Page 43 of The Bratva's Knocked-Up Bride

It wasn’t supposed to happen, given how I was on the pill, but it was an accident. And as much as I wanted to wish the accident away, I knew it wasn’t that simple.

I had to face it, regardless of how terrifying it seemed. And with that, I’d have to decide what to do.

At my inability to answer while I averted my gaze and dealt with the ache it brought my stomach, Gemma let go of a gentle breath.

“It’s scary…I know. But Damien will be upset if you try to hide it. He might seem all tough on the outside, but I know he wouldn’t want you to try and handle this on your own.”

She was right again, as much as I didn’t want to admit it.

A part of me was recoiling—pulling back from the pressure and anxiety it gave me. But I also knew I couldn’t let it win out.

I couldn’t deny that she was completely correct even if I felt so conflicted about it all. Between what I wanted with Damien, what I was going to do about my new predicament, and how I would possibly keep my head on straight through it all.

“I know…” I admitted quietly, letting go of a shaken breath all the while Gemma gently stroked my arm to show her support.

While thinking about giving it a shot with Damien and trying to see where we might end up didn’t seem like the worst idea in the world, I didn’t know if the two of us would make it as parents…let alone parents together.

It was completely uncharted territory, and that unknown scared me. Everything about the situation scared me, even if I was trying to keep a brave face.

Still, I couldn’t keep it a secret forever. Eventually, I’d have to tell him.

Chapter 19 - Damien

After the interrogation wrapped up and we eventually let Dario go so he could scramble back to his boss, I found myself sitting on that new information, and I hoped it was the one thing I needed to make a difference in my efforts to catch that rat. To stop them entirely.

I still couldn’t completely wrap my head around how the random crimes in the city connected to the Pesci family and their attempts to infiltrate our operations, but I had the feeling I didn’t need to look too deeply into that aspect.

If anything, they were probably just making a mess…trying to stretch their wings and make a bigger mark on the city.

It tended to go down that way when a new family was trying to establish themselves. They typically try to get into whatever their ideal market is through the locals, hiring them and establishing their street gangs to hustle for them while they collect from up top.

I could only imagine some of their recruits were causing problems and getting too rowdy. Too overconfident given their connections.

Regardless, I had the name stained in my mind as I pulled up to a Levov warehouse the following day, hoping to give them the biggest piece of information I had dug up ever since I started working on the operation.

At Lukyan’s request, I decided to visit them and prove to them I wasn’t fumbling it. That I was capable of putting an end to it all, even if I still had more digging to do.

With clearance from their security, I pulled up to the warehouse and parked, almost beginning to feel like I was an employee of theirs to some capacity. I had been around their turfa lot more in the last little while, and it was a bit strange. Like they were an extension of my own family in a sense.

Not in a sappy way, of course. But still, thanks to Ari and Alex mending that bridge, it was pretty nice to not be at odds with the Levovs. At least it was one less family trying to target us. Surprisingly, that notion went a long way.

Used to the groove of things, I made my way inside and was greeted by some of their guards who knew me by name.

“Here for Lukyan?” one of them asked, standing with a more relaxed, friendly demeanor than one might expect. Another perk of being buddy-buddy with the Levovs—even their security wasn’t out to get us.

“Yes, sir,” I returned casually, noting how he smiled faintly.

The guard nodded before nudging at his buddy, who disappeared further into the warehouse. “He’ll be down soon.”

“On his time, of course.”

He chuckled, then gave me a slight nudge against my arm. “Say, I’ve been checking out your wheels whenever you come here…what do you think of the model?”

Amused and somewhat flattered, I grinned and shrugged. “It suits me fine, but depends on what you’re after...”

We continued our aimless chatter until Lukyan finally approached with Kir in tow, and the security guard gave us respectful nods before returning to his post. Lukyan gave a vague gesture for me to follow, and I didn’t miss a beat.

“I assume you have something for us, Novikov.”

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