Page 16 of Knocked up by the Mafia

I want to say it doesn’t happen often, but that would be a lie.

Once the outer perimeter is done, I work through three more waves of traps, making four safety rings around the cabin.

I reach the last few trip wires that need to be set up, then I set up a ladder and climb onto the roof to put in the batteries for the solar cameras. The batteries should enable them to run tonight and then charge during the day. It gets steadily colder as the night progresses, but I ensure we’re entirely safe before I walk through the garage, into the kitchen, and look around.

The fire has died down, and I go to check on Natalia, but she’s not there. I go to check the bedrooms, but they’re empty, and her packed bag is gone.

She’s made a run for it.

I immediately panic because I know shewilltrigger one of the traps and potentially injure or kill herself and our baby.

I grab my phone, the only device linked to the sensors and hurry out. She can’t have gotten far because she hasn’t already triggered anything. She must have waited until I came down from the roof to make a dash for it because I would have seen her open and close the door from up there.

My phone beeps, and I look at the notification. South West, she’s just triggered a sensor. That’s fine, except if she’s walking in a straight line, she will trigger one of our more medieval traps involving a swinging club with nails driven through it.

I run for her, stumbling every so often over tree roots and bushes, but I don’t let that delay me too long. Ahead I see the brightness of a flashlight; it has to be her.

“Natalia! Stop!” I shout to her, and she tries to move faster, encumbered by her bag. She drops it and starts to run. She’s only a few feet away from the trip wire.

I don’t know what drives me, but I sprint faster and reach her just as she sets the trip wire off. My outstretched hand grabs a handful of her jacket, luckily zipped up, and I yank her backward. We both trip over and land on our asses.

The flashlight has fallen next to us, and in the light, we see the club swing hurried past, and I turn to see her eyes widen.

I get up and angrily stand over her. “Are you a fucking idiot? You knew you couldn’t just walk out here.”

“I know you won’t kill me,” she yells, clambering to her feet. I reset the trap, turning my back on her.

“No, I won’t kill you. But right now, you enjoy a lot of freedom of movement which I will severely restrict if you try something stupid again. I’ve been protecting you, have I not?” I look at her once I’m done. She’s standing there shivering. I don’t know if it’s from the cold or fear.

“I have to think about the baby now, and being on the run isn’t safe.” She looks up at me; she’s rebellious and resilient.

I step towards her, then bend down and pick up the flashlight. “We’ll get your bag along the way. We just need to stop to reset the other tripwire that you triggered. Luckily that was the one that notified me where you were, or you’d be dead.”

She walks beside me, and I sigh. “Did you think for a moment that maybe you are safer with me on the run?” I glance at her. “Because I can tell you, they know you’re a Volkov, and there will be nowhere Ivan can hide you from them. At least I’m less likely to get us found.”

She sniffs, and I stop to pick up her bag. She holds her hand out to take it, but I shake my head. “Keep walking.”

Which we do in silence in the dark forest.

“You’re acting like a child,” I comment when I pause to reset the last tripwire. “You’re in your early thirties; having lived the life you have, you should be smarter about this entire situation.”

“Everything just feels different,” she comments. “Especially now that I’m pregnant. I don’t feel weaker or less intelligent, just more scared.”

I turn and take her hand, pulling her into my arms. I hold her tightly. “I know. It is scary. It’s nothing either of us wanted, but it’s happened, and now we have to try to make the best of it while we run for our lives. I promise I’ll find a way to end the bounty placed on your head, and then we can go our separate ways if that’s what you want and give me visitation rights.”

She shivers in my arms, and I stroke her back. “Come on, lass. I’ll get the fire going again.”

We make it to the cabin, and I let her in ahead of me. I take her bag back to her room, sure that she won’t make another run for it. She’s sitting on the sofa when I return, a small blanket covering her lap.

I bend in front of the fire and start working on getting it back to its former glory.

“Why are you doing this?”

The question catches me off guard, and I don’t look at her.

“Doing what?” I ask quietly.

“You should have killed me, but you didn’t. You married me instead and have protected me. Now you’re promising me safety and redemption for my actions. Why would you inconvenience yourself like that? What do you get out of it?” Her words wash over me, and I feel like my brain’s gone on vacation.

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