CHAPTER 33
Naomi
Moments before
The car moved quickly through the streets, and I tried to tamp down the excitement that had been building inside me since I climbed in. I still couldn’t believe that I was pregnant. I knew it was the plan all along. But now that it was here and real, I really didn’t know what to do or say about it.
One thing was for sure: I wanted it to be a happy occasion, to see Gavril’s face light up because I was carrying his child and not because the last piece of his plan had clicked into place.
Biting my lower lip, I let my hand rest on my still-flat stomach as I mulled over the reaction I thought that Gavril might have. After the last few days, I hoped that he would pick me up in his arms and tell me that he was happy, that I had made him happy with the news.
Then we could go back to the mansion and celebrate together, maybe with a nice dinner and plans for what was to come.
The problem was, I couldn’t picture any of it. Somehow, fear started to take the place of my happiness. I didn’t want to think of the bad things that could happen, like that he could actually be upset that I had gotten pregnant too quickly.
I pushed that thought away as soon as it crossed my mind. That wasn’t going to be the case at all. Regardless of what Gavril thought about it, he wanted this child. He needed this child.
I sighed as I leaned back against the seat, wishing that my life was just a tad bit easier. I hadn’t really given much thought to what I was going to be bringing this child into or if I was going to even be around for their milestones.
There were rumors, fewer rumors and more truths, that Mafia bosses weren’t faithful. They didn’t have traditional marriages. Their wives were there to give them children and nothing more. Others had numerous mistresses and an endless string of illegitimate children.
Was that what I was looking at? Was that going to be my future with Gavril?
And what if our child was a girl? Would he treat her just as he would a boy? Or would she be raised to the slaughter like Sveta had been?
There was a lot to process, and I knew I didn’t have all the answers, but the only way I was going to start getting them was to tell Gavril first.
Nervous butterflies fluttered in my stomach as I thought about him, about how much had changed from when he left the bedroom earlier. Our lives were going to change, no matter what his plans were.
My life was going to change.
The car pulled into an empty lot, the smell of the water filling the air immediately. “The Pakhan is just over there,” Ivan replied, pointing to a building a few feet away.
I started to climb out, but a huge ship caught my eye at the end of the dock, and I watched as women were marched out of the hull, some shielding their eyes from the brightness of the sun.
What the hell?
They were lined up in a straight line, and a funny feeling squirmed in the pit of my stomach as I realized that it was Gavril’s right-hand man, Anatoly, directing them.
Usually wherever Anatoly was, Gavril was as well.
Fortunately, there was a line of cars that blocked ours, and we had yet to be noticed, but I could see enough to know that it was Anatoly there.
Anatoly walked over to a door on the building and opened it, and my heart went in my throat as I watched Gavril’s tall form walk out, followed by a group of men behind him. He was gesturing to the women, and I hated the way that I felt everything hollow out in my chest.
Something was wrong. I couldn’t hear what he was saying and didn’t want to roll down my window to hear his words either. This was the business that he had rushed off to today?
What was he doing with those women?
Who were those men?
Anxiety climbed up in my throat, but I tamped it down, clenching the door handle but not opening it. As much as I hated to see whatever this was, I couldn’t look away.
When the men started toward the women, I bit my lip hard to keep from crying out, watching as they grabbed them, threw them on their knees, pushed them against the walls. It was obvious what they were doing. I watched as some of the women tried to fight, tried to pull away, but were unsuccessful.
Then one of the men with Gavril reached out and hit one of the women. I couldn’t hold back my gasp.
The woman fell to the ground and the man was on her in a minute, with very little doubt as to what he was doing to her.
Oh God.
All the while, Gavril and Anatoly stood aside and watched as the men raped these women, and I tried to think of reasons that he wouldn’t interfere with this, this brutality. Maybe he was blind or had been threatened to not interfere.
Maybe this really wasn’t reality and any moment I would be waking in his arms and shake off the horrible nightmare.
I was a moment away from rolling down the window and screaming for them to stop. This wasn’t right. This wasn’t some drug or gun deal that I thought Gavril was involved in.
These were innocent women!
I was powerless to stop it. If I exposed myself, there was no telling what would happen to me, and I doubted it would matter if I was carrying Gavril’s child or not.
Nausea roiled in my stomach, and I wanted to look away from the horrible scene, but it was like a bad car wreck, pulling me in to watch every moment.
And all the while, the father of my child stood there.
He stood there and watched.
The man I loved—the man I thought I loved—the man who was supposed to mean everything to me.
I was sick to my stomach.
Suddenly, one of the men gave out a cry of pain. Then, he threw a woman to the ground and started kicking her viciously. Her shrieks of pain reverberated in the air, and I felt my heart stop.
Why are you just standing there? Why won’t you do something to stop this! Please, Gavril! I begged silently.
I didn’t know who was standing out there anymore, but he wasn’t the same man that had laughed with me. He wasn’t the same man who’d smiled at his sisters and given them everything he could to keep them happy.
In his place was a monster.