We aren’t good people. We aren’t kind people. But we don’t buy and sell humans. That I won’t allow in my territory.
And while I know it’s a worthy crusade, some small part of me knew I’d lose Michail if I didn’t at least try. Now we split our time between my townhouse and the penthouse. It’s a good thing someone’s boss owns a helicopter.
Staring at the pregnancy tests only makes my decision easier. Children need to be protected. In our world, they so often aren’t.
I run my hand over my still flat stomach and text Andrea, who’s become a friend after everything. She doesn’t answer, but a knock comes from my door a moment later.
But the knock is perfunctory. She walks right in before I call out.
When she finds me in the bathroom, she spots the tests, then looks at me, and then back at the tests. “You peed on those, and you’re putting them there where you brush your teeth?”
I huff, rush over, and drag her closer.
She jerks her arm from my hold. “I hope you washed your hands.”
“Would you shut up and look at these?”
“They all say: pregnant.”
I stare, hoping she’s right and she’s wrong at the same time. “Are you sure?”
She points to one without touching it, her silky hair sliding over her shoulder. “Yeah. See…P-R-E-G-N-A-N-T. It’s not like those red line ones. It clearly says it. Uh…six…no seven times. So I think that’s pretty conclusive.”
My stomach rolls, and I race to the toilet. This has been happening for a few weeks now, but I didn’t think it was possible. I’ve been on birth control since I was sixteen. Even though I’d never had sex, Mom feared I’d get pregnant early and ruin my chances of taking over the council. Well…I’ve been on birth control since I was sixteen…minus several weeks I got locked into a hotel with a ridiculously gorgeous man for my protection.
Bet she never had that situation on her radar. I wonder how she’ll feel about becoming a grandmother.
Andrea scoops my hair back, holding it while I finish in the bathroom. After I wash my hands, under her supervision, she hands me a glass of water.
“You okay?”
I swallow thickly, my throat dry. “Yes. I think so. Maybe. No.”
She snorts. “Clears that right up then. Do you want me to go get Michail?”
Shit. I guess I should tell him. I’m not sure what he’s going to say, or think, about this. We’ve never discussed it. Never even brought it up.
I nod once. Might as well get it over with. If I don’t, then I’ll regret it. Andrea goes to leave, and I spot something in my jewelry dish. Quickly, I swipe it up, chase after her into the main suite, and press it into her palm.
She stares down at the engagement ring Emmanuelle gave me. “Oh, well, I mean if Michail wouldn’t murder me, sure, I’ll marry you.”
I meet her eyes, knowing the false humor she forces into her tone is just her way of keeping people from asking the hard questions she doesn’t want to answer. “I think this belongs to you. It never belonged to me.”
She stares down at it for several seconds, then slides it in the pocket of her black slacks. “You don’t know everything about him. We could never be together anyway. Besides, I hate him.”
It didn’t look like that to me, but she doesn’t give me the chance to comment, walking away to find Michail.
I head back into the bathroom, rubbing my hands down my green pencil skirt. He enters at almost a run, his face lined with his worry. “What is it? Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
I clear my throat and glance pointedly at the countertop.
He settles his shoulders back, his face going carefully blank, as he looks the tests over. “How do you feel about this?”
I’m waiting for some kind of reaction from him, but he’s giving me absolutely nothing. “Scared, maybe. I’m too young to be a mother.”
“Valentina is younger than you, and you can already see her little bump.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to point out that Valentina wasn’t trained to run a criminal empire, but I don’t. That’s the old me. The one who made everything about herself. I take a deep breath and let it trickle out slowly. “I think I’m okay with this.”
He captures my face between his palms, searching my eyes. “What does okay mean? You want to keep it?”
I jerk back, his words burning unexpectedly, but he doesn’t release me. “What do you mean? You thought I’d want to…”
Something bright enters his eyes. “I didn’t know, and it’s your decision. It’s always your choice, but I can’t lie and say it wouldn’t have broken my heart.”
Tears well up in my eyes, slipping over. He swipes them away with his thumbs. “So you are excited?” I whisper.