Page 11 of Knocked Up By the Russian

"You can't just decide that for me, Ivan!" she snapped, her voice breaking on his name. It was enough to ruin him.

"I don't want to get into this argument again, Amy." It was repetitive, and nothing about it solved the problem of her safety. Why couldn't she just agree with him? Was that too much to ask for? But he called her his little bear for a reason. He knew it wouldn't be that easy.

"Too bad," she shot back, finally facing him. "I don't want to get married..." She stopped to scoff and her voice lowered. "Least of all to you."

"Too bad," he mimicked, shooting her a dark look. Those words hurt a lot more than they should've. "We can't all get what we want." That piece of paper was stuck in his mind, proving exactly that.

She wanted absolutely nothing to do with him—she couldn't have made it clearer.

Her expression was one of disbelief as he turned his gaze back to the road. "You can't be serious. You don't want to marry me, Ivan. Why the hell are you forcing this?"

"It doesn't work like that. I'm doing this for your own protection. Besides, if you hadn't been caught sneaking into a Bra—"

"I wasn't sneaking!" she shrieked, interrupting him. "You left your keys on the desk. I just wanted—"

"What?" Ivan snapped, turning to face her. "What were you thinking? You of all people know about the business. Yes, it's the first time this particular incident happened at one of the clubs but—Fuck.You know to be careful. Why the hell weren't you paying attention?" Was it because she thought she was done with this? With them? Was that why she wanted to leave? His jaw clenched before the rest of that spilled out.

Emotions he couldn't name crossed her features, and Amy slumped back into her seat. Her answer came so quietly that he almost didn't hear it. "I don't know."

The inside of the vehicle went silent, both of them stuck in their own thoughts. His apartment came into view and Ivan let out a sigh. "We're getting married. You can't change that, Amy. You'll be putting your life—your family's lives—at risk if you do. But that doesn't mean you have to hate it. Tell me what you want, and I'll make it happen."

Anything, he pleaded silently.

"I want a choice," she answered, glaring out her window.

Anything except that.Sighing, he parked the vehicle. He'd meant what he said. He was fully prepared to give her the wedding of her dreams, even if that meant he'd have to organize it himself.

Chapter 5 - Amy

Feeling numb, Amy followed Ivan from his apartment's underground parking lot to his apartment door. It stood ajar, but so did Adrian's. Something told her that was on purpose.

Besides, with Ivan's connections to the Bratva, she had no doubt the security here was airtight. They had too many enemies for it not to be. Actually, if she was entirely honest with herself then he, and the rest of his brothers, probably owned this whole damned building. No one was getting in or out without him knowing—which Ivan only confirmed when he walked right in without reaching for the gun she knew was holstered under his suit jacket.

"Amy," a familiar voice breathed, snapping her from her thoughts. She looked up just in time to see Zia rushing toward her. "Oh my god, are you alright?"

"I—" she began, but words failed her. Her head was spinning; it had been ever since she'd opened that package. Unable to speak, she shook her head and mouthed, "No."

Zia pulled her into a hug, her expression sympathetic when she finally let go. "Come sit down. You've had a rough day."

Amy laughed derisively, her eyes prickling.That's an understatement. Her mind flashed to the threatening contents they'd found in the package, and just thinking about the bullet left her sick. Boris's face flashed through her mind. The blood that had sprayed from the wound and onto Eclipse's marble floors.Who cleaned it up?Her whole body started to shiver. She'd walked past the room earlier that day, drawn to the place starring in last night's nightmares.

"Amy?" Zia murmured quietly, drawing her back into the present. Amy heard a ringing in her head. "Are you okay, hon?"

Tears trickled down her cheeks as Amy smiled uncertainly—and a sob caught in her throat. Boris's mouth gaped wide in her mind, and she hiccuped as her stomach curdled. Her mouth opened and closed, but the words got stuck in her throat and tears continued to spill. Then, to make matters worse, Zia's eyes sparkled with tears forher. And all Amy could think about was how angry she was going to be when she heard about the job interview.

"Everything's going to be okay," Zia murmured softly, wrapping her arms around Amy in a tight embrace. Tight enough that she could feel Zia trembling, and that only deepened her guilt.

Please don’t hate me for this, Zia.

Amy squeezed her eyes shut, desperate to regain control. When she opened them again, Ivan's intense gaze pierced her from across the room. He'd moved toward the living room, retrieving the bullet and the paper from his pocket, and laid them on the coffee table with a grim expression.

Sitting on the couch with his laptop in front of him, Adrian blinked at the items before returning his focus to his screen.

"What's that?" Mikhail asked from the windows as Kostya picked up the piece of paper.

"A job offer," Ivan answered, his voice cold. But that wasn't what pierced Amy's heart. It was the confusion on Zia's face as she released her.

"For who?" she asked, her brow wrinkled as she gently dragged her to Ivan's leather couch and sat her down. "Were you looking for another job?" she asked Amy.

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