Ryssa

"Why couldn't I be the kind of girl who wears fucking Bobby pins in her hair?" I mumbled to myself as I continued to try to get free from the handcuffs.

While I was in the van with Hanson, I could hear everything going on with Nikolai. Which means, I also heard when he came face-to-face with Juan Garcia and ended up with a gun in his face.

Panic overrode any common sense that I had and I tried to escape the van to run to Nikolai's aid. I had never been more scared in my entire life. I was so terrified that he was going to get killed and I wasn't thinking clearly.

Good thing Hanson had great reflexes. He caught me before I even opened the van door. I put up a fight and he ended up handcuffing me to the steering wheel. I've tried and failed ever since to get free.

Hanson and the other officers stormed the place after the sound of an explosion went off. I've been trying to think of cupcakes and candy canes; anything to keep from seeing the image of Nikolai's dead body in my head. I couldn't hear the updates anymore since Hanson turned off the mic. I heard gunfire and people yelling.

My mind went back to the conversation Nikolai and I had in bed this morning:

"So, if we go into witness protection, I'll have to have a new name, right?"

I was draped over Nikolai's chest as he continued to stroke my hair. After all the lovemaking we did last night, I was surprised I was able to even move this morning. But when he woke me up by kissing every inch of my skin, I couldn't stop the way my body responded to him. It was as if his touch was the match that ignited the fire inside me. Without it, I felt cold...alone.

"Yeah, I suppose," he answered. "I think they assign the names."

I continued to stroke the outline of the dragon tattoo on his shoulder that I loved so much. "I wonder what it will be. I hope it's not something archaic. Like Agnes or Gertrude."

His deep chuckle vibrated in his chest. "Yeah, I'm not calling you any of those names." He paused before he asked, "I wonder what mine would be; or what job they are going to give me."

"I can't see myself calling you anything but Nikolai," I quipped before something dawned on me and I couldn't stop laughing.

"What's so funny?" He asked with a frown.

"Imagine if they put you in an office behind a desk? Nikolai the accountant!"

He scoffed at my attempt at humor. "Not a chance in hell. If Hanson knows what's good for him, he will be very careful when he assigns us jobs after this is all over."

When I remained silent, he slid his finger under my chin, lifting my head so my eyes met his. "Hey, don't think that way."

I gave him a half smile. "How do you know what I'm thinking?"

"Because I know you, Ryssa. I'm going to be okay. We are going to be okay."

My voice came out in a low whisper, I was surprised he even heard me. "How do you know that?"

He cupped the side of my face as he pressed his lips to mine. "Because, after everything I went through in my life, all the darkness and the pain; I finally found you. I'm not going to lose you in a matter of days."

I shook my head, trying to shake off the memory. I wanted to believe him so badly. I wanted the chance to have a real relationship with him. Not one where we're hiding in hotels and running from crazy drug dealer's. No, thank you.

The door to the van opened and Hanson came inside. I leaned to the right, trying to see around his body. "Where is he? Where's Nikolai?"

Officer Hanson didn't answer me. He removed my cuffs before instructing my to sit in the passenger seat. He started the van and put it in drive.

"Hanson, where is he?" He kept his eyes straight and dread filled me. "He's-- he's dead, isn't he?"

The officer finally looked over at me. "He's alive. He's with another office being taken to the station. That's where we're going, too."

Something wasn't right about all of this. Officer Hanson had an odd look on his face. "What aren't you telling me? Why didn't you bring him back here with you?"

Hanson kept his eyes on the road. "Because he's been arrested."

Six Hours Later

I glanced at the clock on the wall as I continued to pace in the room at the police station. I didn't know if it was an interrogation room, a mediation room, or what. I didn't even care.

Hanson didn't go into details about why we had to wait here and why Nikolai had to go in a cop car. All he said was that some thing's needed to be straightened out regarding everything that went down. I got even more nervous when he said that. Did that mean Nikolai was in trouble for something? Did that mean everything went according to plan and they just needed to wrinkle out the details? After all, he did say that Nikolai was 'arrested'.

I ran my hands through my hair again. The sound of the door opening had me whirling around. "Hanson, you better-- Nikolai?" There he was. In one piece and not a scratch on him from what I could see. Everything went supersonic after that. My feet moved on their own, propelling me into Nikolai's arms.

I wrapped my arms around his neck as he pulled me closer to him. "I'm so glad you're okay," I breathed. I stepped back from him and he grasped my face, pulling me in for a deep kiss.

"I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner," he said with regret clear in his voice.

"What happened?"

Officer Hanson stepped into the room carrying a manila envelope. He gestured to the two seats on the other side of the desk. "Please, sit. We have a lot to talk about."

Nikolai never let go of my hand as we took our seats. I didn't know if this was going to be a good conversation, or a bad one. I just wanted to get it over with.

"First off," Officer Hanson started as he looked at me, "I'm sorry I handcuffed you to the van."

"Wait, what?" Nikolai glanced at me with wide eyes before he looked back to the cop. "You handcuffed her?"

