“You can.”
“You will be permitted to walk in the grounds but leaving must not take place without permission. It is too dangerous out there.”
“I know.” I think of Terry, wondering what he’s up to right now. Once again I remember Alexsei’s words. Tell me who hurt you and he’ll be killed.
“Can I trust you?” he asks, kissing the side of my neck, directly on top of the bruises, one hand on my stomach.
“You can.”
“You will give me an heir.”
Could I be pregnant already? I look up at him and, for the first time, I think of the potential for all of this to work out.
10
Alexsei
I’m in my study when everything goes wrong.
The Bratva doctor is due to see her today. We will find out if she is pregnant. Four weeks since we first fucked. It’s the earliest possible day we could know.
I have no high hopes that she will be pregnant yet but I cannot stop myself from hoping. I need a child with her.
Hell, the truth is I want a family with her.
That’s the problem. I’m distracted by thoughts of her. I told myself it was a lie, that I was convincing her she could go free for my own reasons. So it would be all the sweeter when I told her it was all bullshit.
Yet, when I said it, I wanted her to go free. To live her dream. What the fuck does that mean? Since when did I care about other people’s dreams?
She’s outside, walking in the grounds. That’s been the routine for weeks now. She walks in the afternoon while I work. Then we come together for dinner. Then we go to bed together.Sometimes she traces lines over the scars on my back.
A couple of times, she’s asked about them and I almost told her the truth but I resisted. I will not be weak. Ever.
I’m not willing to share that particular truth. I’ve never told anyone. I don’t want her pity. I don’t need it.
I have told her about the door in the study, the secret tunnel out to the hidden car. An escape route if something happens, if the Mexicans ever decide to follow up on the increasing number of threats they’ve been making.
I look at the test and think of the last words my father said to me before sending me away, before dying. Never trust anyone.
Was he right? Can I trust Mila? She has not tried to run since the contract was drawn up. She hasn’t used the tunnel, hasn’t tried to escape, stuck with the terms of our agreement.
Signed by both of us. An heir for me, an art gallery for her, enough money for her to do whatever she wants for the rest of her life.
She is waiting for me. We’re going to dinner together. Her favorite restaurant. The Italian place on Maple. The first time I turned up, the atmosphere was decidedly frosty. A Bratva boss in a mafia neighborhood. They expected trouble.
But she won them over like she won me over. Smiles to melt the toughest of hearts. No doubt it helped that she’s the Don’s daughter.
We’ve been back several times since and it’s become a regular event. Every Monday at five, we have an early dinner then come home and watch a movie together. Just like a regular couple. We make love. She screams with bliss, I get to fuck that gorgeouspussy of hers. What more could a man want?
I meet her out in the garden when I’m done. “The doctor will be waiting for us when we get back,” I tell her as she slips her hand into mine. “Do you feel pregnant?”
“No more or less so than this morning.” She puts her free hand onto her stomach. “I was reading about it. We’d have to be very lucky for it to happen from the first time.”
“Been lots of times since,” I remind her.
She glances up at me as we head over to the waiting car out front. “This joint custody thing, how will it work?”
“However we want it to.”