Page 16 of Immaculate Deception (Romanoff Bratva)

He was just a large, faceless mass. I was in too much pain to care who was between my legs. I knew I couldn’t give birth alone, so when he appeared outside the car, I didn’t question it. I just thanked heaven for an angel and kept pushing.

After the year I’ve had, it’s about time the universe started sending some good fortune my way.

The clothes I was wearing earlier are folded in a dirty, sweaty pile on the table next to the bed. Including my jeans, which I kicked off well before the stranger arrived to help.

In the back pocket, just where I’d left it, is my phone. I pull it out and dial Brigitte’s number.

“About time!” my best friend chirps in way of a greeting. “I’ve been texting you all day. Where have you been?”

“Giving birth on the side of the road. What about you?”

There’s a long, stunned pause and then a flurry of questions and shouts and squeals. “Tell me everything!” she demands.

Brigitte has been my best friend for years. When I found out I was pregnant, I told her before anyone else. To my everlasting gratitude, she didn’t immediately tell me I was the biggest idiot in the world.

“What are you going to do?”she had asked instead.

Keep it.The answer had been immediate and unwavering, even though I hadn’t given it a second of thought.

Once I made my decision, Brigitte never asked again.

“…I was timing my contractions and I thought I had more than enough time to get to the hospital, but I could feel him coming,” I explain.

“Ew!”

“I was afraid if I got on the highway, I’d end up crashing, so I pulled over on a frontage road to call for help. But the phone lines must have been jammed or something.”

“There was an explosion!” Brigitte interrupts. “That’s why I was texting you. Something exploded only a few blocks from your house, according to the news. I bet everyone was calling to figure out what was going on.”

“How do you possibly know more about what’s going on in the city than I do? You’re out of town!”

Brigitte laughs. “I’m like one of those businessmen who wears multiple watches, each one set to a different time zone. I always make sure to stay up to date with the important news.”

She’s been traveling a lot for work lately, so it does kind of make sense. She’s always been a little Energizer bunny.

We laugh, then I tell her about the man showing up to help. Even as I tell the story, I almost don’t believe the words I’m saying.

A huge, handsome man opening the car door.

Calming me.

Taking my baby from me and swaddling it in his jacket…

“Who was he?” she asks when I finish the wild tale.

“No idea. I barely even looked at him.”

“Was he hot?”

“I don’t know,” I insist. “Truly. I was so focused on pushing a human out of me that I didn’t notice.”

She groans. “You are useless! Was he big? Small?”

“Not that big. Seven pounds, four ounces.”

“The man, you dummy. Not the baby.”

“Oh. Right. He was big.” That part I’m certain about. The man’s shoulders were so broad he barely fit through the car door. “Very big,” I add.

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