Page 20 of Forced By the Bratva Beast

Clashing cymbals from my bombastic ringtone jolt me back to the present, and I blindly search around under my seat for my cell phone. Picking it up, my pulse drops realizing it’s Ava.

“Hey, girl. I’m glad you called. You’re never going to believe who I just interviewed!”

“I called at the right time, then. I’m stuck on this criminology essay, and I wanted to ask you a question.”

I’m thankful for the distraction. “What is it?”

“Forget about that for a second, I want to hear about what the interviews were like! Were they dangerous and hot?”

Sinking into a deep breath, I roll my window down slightly. “I interviewed Andrei.”

A loud gasp filters through the phone. “You what? Not Andrei, the one you slept with?”

“Fucking yes! Him!”

“What’s he in for?”

“Murder.”

“Oh, my fricking God. I have so many questions. Did he know you were doing the interviews? Do you think he set it up?” Ava asks, her questions making me want to vomit.

“I don’t know. I don’t know. All I know is I can’t believe who I picked.”

“Me neither! This is juicy. I need the blow-by-blow. Pun intended.”

“Ava, stop. This is so serious. I made a mistake,” I admit, remorse filling me.

“Not necessarily. You didn’t know.” The sound of another call flashes on my phone, and for some reason I think it’s the prison administration. Not that I would know why they’re calling me. Andrei has me rattled, and it’s disturbing. It’s a good thing that it’s the doctor’s office calling.

It must be from the other day. I make sure to attend my checkups regularly, and yesterday was no exception.

“Hey, can I call you back? There’s an important call coming through.”

“Sure, sure, go, but you better call me back.”

“Don’t worry, I will.” I click over to the other caller, relieved about who it’s from.

“Hi, Sophia. It’s Dr. Caruthers here. I hope I haven’t caught you at a bad time.”

Wiping the thin layer of perspiration on my brow, I keep my eyeline on the steady stream of traffic in front of me, willing my heart rate to go back down.

“Er, no. Now’s a good time. Is everything okay?”

Dr. Caruthers chuckles. “That depends on what you call okay. I’m ringing with some news from your blood test.”

Oh no. Please don’t tell me something’s wrong again. I don’t need this…. Preparing myself for what she has to say, I bite back my fear.

“Go ahead.”

“The blood test shows by early detection that you’re pregnant.”

I feel my heart drop out of my chest, the traffic now a blur of dizziness. A faint feeling rushes through me. “Can you, umm, can you repeat that?”

“Yes, I can,” Dr. Caruthers says patiently. “It sounds like you’re in shock, but yes—you’re pregnant.”

“No, no,” I reply in short breaths, shaking my head. “There must be a mistake. I can’t be pregnant!” I shriek, the horror of it all sinking in.

“No. I’m 100 percent sure, and I will be sending you the results. We can conduct a separate pregnancy test should you need it. You are two weeks along.”

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