Page 79 of Baby for the Bratva

I wave my hand at Yuri dismissively as he tries to approach me. “Just let me get ready. I’m not going to be out for that long. Maybe lunch, and we’ll be back before the sun goes down.”

“You don’t understand, though, darling. It’s dangerous out there.”

“For who?” I ask, turning to him suddenly. “You’re the mafia boss, Yuri, not me. They don’t even know who I am.”

“You can’t be sure of that,” he says, but I see the resistance in him begin to melt. He has trouble telling me no these days. I think the idea of us finally being married and him losing me romantically is finally getting to him.

It’s getting to me, too, but I won’t be the one to break first. It’s just not going to happen again in my life. If he wants to change things, he’s going to have to take the initiative.

But that’s neither here nor there currently. My current mission is to hang out with Molly for a bit, find a pregnancy test, and figure out once and for all if I’m going to be carrying Yuri’s child for the next nine months.

Or eight, if the pregnancy happened earlier. A good doctor would be able to tell me that, but I’ll wait until we’re safely back on the shore of the United States to consult with one.

And that’s only if I’m pregnant.

And I’m only going to find out once Yuri relaxes a little and allows me to leave the ship.

I saunter over to him once I have my shoes on, grabbing his biceps. “You’re always so protective,” I tease.

His shoulders drop a bit, but he’s still frowning. “I do what I must, darling. You’re not safe out there without me.”

“Oh, I know, but I won’t be alone. I’ll be with Molly,” I say, keeping my voice high and innocent.

“Is she trained to kill?”

Always so serious…

I giggle. “She’s pretty tough, I reckon, but not as tough as you. The thing is, if we’re together in a tourist area, there’s not much that can happen. We’ll be in public in broad daylight.”

“An easy target,” he grumbles.

“You really think they’re going to attempt to kidnap an American woman who’s eating dinner at a café with her friend? They won’t get far if they do, that’s for sure.”

“This isn’t a joke,” he growls, pulling his arm away from me. “You’re going to have to keep your eyes open and practice constant situational awareness.”

It sounds like he’s about to arrive on a yes, so I remain silent, pulling my lips in and nodding eagerly.

“And you’re going to have to carry a gun. No exceptions,” he says.

“Oh,” I reply, startled by his proposal.

“Yes, it’s not such a safe world out there as we’d all like to imagine,” he says, pulling open both doors to his closet and looking at his collection of firearms. “Something small, but don’t carry it in your purse. Carry it somewhere you can reach it.”

“I don’t even know how to shoot,” I protest. “Definitely more dangerous for me to have one than not to.”

“I disagree,” he replies without offering any further explanation.

“That’s… not very convincing.”

“It wasn’t meant to be,” he replies, coming out of the closet with a black pistol that’s almost certainly too big for me to conceal. He thrusts it out to me, his eyes asking the biggest question of them all.

Am I willing to take it and go out on my own, or am I too scared?

Not like I have a choice in the matter. He might think I’m just doing this for fun, but I’m not.

So, I take the gun, and he’s obviously surprised by this. His eyebrows shoot up on his forehead, and he studies me for a moment as I hold the gun awkwardly in my hand. “Pull the trigger to shoot it, but not while you’re in here,” he says.

I roll my eyes. “Yes, I know that. I just don’t have anywhere to put it.”

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