Page 78 of Emerald Malice

“It’s okay, Kat.” I reach for her hand. “You’ve apologized enough.”

She looks doubtful for a moment before she shakes off the guilt and pushes on. “Wait—back up. Why are you living in Andrey Kuznetsov’s pool house?!”

And just like that, we’ve left the fun bit of the story and sailed straight into murky waters. “Erm…”

“Are you with him? Like, with him with him? I know you’re sleeping with him, but…”

“That’s just for convenience.” I wince at how that sounds. “What I mean is, it’s a no-strings-attached kind of setup.”

“But you’re not a no-strings-attached kind of girl.”

“Yeah, well—things change.”

“Like what?”

“Like the fact that he got me pregnant the night that we slept together the first time,” I say in a rush.

If I thought she looked shocked when I revealed that I’d slept with Andrey, it’s nothing compared to how she looks now. Her mouth flutters open and closed. For the first time in her life, she’s speechless.

Finally, she wiggles a finger in each of her ears. “Did I hear that correctly?”

“I’m pregnant, Kat.” I lean back and lay a hand on my tiny baby-bump. “Just over three months now.”

“And you knew? When I came to the house that day, you already knew?”

“I had six positive pregnancy tests waiting in the sink for me after I closed the door on you.”

She runs her hands over her face. “I can’t believe it. Does Annie know?”

“She knows I’m pregnant and she knows I’m living with the baby’s father. Apart from that—” I bite my lip. “—I don’t want her knowing anything else. I don’t want her worrying about me.”

Kat’s hand tightens around my wrist. “Should I be worried?”

For a second, the question stumps me. I’m not sure myself.

“What I mean is, maybe we can think of an escape plan?” she suggests. “We can pool our savings, quit our jobs, make a run for it. Thelma & Louise style. I can help you raise the baby far away from all this mob bullshit… and then…”

Katya keeps talking, plotting out the next eighteen years of our lives. It means so much to me that she would blow up her entire life just to try and save mine. It reminds me why we’re friends in the first place.

She gasps when I launch myself at her from over the table, tears welling in my eyes. “Nat…?”

“It’s good to have you back, Katya.”

“Does this mean we’re changing our names and making a run for it?” she ventures when I finally release her.

I glance at Leonty, who’s busy watching me over the rim of his strawberry smoothie. “It’s not that simple.”

Kat follows my gaze and narrows her eyes at Leonty. “Do you know him?”

“He’s my bodyguard.”

“He’s your what now?”

“One of four, actually,” I confess. “They accompany me everywhere, including work.”

Kat looks more than a little lost. “So, you’re in danger… but not from Andrey himself?”

“Andrey—apart from being a raging asshole most of the time—is actually just concerned with my safety. And the safety of the baby, of course.”

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