"Care to tell him why?" Hanson asked with an arched brow.

I let out a long breath. "I tried to run and save you. You know, when Garcia was going to shoot you."

I braced myself for the macho "you shouldn't have done that speech", but he didn't do any of that. Instead, he gripped the back of my neck and crushed his mouth to mine. I gasped in surprise, and he took full advantage as he deepened the kiss. I was nearly lost to him before Officer Hanson cleared his throat.

Nikolai pulled away from me, but he held my stare. "You're amazing. I love you."

"I love you, too," I breathed before we looked back to Hanson.

"Secondly," the cop sighed, "I'm sorry I couldn't give you more details regarding Nikolai. We had to arrest him to make it look like it he wasn't with the police. Then there's his Plan B issue..."

My brows drew together. "Plan B?"

Nikolai turned to me. "That explosion you heard? I set it off." I must have made a face because he quickly added, "I knew I might need a distraction to get out of there. That's how I was able to disarm Garcia."

I tried to process everything he said. Even though I didn't like him being put in that much danger, it made sense. I glanced at the two of them and I could tell there was more. "What aren't you telling me, Nikolai?"

"They tried to press charges on me for the explosives. It wasn't apart of the plan."

"What!" My eyes shot to Hanson. "You can't let them do that. You got your bad guy!"

Hanson raised his hands defensively. "Ryssa, it's okay. I'm the one who gave Nikolai the go ahead to rig the explosives. We sorted it out. Now, we got everything we need to arrest Garcia and the men that were there." He tapped the envelope in front of him. "Unfortunately, there are others out there."

I knew where this was going. "We need to go into witness protection," I stated. That wasn't surprising. Considering who these men were and what they were capable of, there was no guarantee of safety if we stayed in New York.

"Yes." Hanson looked back and forth from Nikolai to me. "If you agree to this, you need to leave everything from this life behind." He met Nikolai's gaze. "That means you need to sell your tattoo shop or have someone take over. You cannot be involved." He looked back to me. "Ryssa, you already sold your bakery. I can't stress this enough, no reaching out to Taylor. Under any circumstances. You won't be putting only your lives in danger."

His message was clear. He was worried about his sister. But, the concern wasn't necessary. I would never risk her life. "You have my word," I vowed.

"I can leave my shop to Janet and Ray. They have no part in this and should be safe," Nikolai said to Hanson.

Hanson nodded and wrote something down. "We will keep an eye on them, just in case. You guys will be escorted to your apartments to pack up anything you want to take with you. Try to pack as light as you can." He held up the manila envelope. "Once I open this, you two no longer exist. It's like you both vanished from the face of the Earth."

I nodded to Nikolai as I reached out and took his hand. "We're ready."

Hanson opened the envelope and handed us our new driver's licenses and a stack of documents. "We have a house and two cars ready for you guys. Along with jobs for both of you." He tapped the stack of documents. "Everything from the deed to the house, to your new social security numbers are in here. If you need anything at all, call me from this phone."

Nikolai took the phone from him and a corner of his mouth turned up. "A burner?"

"Yes." Hanson cleared his throat. "This is important. Under no circumstances, use your real names. From this day forward, you are a nice married couple who just moved in on the block."

"Married?"

"Married?"

Nikolai and I asked the question at the same time and looked at each other. Well, that was surprising; and weird.

Hanson leaned back in his chair. "Yeah, it will help with keep you guys hidden." He got up from his chair and started for the door. "I'll have the car ready in a few minutes to take you to your apartments. You leave tonight."

After he left the room, I smiled at Nikolai. "Well, I guess I'm your wife now."

He laughed as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I guess." He opened the smaller envelope that had our ID's in it and he chuckled. He poured the contents onto the desk. Two driver's licenses and a gold wedding ring spilled out. He picked up the ring and knelt in front of me.

"Ryssa, will you runway with me, to live in secret as my fake wife, who I am totally and completely for real in love with?"

I couldn't help but laugh at his attempt to make light of this. "Yes, I will." He gave me a sound kiss on the mouth before he slid the ring on my finger. In a way, it felt...right.

He pulled out our driver's licenses and laughed as he looked them over. "My new name is Dean Mason. Yours is Celeste Mason."

I thought about the names for a moment. "Well, that's better than Gertrude."

"Or Agnes," he quipped.

"Where are we living?" I asked since he was still holding the licenses.

"Well, Mrs. Mason, looks like we're going to the Sunshine State."

Florida...well, I guess there are worst places to start your life over.

I got up from my chair and straddled his lap. His arms wrapped around me as I leaned forward to whisper in his ear, "So, does that mean I have to call you Dean when you're making love to me?"

I felt him harden beneath me as he answered. "No. In our bedroom, I'm Nikolai and you're Ryssa. Always."

The End

First off, I want to thank everyone who has read, commented, or voted on this story! You are amazing <3

A special thank you to BitchIsMyReligion who brainstormed with me when I wanted to do a Valentine's Day short story.

A huge thank you to ThePeacockShow for interviewing me for the February issue of their amazing magazine, and featuring this story! It was an honor.