Page 47 of Bratva Daddies for the Single Mom

My breaths came in short pants. I lowered the phone, tapped the redial button, and slammed the phone to my ear. “Answer, you bastard.”

The phone clicked, no answer. No voicemail. Was I wrong to trust Viktor? They promised I was safe. I recounted every conversation, digging into what I remembered. Had they promised I would be safe fromthem? My hands trembled when I lowered the phone to my lap. Dry heaves shook my body. Was it true? Did they kill women when they finished with them? I didn’t want to believe it.

Thesnapof Robert’s wrist breaking sounded in my head, followed by his howl of pain and Ilya’s calm, unconcerned demeanor. He’d acted like it was something he did every day. Death was part of his life. I’d let my emotions cloud my judgment. Maybe they were wrong. Maybe they were using me and they’d kill me like the caller said. I’d introduced them to my daughters. Nausea tore me from the couch and sent me hurtling toward the bathroom. All my worries, all my fears, confirmed with one anonymous call. Who did I believe?

24

ILYA

Istood outside Annie’s apartment building for an hour, pacing along the wall where no one would notice me, my footsteps scuffing the cracked pavement as I wrestled with the reason I’d come. Second-guessing myself. My gut twisted, a familiar feeling where Annie was involved. Annie was hiding things from us. It was subtle at first, though I’d sensed it from the beginning. I’d dismissed it as nerves or a guardedness that life often forced on people. But a new wave of it hit the last time we were all together. Last night with the girls, seeing Annie in her element as a mother, sparked a new fire to find the truth. I’d been burned before by secrets and promised myself it would never happen again. Annie was exceptional, but she was not the exception to the rule.

A distant rumble of traffic clogging the street matched my pacing strides, refusing to let my mind rest. No one had entered or left the building since I arrived, and Annie had mentioned last night that she had no plans for today except spending time with the girls.

It was now or never. Viktor might call me in for a job at any time, and I wanted this out in the open sooner rather thanlater. I’d learned my lesson about waiting when Emily left me. I’d known something was wrong between us for a while and I’d ignored all the warning signs, thinking everything would work out. That was what love did… or so I thought. Emily blew that fantasy out of the water, and I’d never recovered emotionally. Not until Annie.

What if I pushed too far and pushed her away? My steps slowed at the corner, and I stopped with my sights set on the glass door. Annie waited mere feet away. My instinct to rush forward and tackle the problem head on butted up against my empathy for Annie and the position we’d put her in. On top of all that, my need for answers threatened to shatter me. I had to know.

Teeth gritted, I yanked open the door and marched down the hallway, not letting myself stop until I knocked on her door.

Quick steps approached. “Who is it?” Annie’s voice quivered.

“It’s Ilya.” I lifted a hand and rested it on the door. “Can you talk?”

“Just a minute.” Annie’s voice drifted away.

I pressed an ear to the door and heard her telling the girls to go to their room and she’d be in soon. Why did she make the girls leave?

The door opened and Annie pressed her face into the crack. “What are you doing here?” Wide, frightened eyes looked me over, then swept down the hallway. “Are you alone?”

“We need to talk about the secrets you’re keeping.” I wedged the toe of my loafer in the door in case she tried to shut me out, promising myself that it was what needed to be done, to protect all of us. The girls’ laughter cut through the empty space.

Annie twitched toward the sound. “You can’t be here. It’s my day off, the one day I get to spend with the girls by myself.”

“So tell me what I want to know quickly and I will leave.” I kept my promises. Once I had the whole truth, I’d go and lether enjoy her day. “You did not tell us everything during our conversation about the twins. Tell me now.”

“Ilya, I really don’t have time for this. If you want to interrogate me, at least make it on company time so I get paid for it.” That flash of defiance rose in her eyes. She looked down, spotted my foot in the door, and gulped. “Ilya? Why are you really here?”

“For the truth.” It was as simple as that.

Her throat bobbed, the audible swallow ending with another gulping breath. “What if I don’t want to talk about the truth?”

“Why would you not?” She made less sense to me every time we spoke. “All I ask is for the truth. What are you hiding from us?”

“It’s none of your business.” Another defiant look that ended with her hand trembling on the door. One second, she seemed prepared to lash out and tell me to fuck off. The next, she gave off every signal of fear I’d ever encountered.

“Annie, are you afraid of me?”

“I heard what you do to girls once you’re done with them.” A shudder twisted her shoulders, and her hand tightened on the door until her knuckles whitened.

I almost removed my foot but changed my mind without moving. “What are you talking about?”

“You need to leave. Leave me alone.” She pushed on the door, pinching my foot through the thin shoe.

“What happened?” Something changed between last night and today. “Tell me what is troubling you.” I’d fix it or die trying. Did I want answers? Yes. But in light of this new fear I saw in her, I pushed aside my own needs for answers and concentrated on taking care of the woman I’d grown to care for… perhaps even love.

“Just go.” Annie pushed harder, using all her meager strength against me. “I don’t want to be with any of you.”

Shock sent me backward, freeing my foot from the door. I slammed a palm against the thin wood, denting it in the center. “You’re not making any sense. Last ni?—”

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