting your trust in me, I hope you all loved the story! <3 Mom, if it wasn’t for the night you stayed up till midnight reading this book when you had work at 3 a.m., I wouldn’t have the faith I have in myself now. You continue to inspire me without even trying. How lucky am I to call my mom my best friend? Very . . . Dad, when I told you I wanted to become an author, you supported me. Book that tattoo appointment. Oh, you thought I forgot? No. You told me that if I sold ONE book, you would get the spade tattooed on your shoulder. And one copy is bound to be sold because of Mom. Thanks, Mom! Nik and Rosi, I will never forget telling you guys about this book. The way my brother’s eyes widened when I told him it’s a little spicy! Thank you for your support. If you choose to read, please stop at the part where Nina goes to Giovanni’s house. You’ll thank me later. Rosi, thank you for being everything my brother needs and more. I’m so glad you’re a part of this family. James, my love. First off, I’m sorry for all the times I told you, “Shh! I’m working!” Well, I’m not sorry, but you know what I mean. Thank you for being my rock. Thank you for supporting my unhealthy book-buying habit, and for pushing me to become the best person I can be. I never knew sixteen-year-old me who saw you in the cafeteria would be so lucky to call you my husband. Mackenzie, the patience you have is insane. Come to think of it, I think I sent you six versions of this book and you read through each one. You helped this book become the best version of itself, and I have you to thank
for that. Thanks for loving this book as much as I do. Also, sorry for dropping out, but this book wouldn’t be here right now if I was explaining what an engineer is for the millionth time. Emma, Lola, and Salma, thank you for everything. I love you guys. To my editors, Bryony and Deborah. This book would have been a confusing, never-ending stream of the same twenty-six letters if it weren’t for your help! I cannot thank you enough for all the time and effort you’ve put into this book. You’ve helped me make “Spades” everything I wanted and more. To my dogs, all five of you—and no, I don’t care if this is a strange acknowledgment. Thank you for not tearing things up on the long days I wouldn’t leave my desk. It means a lot to me that I didn’t have to pick up trash when I was in the middle of writing intense scenes. OceanofPDF.com
UNTITLED Want to keep in touch? I post updates here: Instagram @Kyrairene__ TikTok @Kyrairene_ OceanofPDF.com