Alone in the car, the dangerous, hard edge vanishes from Petr. He's unhurt, and his eyes are warm once more. His hand rests on my thigh, and he smiles, sensing I'm looking at him even though his eyes are on the road.
"Yeah," I manage. "You came."
"Of course I did."
The tears I blink away stem from neither pain nor fear this time. Relief, perhaps, or gratitude and happiness. "Is it over?" I can't process my night or emotions. I saw them bring out The Monster on a stretcher. I don't know what Petr did to him, but Jake was unconscious and strapped to a board.
"It's over." Petr squeezes my hand. "I promise. For good. He will never bother you again."
I wipe my face and wince. It's sore everywhere. My hands burn with warm pain. I'm going to be swollen and bruised tomorrow morning. I have the urge to curl up in the safety and strength of his arms and sob myself to sleep. Taking his hands, I kiss it and nuzzle it against my good cheek.
"Thank you," I whisper and swallow hard. "Thank you." My voice cracks, and I squeeze his hand harder.
Petr pulls the truck over. He takes me in his arms the best he can in the vehicle. I cling to him. His scent and warmth ground me and replace the terror of my night.
"He said he had Todd," I say, unable to shake the fear of my brother being in danger.
"My fault. I picked him up after school. I should've let you know."
"No, Petr. You saved his life." I lift my head to gaze at him. His features are hard to see in the dark interior.
He kisses my lips gently and pushes hair from my face. "Are you okay, Claudia? Really?"
"I will be," I reply. "No one has ever helped us before, Petr."
"It's what you do when you love someone," he says and brushes kisses across my forehead, the one part of my face that doesn't hurt.
Love. Petr loves me. Warmth blooms in my chest. "You weren't joking about proposing."
He laughs softly. "I hadn't planned on doing it tonight. I wanted something a little more romantic than a hostage situation." He tilts his head, considering. "Although, I think this fits my family's way of doing things a little more than a normal proposal."
"Because Baba kidnapped your mother?" I give a watery smile at the story he told me.
"Exactly." Petr laughs again and hugs me.
I close my eyes and snuggle against the heat of his skin making its way through his shirt. "Thank you a million times over."