Share
72
Related chapters
Mafia's Runaway And Pregnant 73
CamilaThe mansion has a surplus of rooms that are decorated but unused. Lately, the whole place feels like a ghost house. Things moving, being rearranged, but no people actually seen. I haven’t spoken to any guards or much of the staff since being back. It’s like they’re avoiding me.Or maybe I’m subconsciously avoiding them ... I haven’t been the most approachable person. My mind is fixated on my mother, my baby, and nothing else. I’d avoid me too, I think.Adriana glances around, then locks the door. We’re alone, but her voice is a whisper.“Okay.” She pats the small, double-seated brown leather couch, sitting once I do. “What’s so important that you pulled me away?”Preparing myself to rattle off a hundred things, I’m surprised when I can’t manage a single word. There’s too much to discuss, and it’s all tangling up on my tongue now that the chance to speak is finally here. Breathing out a few times, I try to calm myself.“It’s funny. I don’t even know where to start now,” I say, l
Mafia's Runaway And Pregnant 74
AsherDAYS LATERI’m torturing a lot of people these days.It’s not something I love, though violence has a special place in my heart, much as I’m loath to admit it. I was never so naive as to think that taking over the Bratva from Yannick would be a bloodless venture. But to have to create precise suffering for my enemies is different than a battle for my life.The upside is I’m quite good at it.“Did you think that betraying me would end well for you, Mikhail?” I walk around my former brigadier, where Mila has tied him to a chair. The ropes cut across his tan, long-sleeved shirt, digging into his stocky muscles. The constriction is enough to leave his limbs numb without doing permanent damage.I’d hoped we’d snag one of my defectors, but Mila surprised me by capturing one so quickly. She spotted him when he was ordering a hot dog from one of the many carts downtown and stalked him until he was out of view of anyone who’d care before she knocked him out and carted him back to my plac
Mafia's Runaway And Pregnant 75
Camila“What were you two up to down there?” I ask again, though it sounds less like a question and more like a demand.They were clearly up to something in the cellar. Why else chase me out? Why else keep Mila from following? The last time I was among the wine casks, it was to have a secret meeting with Adriana. That place is designed for secrets.And I’m not naive enough to ignore that when the Bratva is involved, secrets can hurt.Secrets can kill.Asher is wearing a basic black button-up shirt. The kind he normally would pair with a jacket, especially in this weather. His hand is still on mine. And I don’t pull away, not yet. Not until I know where things are heading.“We found out that Yannick has restarted his brothels,” he finally says.Horror jolts through my bones. “How did you learn that?”He stares at the ceiling briefly before he turns to me. “Mila told me.” He pauses a beat, like he expects more questions from me. Before I ask any, he adds, “It can’t stand. We have to shu
Mafia's Runaway And Pregnant 76
CamilaIt’s nice to have the freedom to explore the gardens. Ever since being back, I’ve noticed there are fewer guards lurking around. Asher mentioned defectors. Perhaps that’s why it’s so barren now.Wandering the rows of lush roses that hang, ever resilient, against the onslaught of winter brings me solace. But a cage is still a cage, even if you can see the sky.What am I supposed to do?Asher has made his goal as clear as ever. It’s changed very little from what it started as. Yes, he wants Yannick dead. He also wants to dismantle his sordid business like he did years ago. Both are noble things, especially once I think about the poor women forced to work in the brothels. Are all of them marked with tattoos like Mila?Strolling around the curve of a water fountain, I notice the stream has been shut off to make sure the pipes don’t freeze. I wish it was still running at full force now. I’d have liked to sit on the edge of the smooth stone, listening to the bubbling water.I’ve alwa
Mafia's Runaway And Pregnant 77
CamilaNothing tastes better right now than peanut butter and yogurt on top of a blueberry muffin.I didn’t have this epiphany until this morning, but I’m confident I’m right. Why else would I be slathering my third muffin in thick white yogurt, licking chunky peanut butter off my thumb while hovering over the sink in the kitchen?Because you’re a crazy pregnant woman.Well, okay. That probably factors in.Humming to myself, I wash down my mouthful of food with a glass of orange juice. It was freshly squeezed this morning, which boggles my mind because it’s only nine and I’ve been awake for half an hour. Does the staff ever sleep? Or do they wake up fully functional at the crack of dawn? I could never. Especially not lately. I’m a walking ball of exhaustion mixed with ravenous hunger.Running my palm over my belly, I sigh. Sure, my feet are swollen and killing me, and I’m eating weird things, but I’m living my best life.If you ignore the mystery surrounding my husband-but-not-really-
Mafia's Runaway And Pregnant 78
CamilaThere’s a stranger in the house.I lean over the railing near the staircase to get a better look. Blonde hair down to her hips, a fur-lined ivory coat that doesn’t hide how thin she is. She’s shorter than me; I can tell because she’s standing next to Mila and barely reaches her shoulder. Small. That’s the word I’d use to describe her. Not only in stature, but also in how she presents herself.I’ve seen beaten dogs who shake less.“Come on, Madison,” Mila says, her tone gentler than normal. “Asher is upstairs.”She’s here to see Asher? Intrigued, I remain where I am on the stairs as the pair get closer. Mila sees me, her eyes going from wide to narrow. Madison, who has been pressing close to Mila like she’s a source of comfort, stops short at the sight of me. The young woman can’t be older than eighteen. Her face, unlike her thin body, has the roundness of youth.“Did you need something?” Mila asks me with an edge.Ignoring her, I smile kindly at Madison. “Hi there, I’m Camila.”
Mafia's Runaway And Pregnant 79
His eyebrows shoot up. He must be surprised that Mila, such a closed-off, dangerous person, might share something so vulnerable with me. I feel him evaluating me with fresh eyes. There’s interest and a new air of respect. “Then I’ll leave this to you.”Thank God. The idea of Madison being examined like a horse at a trade show makes me sick. “Give us privacy, please,” I say.Madison darts her attention between us. She hasn’t spoken in several minutes and that doesn’t look about to change. But unless I’m imagining it, some color has returned to her face and she’s breathing easier.Asher hesitates at the door. “The fox should have three legs.”“Three?” I repeat.“Yes. The fourth, with the chain, is only added once a girl is trained and broken. She is neither.” His long, dark stare at Madison communicates to me that he has also noticed how young she is.The women who get the finished tattoo are changed forever.I wonder helplessly what Mila was like before the last leg was added.Asher cl
Mafia's Runaway And Pregnant 80
I don’t know what wakes me up. I only know that the darkness I’m staring at isn’t the familiar wall of my own eyelids. Everything shifts around me. Slowly, I recognize the ceiling, the walls, and the moonlight filtering through the gap in the drapes.Asher is breathing evenly beside me in the bed. It’s a comforting sound. I rock sideways to hug him, eager for his presence to lull me back to sleep. The slope of his nose and strong chin glow in the starlight through the window.And that’s when I see it.Someone else is standing over him.In the diffused light, Madison’s hair looks like cloud vapor. It drifts from side to side as she hovers over Asher with something clutched in her fist. Something sharp.Time is sluggish; it takes decades for me to draw enough air into my lungs.Madison strikes downward. I scream simultaneously.Asher’s eyes pop open. In a blur, he shoots his arm up, snatching Madison by her thin wrist just before she can touch him. Grunting, he twists his body, wrenchin
Latest chapter
