And Naomi. That was going to hell in a handbasket quickly too. Something had fallen apart between us. Something wasn’t right, and I couldn’t place my finger on it.
It pissed me off to think that something was off between us. Things had been good—really good—between us. I’d felt like maybe we were past the shit about how we had gotten together and were looking toward a future.
When she’d told me she was pregnant, the feelings inside had been unlike anything I could have imagined, and I couldn’t help but wonder if my father had felt the same way when my mother told him.
And then all of it had disappeared with a single question.
That one question had taken me back to another time and place, one that I didn’t like to revisit. It was my weak point, and I had vowed to never be that weak for anyone again.
So why did I feel like I had lied to myself?
Whatever I had done, it was my own fucking fault. I had concocted this plan, and now I had to deal with the consequences of my actions, including a wife who clearly wanted to know more about her husband.
Sighing, I rubbed a hand over my face. She hadn’t before, so what had changed? Perhaps she had said something to Vera or to the other staff. Tomorrow, I would question them, and if there was nothing, then I would chalk it up to Naomi’s own curiosity.
***
The next morning, Vera walked into the dining room, her hands clasped behind her back and that dispassionate gaze on her face. “You called for me, master?”
I nodded, clasping my own hands behind my back as I stared her down. While Vera was a force to be reckoned with, she was still in my employ and was loyal to me. Naomi had just left the dining room moments before, after having breakfast with me at my request to show that there were no hard feelings about yesterday between us.
I had let her go after she claimed a headache. But I was sure she had done it to get away from me quickly. I wasn’t used to that emotion from her, and worry gnawed at my gut about what was going on with her.
“Is there something that you have noticed that seems off about Sveta lately?” I started.
Vera’s eyes widened ever so slightly, and I felt my entire body freeze with the movement.
She knew something.
Vera recovered quickly, clearing her throat. “I really shouldn’t say anything.”
“You have never kept secrets from me before,” I reminded her harshly. “I see no reason why you would now.”
Her mouth twisted. She likely didn’t like my tone of voice, but dammit, I wanted to know what was going on with my wife!
“Apologies, master,” she finally said, resignation in her voice. “Sveta is carrying your child.”
I deflated at her words. Fuck. “I’m aware,” I grumbled. “What else?”
“Of course!” Vera replied nervously. “Of course you know about that. Apologies, master.”
“What are you hiding?” I answered in a sharp tone, my patience wearing thin. “Is there anyone else she’s spoken with recently?”
Vera thought for a moment. “She did take a ride last week with Ivan. Perhaps she said something to him?”
“Thank you, Vera. Fetch me Ivan.”
She nodded and exited the room, leaving me to gather my thoughts and my fucking wits about me. Maybe I was imagining things. Maybe it really was the pregnancy that had Naomi acting weird and nothing more than that.
Ivan entered the dining room a moment later, and he gave me a deep bow. “You wished to see me?”
“Vera said you took my wife somewhere last week,” I started. “Where did you take her?”
Ivan swallowed, and I felt the first stirring of concern deep in my gut. The man couldn’t hide his emotions to save his life. “You said that she could go anywhere.”
“I did,” I answered, tamping down my sudden burst of anger. “And you have done nothing wrong. I only wish to know where my wife went.”
The driver looked at his feet. “I took her to the docks, Pakhan.”
For a moment his words didn’t register before I realized what he had said. “When?”
“Last week, after you left. She wanted to see you, demanded quite insistently, in fact. I believe it was about her pregnancy.”
Fuck! She had seen the shipment of women and the actions of the brigadiers afterward. I would bet my entire fucking business on that, which would explain why she was acting oddly.
And why she’d asked the questions she had yesterday.
Surely she knew what my business and what my position required of me? Had she thought I was in legal shit? Every boss had his hand in some version of trafficking from time to time. No one was exempt. No one was clean. Whether they chose to do it or they funded it, it was the same.
Was that what it was?
Realizing Ivan was still standing there, I forced all my thoughts to a grinding halt for now. “Thank you, Ivan. You have been very helpful. Dismissed.”
“Please, Pakhan.” He turned to go before pausing. “She had a rough time after we left.”
That bothered me even more. “I said, dismissed.”
He nodded and walked out of the room, gingerly closing the door behind him as he went. I took one look at the dirtied plates on the table and with a growl, swept my hand over them, knocking them to the floor. The crash echoed in the room, but I wasn’t done. I picked up the chair that I had vacated a few moments before and threw it against the wall, where it shattered on impact.
Fuck!
Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!
Naomi was keeping secrets from me. Instead of just coming out and telling me what she had done, she had allowed a week to go by and forced me to find out on my own that she had spied on me.
A knock sounded on the door. “What?” I bit out, stepping around the mess I had caused.
“Is everything all right, master?” Vera asked, her voice muffled by the thick door.
“It’s fine,” I growled.
She didn’t respond, but I knew she wouldn’t come into the room unless I invited her in.
Which I wasn’t going to. Not now.
Dropping into the chair that Naomi had vacated earlier, I put my head in my hands. Just once in my fucking life, I wanted something to go right.
Now it all made sense, though, and I would have to address it with my wife.
She didn’t belong in my fucking business.
The bigger question was, however, what else she might be hiding from me. She had waited until her stalker interfered in our time in Russia before letting me know about that particular bit in her life.
If Naomi was willing to lie about that, then what else was there?
What else was she hiding from me?