The tears streamed down her cheeks, and she covered her belly. “I can’t be pregnant. Oh, my God. Oh, no.” She fell back against the door, and her mind traveled in twenty different directions. If she was pregnant, then it was one of the guys’. What would they do if they found out? They would more than likely come back to Bailey’s between missions and work to see her. They would want sex from her, and that was it. Nothing more. Corona had fucking paid her. Had he done that in case she was pregnant? More tears fell. She shook her head. No. No, they wouldn’t do that. They didn’t even ask about protection, and she knew she was taking the pill, but shit, she must have missed taking it a few days because they were always making love. It had been a week of constant sex and then making love together that last night.
Nina covered her face with her hands and cried some more. She crawled to the toilet, feeling sick once again. She grabbed the side of the toilet and emptied her belly until she was dry heaving. Her life was all fucked up. Zinc getting killed and pissing off the Cubans had caused her life to be interrupted and forced her to leave with Corona and his team. She stop
ped that train of thought. She was a woman, mature enough to know that having sex was a big deal. She’d made the decision to give her virginity to them and make them her first lovers. But once again, God was playing a nasty trick on her. Just when she’d thought she could move on with her life and be strong and independent, this happened.
“Shit. I don’t even know if I am pregnant.” She stood up. That sickening feeling increased again. She hurried to the kitchen and pulled out some crackers, something dry for a stomach virus. This was coincidental. So she missed taking a few pills. Wouldn’t the protection be in her system?
Perhaps with sex with one man, and only a couple of times, but not with four men and multiple times, over and over again. Jesus, it had been so many times. Oh, God.
She plopped down onto a seat in the kitchen and stared out the small apartment window. She needed to take a test. To see a doctor. She had to confirm that she was, indeed, pregnant, and then she would have to make some decisions.
She could abort. No, no freaking way. Every child deserved a loving family, a mother to care for them and love them. She hadn’t had that. No one loved her like that. Her mother had lost her mind, gotten into drugs, disappeared, and then died. Nina would never screw up a kid. She would take care of her baby with her life. That thought made her think about the potential danger she was in. If she was pregnant, she had a life to protect. She couldn’t stay in Chicago. She would have to leave. But she couldn’t leave unless all loose ends were tied and Zinc’s situation resolved. The Cubans would hunt her down. Polo would want her, and if he found out about the baby, he would make her get rid of it. He would own her, and she would become his possession, his object, and be under his control until he had enough of her.
She covered her belly with her hand. The protective emotion was instant, and as she listened to her body and absorbed the silence around her, she knew instinctually that she was pregnant.
She needed to meet with Viktor. It was the only way. But first she needed to take a pregnancy test and confirm this officially. She had to make a plan of action.
She heard her phone vibrating and quickly headed to answer it. She saw right away that it was Dominion. She wiped her eyes and cleared her throat before she answered.
“Hello.”
“Hey, Nina, how are you? I haven’t heard from you in a while. I was checking in.”
“I’m good. Just busy with work.”
“Are you okay? You sound funny.”
“I’m good. Just a splitting headache.” She gulped down the lump of emotion in her throat.
“Listen, I heard about Zinc, that someone thinks he double-crossed some men in the Cuban gang there in Chicago. I heard that Karlicov had you disappear for a few weeks. Are you in danger because of Zinc?”
She felt the tears roll down her cheeks. There was no one to trust, and everyone thought the worse. It was overwhelming to her at this point.
“They think so, but nothing indicates they would come after me. I don’t know anything. The men investigating can’t prove anything either, so this story about Zinc could be a lie.”
“Nina, I know people. This is a bad situation. I’m here if you need me. If you need a safe place to disappear to, you let me know and I’ll get you here.”
She swallowed hard and thought about the offer. Things were so up in the air.
“I don’t think that’s necessary.”
“Well, if anything changes, just one phone call and I’ll take care of everything. You can leave that life, that danger behind you and get out while you can.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, Dominion. Thank you.”
“Keep me posted, and I mean it. Call me if you need help.”
Nina ended the call and then felt the despair of her situation. Something had to give. She had to make things right and then maybe leave Chicago for good.
* * * *
“Oh, God. Yes, yes, harder, Cramer. Harder,” Mirella cried out as Cramer thrust into her from behind. She held on to the desk, her breasts scraping against the wood, but Cramer didn’t care. He’d attacked her the moment she showed up, dressed in her eveningwear, ready to get fucked by him. He watched her every time he was in Bailey’s, and when she caught his eye, he knew she was interested.
He ran his hands along her bare ass and continued to thrust into her. She had one hell of a body, and she was assertive, ready and willing to get fucked over his desk. As soon as she showed up at his office, he knew she wanted sex.
“You’re so big. I need it harder, harder.”
She cried out to him, and he continued to thrust into her until he couldn’t take it any longer and came. He shook and fell against her a moment. She stiffened up, and he figured it was because he weighed too much against her slimmer frame. He pulled out and then deposited the condom into the wastebasket.