Lauren sags her shoulders now that the news has been dropped. She searches my eyes like she’s trying to work out how I feel about all of this. I just hope she can figure that out for me, because I certainly don’t know.
All I know is that this changes things. With Ronan Aslanov lurking beneath the depths like a hungry shark, she can’t do this alone. My child in her belly is a weakness. A weakness he can use against all of us.
Blyad!
“You need protection.”
“I came off it. The pill was a mood killer.”
“Not that,” I snap. “Myprotection.”
She tilts her head. “I can handle myself.”
“No, you can’t.” I say it sternly.
Her lips press together, stopping herself from retaliating. I gather it’s not what she wants to hear, but I’m telling her the truth.
“You underestimate me,” she says, tipping her chin into the air.
“Do I? Then, tell me this.” I step into her space, challenging her in the doorway of her apartment. “Have you told your old man that he’s about to become a grandfather?”
Lauren’s face loses even more color. She knows she’s in trouble, and just like before, she’s incapable of admitting it.
She doesn’t need to answer my question because we both know the truth.
Chapter Eleven
Lauren
He stands in my apartment like he owns it.
Like he ownsme.
There’s something commanding about his presence. He’s a man of few words, but his company always seems to be the loudest. Like a bird of prey silently gliding through the air, looking for its next kill. The kind that even planes dodge because he’s freaking indestructible.
He brings a glass of water to his lips and gulps, continuing to stare at me.
Not much has changed since last time. I still feel like I’m being psychoanalyzed.
“Don’t get rid of the baby.”
As if that’s what I plan on doing.
I straighten my spine. I always feel the need to do that when he’s around, to make myself appear bigger. Which is ridiculous. Not to mention that it doesn’t make much difference because the man is built like Godzilla.
“That’s my choice to make.”
I could tell him about the unconditional love I already have for this baby, but Nikolai doesn’t get to see the emotional side of me.
“You’re not going to keep me out of this.”
A knot forms in my neck, tension building there. God, why do I like the sound of that? And why must my body always react like this? The effect he has on me is embarrassing. No matter how many times I try to untense my muscles, no matter how many times I tell myself to chill out, I just can’t. My heart is in my throat again.
“And if I do?”
“Then you will regret it.”
Anger rises in my throat. Who the hell does he think he is? Would he still act this way if he wasn’t a crime lord?
