Page 75 of Triplet Babies
When Demitrios jerks hard on my arm, nearly tripping me, I scream again, hoping the revelation might make them hesitate. “I’m pregnant. If you hurt me, you’re hurting an innocent baby.”
Alex stops walking and turns to face me, his smile widening into something predatory. “I know.”
The casual way he says it makes my blood freeze. He knows about the pregnancy, which means he’s been watching me more closely than I realized. Was he spying on me when I went to my doctor’s appointment? I’m now sure I saw him at the parking lotof the baby boutique. Did he somehow get the folder, using it to lure me here under the pretext of being Valentin?
He adds with conversational ease, his tone chilling in how even it is, “You’re pregnant…for now.”
I nearly freeze again, but Demitrios keeps pushing me along, shoving me into a small room despite my efforts to escape. He sends me halfway across the room with a big push, and by the time I get to my feet again, Alex is standing in the doorway instead of Demitrios.
The room is windowless and claustrophobic, containing nothing but a metal chair, a wobbly desk, and a bare light bulb hanging from the ceiling.
Alex follows me in, closing the door behind him. In the enclosed space, his cologne is overwhelming, triggering memories of other small spaces where he made me feel trapped and helpless. I remember the time he locked me in the blanket trunk at the foot of the massive bed, keeping me there for three hours. I was gasping and lightheaded from lack of oxygen by the time he finally let me out, not doing so until my frantic fists pounding against the wood faded to light taps every few minutes as I depleted the oxygen in the trunk.
I block the memory for the moment, needing to be here and in the present, to deal with the current monstrous version of Alex instead of trapped in the past. If anything has changed about him in the past year, he’s probably gotten crueler. The thought makes me quiver, but I try to hide that.
He settles into the chair like he has all the time in the world, studying me with cold interest. “We have so much to catch upon, starting with why you thought you could disappear without consequences.”
I press myself against the far wall, as far from him as the small space allows. “How did you find me?”
He leans back in the chair, which shrieks with protest at the new position, as his voice takes on that intimate tone I remember from our relationship. “Does it matter? What matters is that you’re here now, and we can finally have the conversation you’ve been avoiding.”
“There’s nothing to talk about. I left you, Alex. I moved on.”
His smile grows wider, more predatory. “Did you? It looks like you’ve been hiding in someone else’s bed and are now carrying someone else’s baby.”
“That’s none of your business.”
Alex’s voice drops to that intimate tone he used to use in bed, and I shudder with revulsion. “Everything about you is my business. It always has been.”
The lock clicks shut from outside, and I realize the other man has left us alone. Alex and I are trapped together in this windowless room with no escape and no witnesses. I try to keep my voice steady despite the terror clawing at my throat. “What do you want?”
He smiles again, and this time there’s nothing charming about it as he removes a syringe from his pocket. “I want what’s mine.”
24
Yarik
The past five days without Sarah have been hell. I’ve called her four times, left voicemails that go unanswered, and sent texts that disappear into silence. Each day feels longer than the last, filled with the constant ache of knowing I failed her when she needed me most.
I sit in my office, staring at the same contract I’ve been pretending to read for the past hour, when Valentin enters. He settles into the chair across from my desk, noting the stack of untouched paperwork and the glass of vodka that’s been sitting untouched since noon.
“You look like hell,” he says with characteristic bluntness.
I set down the contract and lean back in my chair, not bothering to deny the obvious. “I need to see her.”
Valentin’s expression grows cautious. “Yarik?—”
“Don’t.” I stand and move to the window, looking out at the grounds where I first saw Sarah working in the gardens. “I knowwhat you’re going to say. I can’t promise her anything until the Nikitin situation is resolved, and showing up at her apartment makes me look desperate.”
He joins me at the window, his voice slow and careful. “Those are legitimate concerns.”
“Are they? Because sitting here doing nothing while the woman I love thinks I don’t want her seems like a bigger problem.”
He turns to study my profile, probably noting I haven’t slept properly in days. “What exactly are you planning to tell her?”
I face him directly, my decision crystallizing as I speak. “The truth. I’m ending the engagement regardless of the consequences. I’ll buy my freedom with blood if I have to, but I’m choosing her.”
His eyebrows rise at the vehemence in my voice. “You’re talking about starting a war with the Nikitins.”
