Ruthless Mafia King: A Dark Bratva Arranged Marriage Romance
Ruthless Mafia King: Chapter 30

“I’m sorry it took me so long to come by,” Mila says when she takes a seat next to me in Nikolai’s living room. “I was so relieved to get your message, but I’ve been dealing with an emergency. One of my patients is going through a crisis. But that’s so beside the point right now. How have you been? I can’t believe this happened to you. Are you his sex slave now? Tell me everything.”

“I will as long as you let me get a word in,” I tell her. “So much has been happening that I feel like I don’t even know myself anymore.”

“Okay, maybe try this. Do you love him? Is he hot? Do you want me to help you escape? In that order,” she suggests.

I glance in the direction of the entrance of the house. Nikolai’s at work and asked his bodyguard to keep an eye on me for the day. Ivan is barely thirty, a handsome devil who barely speaks a handful of words to me. His eyes were very loud when they first landed on Mila, who, as usual, was dressed in a flattering and very tight dress.

“No,” I say. “I don’t think I love him. But he’s hot. I’m having loads of fun. The sex is mind-blowing, and he’s . . . quite generous.”

“I can only imagine,” Mila comments with a wicked grin. “Thanks for that visual, sister.”

“Very funny,” I remark, rolling my eyes at her. “Look, sometimes, I’m still furious with him for forcing me into this engagement, but I now understand where he’s coming from.”

“He’s growing on you,” Mila muses, furrowing her brow slightly. “How’s that even possible?”

“It was inevitable,” I admit. “I mean, there’s no point denying that I’m attracted to him. He’s very charming when he wants to be. I guess he managed to wear me down and put me under his spell.”

“Which is why you’re not looking to leave anymore,” Mila concludes. “You’re enjoying playing house, aren’t you?”

I try and fail to suppress a grin. “I am.”

“I’m so glad,” she says. “I was worried about you when you disappeared. I thought about going to the police, but Igor explained everything to me. I’m so sorry, Kata. I wasn’t a good friend. I should’ve been there for you. That DJ wasn’t worth my time, it turns out.”

“That’s a bummer,” I say with a wide smile. “I can’t decide which one of us had it worse that night.”

“Definitely you, though my experience brings me in second,” she insists. “It doesn’t matter anymore, because we’re going to have lots of fun now that you’re back.”

“Not necessarily,” I respond. “I won’t be leaving the house until Nikolai manages to sort out a couple of things.”

Mila frowns. “What things?”

“He needs to find his attackers and make sure there won’t be any attempts on either one of our lives,” I explain. “Though he thought it was my father’s doing, it became clear that my family can’t be blamed for everything that happened to him.”

“Yakov Gargarin isn’t his mess either,” Mila comments. “That one came to bite you in the ass thanks to your man-whore of a brother.”

“Exactly,” I confirm. “He’s on it, though. In a week or two, he’ll have it sorted out, and I’ll be free to walk down Columbus Avenue without the need to look over my shoulder.”

Mila sighs. “I wish I knew everything that was going on. I want to help, but I don’t know how.”

“Just be my friend,” I tell her, and squeeze her hand. “That’s all I need from you.”

“I can do that.” She squeezes me back as a knock on the door gets our attention.

“Excuse the interruption,” Olga says. “I thought you and your guest would like a snack.”

“Thank you, Olga,” I tell her, and then point at Mila. “This is my best friend, Mila.”

Olga smiles and waves at her. “You’ll have to forgive me. I had a lot of work, so I couldn’t come and greet you personally.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Mila says, giving Olga an affectionate grin. “From what I’ve heard, you’ve been looking after my girl quite well.”

“That’s kind of you to say,” Olga replies. “I hope the drinks and the food are to your liking.”

“Everything’s wonderful,” I assure her.

“Well, I’ll leave you two alone then,” she says. “I’ll start dinner now. I’m happy to see you’re having people over, Katarina.”

When Olga leaves, Mila turns to me. “She’s nice.”

