Page 27 of Forbidden Vows

“Are you fucking insane? We need the Donovans now more than ever!”

“Hear me out.”

“No, Anton! You agreed to this! You can’t back out of it, not with Sergei fucking Kuznetsov looking for every opportunity to screw us out of our position. The Bratva needs stability, and the South Americans are starting to tighten their ranks. It’s not looking good, and the last thing we need is the Irish siding with them or staying neutral!”

I take a long sip of my whiskey, welcoming the burn as it rolls down my throat.

“Eileen’s pregnant.”

Andrei stills, his expression blank. I can almost hear the wheels turning in his head. “I fucking knew it,” he hisses. “You slept with her that night.”

“It was so much more than that.”

“Holy shit, you’re in love,” my brother laughs nervously. “Oh, this is fucking rich.”

“I overheard Eileen in the ambulance. No one else did, though. Her father doesn’t know. Her sister would’ve had an aneurysm had she heard. Listen, this is a golden opportunity. Not just for me, but for our family.”

“Hold on; give me a moment here, Anton. Let’s take it one step at a time.”

“Okay, let’s,” I reply and lean back in my chair.

“Are you sure that Eileen is pregnant?”

“Yes. I double-checked with the hospital on my way over.”

Andrei’s frown deepens. “What about patient confidentiality?”

“Since when did we let that get in our way?”

“Fucking hell, Anton.”

“Right. Next question.”

“Are you sure it’s yours?” he asks, then finishes his whiskey and pours himself a triple. He’s going to need it, because I haven’t even gotten to my proposal yet.

I nod slowly. “Almost a hundred percent. Eileen hasn’t had many trysts with other men from what her stepsister told me, which means that, aside from the night we spent together, there wasn’t anybody else.”

“And from the moment the engagement was announced publicly—”

“Eileen became off-limits for any man, Sergei included.”

“Shit,” Andrei says. “You knocked up one Donovan and you’re going to marry the other one. Anton, this is one hell of a mess.”

“It’s not like I planned it. And besides, I don’t intend to marry Ciara anymore.”

He chuckles dryly. “Does Ciara know?”

“No, I didn’t have the heart to tell her. Ronan wasn’t looking too good either. I figured I’d give them a few days to pull themselves together.”

Andrei gives me a long curious look. “How do you feel about all this?”

“I’ll feel a lot better once I get you on board.”

“On board with what?”

“Blowing it all up.”

“There you go with that term again. What does that mean?” he asks, then takes another gulp of his whiskey, savoring the relaxing burn.

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