Page 67 of Sold to the Bratva
We move in silence, every second stretching into forever. My thoughts sprint with every step. Is Isaac safe? Is Mikhail? Who is attacking us? Is this random, or is it betrayal? Deep down I already know.
My baby shifts inside me, and I rest a hand over the curve of my stomach.
“We’re okay,” I whisper, hoping my voice sounds steadier than I feel. “We are going to be okay.”
Eventually we reach the end of the tunnel. A short flight of stairs rises to another concealed door. Maude and I shove it open with shaking hands. We spill out at the rear edge of the estate, behind the house. Through the wrought-iron gates I spot Mikhail’s car.
This side of the ground lies eerily quiet. Whoever breached the mansion must have come through the front since they haven’t pushed this far back. For the moment we’re tucked inside dense garden foliage, safe for now.
But the attackers could still reach us. Mikhail might not return. Isaac could be hurt, or worse. No.I refuse to entertain that thought. I can’t raise our baby alone. I won’t.
“It’s going to be all right, Katya,” Maude says, her voice steady. “Isaac will be fine. It takes a lot to blindside that man. He’s prepared for this.”
That may be true for him, but I’m not ready for any of this. I feel utterly unprepared for the life waiting ahead. How am I supposed to bring a baby into a world like this? I refuse to spend my days glancing over my shoulder, waiting for the floor to give way beneath me. The thought twists my stomach.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” I say, turning away from her.
She rubs slow circles between my shoulder blades. “It’s okay, Katya,” she says, her tone almost motherly. “Process this however you need. If you have to be sick, be sick.”
Nausea swells, tumbles into dizziness, and I drop into a crouch even though I know it will be hard to stand again if we have to run. My body can’t absorb this much adrenaline, and neither canmy heart. What’s the plan if we have to flee? Does Maude know, or do we just drive until the city fades in the rearview mirror?
I didn’t even have time to grab my phone. I have no money, no identification. I’m wearing bedroom slippers, for goodness’ sake.
“Maude, I don’t feel well,” I say through labored breathing.
“It’s okay, love,” she repeats.
“No,” I whisper, glancing between my legs as a warm rush soaks the fabric. “I think my water just broke.”
27
ISAAC
“What the hell is this?” I growl through clenched teeth. “You’re my father-in-law, for fuck’s sake. Why are you doing this?”
Oleg smirks, lifting his gun but stopping short of pulling the trigger. “This isn’t personal, Kozlov. This is business.”
“Business?” I snap, whipping toward Viktor. “We had a truce. You used your own daughter as a fake bargaining chip just to lower my defenses?”
Oleg’s smirk widens. “Now you’re getting it.”
My stomach lurches. It takes every ounce of restraint not to shoot him on the spot.
“You’d never have believed we meant to hurt you if we dangled the girl,” he drawls, the smirk pasted to his greasy face. “She was the perfect distraction, and you swallowed the bait. While you played house, we slipped inside your business. The plan was always to steal your operation and claim your territory. Who did you think kept hitting your shipments?”
“You offered your daughter up as bait?” I growl, locking eyes with the man who should have protected Katya above everyone else. “How could you do that to her?”
Viktor looks neither proud nor ashamed, a detached coldness sits in his icy eyes.
“I did what was necessary,” Viktor says. “For my Bratva. For our future.”
“Bullshit,” I spit. “You used her. You told me this was about peace. You forced her into a marriage she didn’t want just to double-cross both of us. How could you put your own child in danger like that?”
“My child is perfectly safe,” he interrupts. “Because we planned it that way. She was never the target.”
Red veils my vision. “She’s mywife,” I growl, voice low and lethal. “She’s carrying my child, and you used her.”
Oleg tilts his head, mock sympathy flickering across his face. “Well, that certainly wasn’t part of our plan, but it works out beautifully, doesn’t it? You’re emotionally compromised, vulnerable.”
