Page 142 of The Payback

“Presents?” she asks sweetly, her little voice sugary sweet as she pulls back from Nik.

“Always, little one. Let me say hi to Mama and Papa and then I’ll get you your present.”

“It had better not be something dangerous again,” Dimitri says as he secures the ropes to the pier while Nik hoists Bella onto his hip. There are proper names for those ropes, and they’ve told me about a hundred times. But honestly, I literally couldn’t care less about the boats and their nautical terminology.

I’m already organising a criminal team, the same for a throuple relationship, raising a child, and possibly cooking another one in the oven. There is literally no more room in my brain for something like boat ropes.

“Nah, it’s for her collection.” I roll my eyes, and Nik lands a smack on my ass in retaliation when he gets closer, whispering in my ear, “You want to do that again, baby?”

“You keep getting her these creepy dolls from everywhere. They’re taking over the house, and when I turn a corner, there’s always one staring at me! Those things scare me half to death every single time.”

Nik looks down at Bella. “Are you scaring Mama on purpose, my sweet girl?”

She looks from Nik to me, then back to Nik again. Leaning close to his ear, she loudly whispers, “Yes.”

“Good girl,” he praises. Turning towards me, he lifts my chin with his free hand and kisses me so sweetly it’s like the old and tortured Nik no longer exists.

“Mmm. I’ve missed you, too,” I say, licking my lip when he pulls away, chasing his taste with my tongue.

“Stop kissing,” Bella complains loudly.

We all laugh, and with an arm around my waist, Nik leads us back to the house, Dimitri falling in line with us.

Once we’re inside and Bella takes the new doll from Nik’s bag, she rockets off for her room. She’ll likely play with it for the next hour before tucking it away somewhere to scare the daylights out of me.

“Now?” Dimitri asks.

I shake my head with exasperation. Nik’s been home for approximately two minutes, and already, my Bratva boss’s knee is bouncing as he sits on the couch.

“Now what?” Nik asks, looking from Dimitri to me.

“Now I pee on a stick.”

“WHAT?!” Nik jumps up, crossing the living room and pulling me into his arms. “Really?”

He pulls back, his dark eyes searching mine for a hint of a lie. I nod, and his eyes fill with emotion.

“I’m not sure yet. But I’ll go now. Someone keep an eye on Bella while I go handle business.”

“Fuck that,” Dimitri says, Nik echoing the sentiment. “We’re not missing a moment of this.”

Knowing there’s no dissuading the two of them when they put their mind to something, I shrug and head down the hallway. They follow, almost stepping on my heel and giving me a flat tyre in their haste.

“Bella?” I remind them.

Nik pulls his phone out and clicks on the app to check on her in her room. “She’s good. She’s decapitated the doll already. I hope she switches the head with the orc doll I got her a few months ago. That’d be fun.”

“You’re sick,” I throw over my shoulder as we reach the bathroom. “Are you two seriously going to watch all of this?”

They cross their arms over their chests, painting such a pretty picture. I sigh, pull a new test from the drawer and do the deed.

“Now what?” Nik asks as I cap it and place it on the counter.

“Now we wait. Three minutes,” I read off the back of the packaging to be ultra sure. Dimitri bought those fancy and expensive tests that tell you approximate weeks pregnant, but I pull out one of the cheap ones as a backup. I don’t trust the technology. With the second test done, I put it on a toilet paper square and finish up.

We stand there, no one moving or blinking as the seconds tick by. The liquid creeps along the test strip on the cheap test, passing the control line and driving us all crazy as we watch.

“Is that the line?” Nik asks, bending so close that the test is an inch from his eyeball.

---