Page 42 of Kidnapped Bratva Virgin

“Thank you so much!” I hear her say as she opens the door to the room. I slow my walk, my heart pounding in my chest. A kid? When the nurse departs, I approach the door, seeing her hugging a small kid who has a Band-Aid on his forehead.

My blood freezes when I see the little boy’s face. He has the very same piercing blue eyes I have. An identical nose. His hair is a sandy blond color. The same as mine was when I was his age, and there’s a woman, maybe a little younger than Ava—pretty with brown hair.

This better not be what I think it is, but it is. The heart pounding doesn’t end. It only expands as I watch them on the inside as the boy hugs Ava’s legs. I can’t just stand here.

Unlocking the door, I enter the waiting room.

Chapter Twenty-Three - Ava

If anything happens to Ethan, I don’t know what I’m going to do. This is a mother’s curse. Kids are young and they’re bound to get into trouble and have things go wrong, but it doesn’t mean I can’t hate it. I didn’t want to be in the meeting with Dimitri there anyway, but he’s the last thing on my mind, even with his threats.

I raced out of the car and into the hospital suite looking for him. Emily told me not to panic, and that it wasn’t serious, but I didn’t care. All I knew was Ethan was hurt and I needed to get to him on the double.

The call took me by surprise, but in some ways, I think it was a blessing in disguise. “Hi, Ava. I hate to bother you,” Emily had said in a scared voice, but I didn’t care. I told her to call me if she were ever unsure of anything to do with Ethan. He’s my world, and there’s only us.

“No, don’t be sorry. What’s going on?” I chewed on my nail, wanting to be done with the Raven’s Peak deal and Dimitri’s not-so-subtle digs the entire meeting.

“Ah, Ethan has fallen off the bed while I was making lunch and hit his head. Please don’t be angry, but I’m taking him to the emergency room right now. I’m so sorry,” she blubbered in a panic.

“Send me the details of the hospital, and I’m coming there now.” I went into solution mode, thinking I would speak to Emily face-to-face when I saw her. I knew Ethan could be a handful because he’s such an active boy.

“Okay. I have him in the waiting room. I can assure you; he’s going to be okay.”

I didn’t want her reassurance, I wanted proof with my own eyes, but as I stand with Ethan’s warm body hugged on to mine, I’m happy. My boy is smiling goofily with a multicolored Band-Aid on his forehead. “You gave Mommy a fright. Don’t ever do that again, okay?”

“Mommy, I’m fine. Band-Aid make it better. I wanted to fly.”

I hug him again, rubbing his head as I crouch down so I can see his face. “Baby, you can’t fly from the bunk. You gave Emily a fright too. What have I told you about climbing onto things and jumping?”

Ethan pouts, putting a finger in his mouth. “That I might fall and hurt myself?” I run my hands through his hair, his blue eyes bright.

“Yes, that’s exactly right. Mommy loves you, but you have to listen, alright?”

“Okay, I will.”

As I stand, ready to take Ethan out, the door opens, and Dimitri is standing there with a straight face. Fuck. Vomit rises in my throat as I hold on tight to Ethan’s hand wanting to run out of the hospital with him in tow, but Dimitri is blocking the door.

Ethan looks at the man with playful curiosity, the past coming back to ruin me. “Mom, who’s that?” He points his little finger up to his own father. This day can’t get any worse.

“Um, this is an old friend,” I tell him as Emily herself puts two and two together. She knows about Dimitri. I’ve told her the full story, but her mouth hanging open isn’t helping me out.

“Old friend, huh? How far we’ve come,” Dimitri answers bitterly, but his face quickly softens when he looks down at his son. “Ava, we should talk,” he adds in a polite tone as I ask Emilyto look after Ethan for a minute and I kiss into his soft hair one more time.

I would have thought I might not be calm in this situation, but there’s no more flight or fight left in me, only a bone-weary tiredness. Dimitri doesn’t just want to talk inside the hospital. No, he wants me out of it. We walk towards the exit in silence, side by side. I’ve got no other choice, so there’s no point resisting.

We walk to Dimitri’s SUV. “What do you want, Dimitri?” I ask in a weary tone.

“Get in, Ava.” He points to the passenger seat, and I slide in, sitting in the crux of the door so I can be as far away from him as possible. Dimitri fumbles with the keys in his hands, looking down at them. I can’t tell if he’s pissed off or sad. I wish I knew which. “You have a son now.”

His blue eyes don’t hold the anger I expect. No, they hold pain, and longing. Shit. That’s even worse. “Yes. I have a son.”

“What’s Ethan’s birthdate?”

Fuck. I didn’t expect him to ask that. Now the panic rears up again. “September. He’s a spring baby.”

Dimitri scoffs, his fingers tapping on the wheel, his brooding energy hanging over me. A deep whirlpool of nausea sweeps me up as I put a hand over my belly to stop it, but the memories and the grief of our relationship float to the top, destined to take me under.

“Right. So, you had Ethan eight months after we separated. This means you were pregnant after we first had sex.” I can see the inner workings of his mind ticking over, and I need to come up with a lie.Fast.

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