Page 8 of The Bratva's Knocked-Up Bride

Instead, I gave her the most convincing look of reassurance I could. “It must be alarming to see all of a sudden, but there’s nothing to worry about. You can continue to work as you did before.”

Sky’s gaze lingered on me for a moment longer, as if considering whether I was lying to her or not, but she let go of a gentle breath. “Alright…Gemma gave me a similar answer, so I’ll just have to take your word for it.”

Nodding in return, I kept my arms behind my back. “There’s no cause for concern.”

She smiled a bit more genuinely then and adjusted a notebook and folder in her arms. “Then I won’t worry…but I should get going. Duty calls.”

As much as I didn’t want her to leave just yet, I tipped my head in acknowledgment again, finding myself feeling strangely tense in her presence. Almost like I was afraid of fumbling it, or making her believe I was too strange to be worth the effort.

It was unlike me, and I didn’t know how to feel about it.

“Sure. Not a problem.”

That pleasant expression lingered as she gave me a small wave and kept going, saying a polite ‘see you later’ before she disappeared again.

Even after she was gone, I stood there aimlessly, not paying attention to my surroundings or anything else.

Instead, I pulled in a deep breath to try and get a grip on myself.

But I just wanted more of her, and the whole thing was becoming too stifling to ignore.

Shaking off how addictive it was to merely speak to her, I forced myself to keep moving. I eventually reached the small base I had set up for myself in one of the back rooms and opened my laptop to focus on working again.

I opened up the live surveillance feed and watched as things seemed to continue as they usually did, while I sifted through employee files again in the meantime. Even if Sky was incredibly distracting, and the thought of being so near without being able to do much about it was fraying my nerves, I had to familiarize myself with more of the faces around that place.

It was in everyone’s best interest for me to focus and get to the bottom of the situation, and to do that, I had to push Sky out of my head for a little while at least.

Chapter 4 - Sky

The city was busy as usual by the time I stepped out of my Pilates class with my gym bag slung over my shoulder. Still wearing my yoga pants and sports bra underneath a relatively thin zip-up hoodie, I shivered slightly as the cool morning air swept by me.

Regardless, I felt nice and refreshed after the class, and was looking forward to work even more.

It wasn’t out of the ordinary for me to head to work still in my athletic wear since I had the option to get changed in the office. Due to my busy schedule, it was usually the only way I could fit my weekly workouts in.

Following the natural flow of foot traffic on the sidewalk, I blended in and focused on getting to the office to avoid losing those extra moments I had for myself before the workday began. Everyone else around me moved with mutual purpose, and I kept up my pace to do the same.

Traffic also moved as it usually did. It was rush hour, so the jammed-up downtown highways were nothing new.

Even if the sights and sounds could be overwhelming, I enjoyed New York and everything that came with it. It was the opposite of what I came from, and no part of me wanted to leave the fast-paced lifestyle.

I grew up in rural Oregon with my dad, and ever since I was a teenager, I had my sights set on New York. It was everything I could ever want, and while he didn’t approve of me being so far from home, I made the move anyway.

Despite my efforts to keep in touch with him, our contact mostly fizzled out, and while I tried to at least call him during the holidays, it was a fifty-fifty chance if he actually picked up.

Being on my own in the big city was daunting and lonely at times, but between work and maintaining my friendship with Gemma, I felt at home. There was nowhere else I’d rather be.

After some time of walking, I couldn’t help but notice the black car on my left. Despite the other vehicles honking and trying to get around it, the sleek, luxurious-looking car made no effort to go any faster.

Instead, it seemed to linger.

That couldn’t be right, though. Surely not.

The cars were backed up by everyone trying to get to work at the same time. It was highly unlikely that anyone would be hanging back just to follow me.

That was what I told myself, at least. But the further I went, the longer it seemed to trail behind me, not moving far while the other cars managed to slip away one way or another.

As I stuck with that crowd of pedestrians, I tried to keep my head down and focus. I just needed to get to work, even if that paranoia was starting to get to me.

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