I almost fell to my knees, begging for the life of my baby, a tiny little human I didn’t know yet but wanted to know more than anything in the world.
Ialmostdid.
Strength was finding what had been bred into you and digging it up at those life and death moments. My father bred love into me. He died for me so that I could protect and love the way he had.
Rome and I deserved to breed that love into someone else too. If Ivan took away our opportunity, how would we get to see the monster and my mayhem mixed up all together in one tiny little innocent body?
The more I stared at that man protecting the hell out of me, willing to go to bat for me, willing to believe in me, in our baby, in the future of what we could create, the more I wanted to see the offspring I created with him.
I deserved that. My father deserved that. Rome deserved that.
And Rome should have gotten a medal for his restraint in those moments. He was ready to kill my grandfather, but waiting for my move.
The little girl in me that had been silent since her innocence was stolen wanted another little innocent human to have a chance. It was her time to shine.
The longer that gun was held to my belly, the less scared I became. How dare he think he could do this to me after all I’d done for the bratva already?
“You feel small, Katalina? Helpless?” Ivan asked in a voice that snaked around my bones and tried to constrict me with fear.
“I’ve always been small, grandfather.” Dante had taught me well enough to know that I had to act fast. I maneuvered like we’d practiced, one hand quick to knock the gun from his grip with a hit to his wrist while I snapped my body out of range. My other hand snatched the gun from his loosened grasp. “But never helpless.”
The disarm wouldn’t have worked on someone younger or more alert, but Ivan had gotten comfortable in his role and his old age. He didn’t think I’d do it, and it left him vulnerable.
Rome’s jaw ticked at my move, but he didn’t comment. I’d hear about my actions later, surely. Right now, the battle I waged was between Ivan and myself. He’d been the teacher, the enforcer, and the bratva boss for as long as he could remember.
Now, he needed to step aside. He needed to accept the choices I was making for the bratva and for my own life as queen.
“You’re quick, but you won’t be quick enough for the bratva you rule, Katalina.” He sighed and lifted his hands in the air, knowing there was no way out with us aiming both guns at his organs.
“I only have to be quick enough for you right now, Ivan.”
“I’ve taught you enough, huh? Spare my life for that at least. I won’t bless that child though. You know I can’t do that. You are full of hormones and carrying a baby. No one will respect that.” He shook his head in disgust at what he believed would ruin me. “I didn’t see your weakness until now. Your father loved you too much, Katalina. You have some notion that you can make him proud by changing how we do things and that you can love a baby like he did.” The man scoffed, phlegm catching in his throat. “You can’t fill my shoes, Katalina. I’m not sure that you ever would have been able to.”
“Fill your shoes?” A laugh escaped from deep in my gut. The Russians barely trusted him. He had no good ties to the families in other cities, and the men under us were circling like sharks, ready to attack as soon as they saw blood. “What have you accomplished? Have you solidified contracts with the Stonewoods, made peace with the Armanellis?”
“You had a leg up on all that. It was because of your—”
“Careful what you say, Ivan.” Rome finally spoke, backing me when he couldn’t take the blatant disrespect any longer. “Choose your next words very carefully. You’re speaking to the woman who’s carrying my child.”
Ivan glanced at him. “You going to stand beside her when the bratva bring her down?”
“It would take the whole international bratva, Ivan, and even then, you couldn’t fight the tsunami coming your way. The tide is changing. Get on board or drown.”
Ivan threw up his hands and stormed past us.
Rome and I stared at each other, the guns in our hands hanging at our sides for a moment.
A laugh bubbled out of me. I slapped my arm over my mouth. “I’m sorry…” He looked at me like I was insane. “I might be a little hormonal. Or this shit is just funny. I’m pregnant and having to point a gun at my grandfather?”
He shook his head as I started laughing harder. “You’ve got a problem, Katalina.”
“Come on, Rome.” I walked up to him so I could wrap my arms around his waist and look up into those mean eyes of his. “It’s sort of funny.”
“It’s sort of fucking scary, woman.” He sighed into my hair. “I’m going to lose my mind before this is all over.”
“I think we lost our minds a long time ago.” I rubbed my face into his shirt, taking in his smell, taking in the place I felt safe.
“Ain’t that right. Let’s call Bastian and the boys and make sure everyone’s on board with merging. We need the bratva and the Armanellis of Chicago on the same page all the time now. We watch each other’s backs, everyone on the damn boat. And let’s make sure it doesn’t sink like the Titanic.”