“She is,” I confirm, and glance at the variety of finger foods Olga put together.

But my stomach turns violently when the smell hits me.

“Katarina? You look pale,” Mila observes, and reaches for me, rubbing my back.

I shake my head and cover my mouth.

“Are you going to be sick now?” she asks, a panicked look on her face. “Do you need to . . .? Oh, God.”

I barely have a moment to get to my feet and run to the bathroom. I empty my stomach, a wave of nausea rising as I grab the rim of the toilet bowl.

“Oh no,” I groan, feeling light-headed as a thumping sound comes from somewhere.

“Katarina? Kata! Can you hear me? Are you okay?”

“Shh,” I tell her, closing my eyes.

“What’s wrong?” she asks in a quieter voice. “Did someone poison you?”

“I don’t feel too good,” I rasp, and force myself into a sitting position. “I think I might puke again.”

Mila barely manages to pull my hair behind me as I throw up. All this fuss is making my head hurt. I’m such an unpleasant person when I’m feeling sick.

Mila passes me a handful of tissues to wipe my mouth and nose. “You don’t look too hot.”

“It came on all of a sudden,” I manage to say, before another wave of nausea overcomes me.

“Kata,” Mila says, her voice changing. “Please tell me you and the Prince of Darkness have been using protection.”

Her comment jolts me in a way I never expected. Of course, we have not! Neither one of us even mentioned it. The first and the second time, I was too horny, it didn’t even cross my mind. And later . . .

What was I even thinking?

I cover my mouth with my hand. This can’t happen. Not now. Not with him.

“Katarina? Katarina,” Mila cries out, stroking my back. “Everything will be okay, honey. I need you to think for a moment. When was your last period?”

“I don’t know,” I admit, trying to think back.

When I realize that I can’t remember when it was, I burst into tears.

“Mila, what if I’m pregnant?” I sob. “I can’t have a baby now. This isn’t what I wanted.”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Mila suggests. “We’ll take a test, and whatever happens, I’ll stay with you. We’ll figure it out.”

It takes almost an hour for me to calm down, the ramifications of a pregnancy hitting me full force.

Mila gets rid of the food Olga prepared for us. She asks her for a cup of tea and tells me to lie down while she runs to the store. When Olga comes with the tea, she offers me a warm, motherly smile that I find particularly comforting.

“Are you feeling any better, dear?” she asks me. Mila and I agreed not to tell her about what was going on. “It’s a nasty stomach bug you’ve got there. Your face is drained of all color.”

“I’m sure tea will help,” I tell her. “Thank you, Olga.”

I pretend to sip the tea, but I don’t really drink it. I’m afraid I might actually spill it all over the bed. My hands are shaking that bad.

“I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me,” she says, and leaves.

Ten agonizingly long minutes later, Mila comes in with a white shopping bag in her hand.

“You didn’t tell Ivan where you went, did you?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “I’m not an amateur, Kata. Ivan was too busy flirting with me to ask about where I was going. I bought several packs just in case.”

“Thanks,” I murmur, and then we just stare at each other.

Mila hands me the test kit and offers me an encouraging smile.

“Why don’t you go to the bathroom now,” she pushes me gently.

I feel dead inside as I rise to my feet. As soon as I walk past my friend, my heart feels like it’s going to shatter.

You’re not supposed to get pregnant by a gangster.

I still can’t believe I was dumb enough not to ask him to use a condom.

I’m still young, but I wasn’t exactly a virgin. Why didn’t it cross my mind?

Sex-crazed and tipsy, I let all precautions slide.

Once I close the bathroom door behind me, it takes me a moment to build up to sitting on the toilet and peeing on the stick. It’s a nasty feeling, and it only gets worse while I wait for the result.

Whether the lines turn positive or negative, I’m determined to talk to Nikolai about it. If I’m not pregnant, he’ll have to understand why we need to use a condom from now on.

But if the result is positive, then I’ll need his help to figure out what to do next.