Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 63786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63786 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
I watch him as he processes the news.
“I’m going to be an uncle?” he asks with a broad smile.
“Technically, a second cousin.”
“Damn that to hell, I’m going to be this kid’s Uncle Feliks.” His smile grows bigger, and he claps his hands together. “And he or she is going to love me.”
“I’m sure.”
He sits back in the chair. “No wonder you’re acting like an overprotective father right now.”
“Even if Brooke weren’t pregnant, I’d still be demanding this level of security.”
“Of course.” He grins and crosses his legs and taps his chin with his finger as he thinks.
He’s about to get carried away with the idea of being Uncle Feliks—I can see it on his face. And I can’t help but smile.
“Is it a boy or a girl? Wait, don’t tell me. I want to be surprised. No, tell me, I’ve got some shopping to do, and it will come in handy knowing the sex.”
“Shopping?”
“I’m cool Uncle Feliks. I’m going to spoil this kid even before it’s born.”
Again, I can’t help but smile. “We don’t know. Brooke has a scan coming up, and we might find out then.”
The thought of seeing my baby on the monitor again and hearing their strong heartbeat makes me warm inside, and the uneasiness of Brooke’s indifference is momentarily eased.
Feliks rises to his feet and walks around the desk to stand beside me.
“What are you doing?” I ask when he opens his arms wide.
“Come on, Cousin, this deserves a hug. Get on your feet and let me congratulate you.”
Usually, I’d tell him to take two feet back, turn around, and get the fuck away from me. But after the hit of dopamine I just felt when I thought about my kid, I stand and give my cousin the hug.
He pats me hard on the back. “Does that mean I get to call you Daddy Lev?”
“Yeah, that’s not happening.”
He releases me from the hug. “I’m proud of you, Cousin. A baby. This is good news.”
“We’re not telling anyone yet. Not until after we’ve found Vlad and secured the bratva.”
“Wise.” He nods and taps his nose. “I’ll keep quiet.”
“Good.” I give him a wink. “Now go away. I have a lot of work to do, and I can’t afford to be disturbed.”
He gives me another hard pat on the arm and then leaves the room while I return to the reports on my desk.
Several hours later, he calls me.
I mindlessly pick up the phone. “I thought I told you I didn’t want to be disturbed.”
“I have an update from Ibiza,” he says soberly. “And I think you’ll want to hear it.”
13
BROOKE
To escape the house, I spend more time at the hospital because it’s the only place I’m allowed to visit.
I’m still pissed at Lev about… well, everything. The list is too huge to repeat. But it starts with him not letting me see my friends and ends with me hating the world he’s dropped me in.
Chloe was crushed that I couldn’t make it back for Samantha’s birthday on the weekend, and I had to live vicariously through all the photos my friends sent me of their night out.
But it wasn’t the same as being there, and I can’t control the resentment I feel about it. I know Lev wants to protect me and the baby. But he’s taken away any sense of control I had over my life.
What kind of life will it be for your child?
I can’t tell you how many times Agent Michaels’ words have come back to haunt me.
Because he’s right. What kind of world am I bringing this baby into?
Only two weeks ago, Vlad abducted me, beat me, and left me unconscious in an abandoned warehouse. Now I’m cocooned in this house like a precious gemstone because my baby’s father has people who want to kill him.
My hand slides protectively over my belly.
“I don’t know what to do,” I whisper to my baby. The thought of him or her being hurt because of Lev and his bratva wars terrifies me.
I feel an overwhelming sense of responsibility. It’s my job to protect this baby. But what if I don’t make the right choices and something terrible happens?
I’m ripped out of my dire thoughts when Igor suddenly starts to shake on the hospital bed in front of me, his entire body stiff as if he’s being electrocuted. Alarms go off.
He’s having a seizure.
A doctor and two nurses rush in. One of them ushers me to the door. “You can’t be here.”
I see Igor jerking around on the bed, and I’m terrified for him.
“Is he going to be okay?” I beg the nurse.
“He’s very unwell. You need to leave. Now.”
I back out of the room, my heart pounding.
Is Igor going to die?
Tears form in my eyes, and suddenly, all the fear and uncertainty of the last few days catches up with me, and I start to cry.