Page 40 of Claimed By my Ex’s Uncle

Ilya is just stepping into his office when I arrive, and he casts a surprised look at me.

"What is it?"

"We need to talk," I tell him, shooting a look at the guard, who falls back.

Ilya nods, pushing open the door and gesturing for me to come inside. "What is it?"

"It’s Becky," I blurt out, breathless. “I just got a call from her. She—she was at the store, you know, the one I used to work at... looks like it’s opened up again... and Lisa turned up.”

His eyes flash with interest as soon as I say her name, and he takes a seat, gesturing for me to do the same.

“Lisa?”

“Petar’s affair partner, Lisa,” I explain. “The fiancée. I thought that she was locked up, but..."

"They made bail," he mutters. "He took off. I thought she went with him, but..."

"Seems like she’s still in the city," I reply. "And she’s at the store right now, demanding to see me. She thinks that he’s come back to find me or something, that I know where he is. And she says she’s not going to leave until she sees me."

His eyes narrow for a moment. And then, abruptly, he rises to his feet.

"Come with me," he insists. "We’re going down there."

I spring to my feet to follow him, more than a little surprised that he’s even considering letting me out of the house.

"What do you...?"

"I need to know what’s going on with that bastard nephew of mine," he says as he grabs his keys, motioning for the nearest guard to pull his car around as he tosses them to him. "And she’s not going to talk unless you’re there. Come with me, we’ll get to the store. Tell your friend to keep her there. It doesn’t matter what it takes, just don’t let her leave."

"Uh, I—I guess I could⁠—"

"Now, Rose."

I do as I am told, firing off a text to Becky. I have no idea what I’m going to say to her, or how she is going to react to my presence there at all, but I guess that’s a matter that I can handle when the time comes. Ilya seems set on getting out of here, and I wonder if it has anything to do with what I told him about Sergei the other day. There are moving parts here that I can’t see, I am sure of that, and the best I can do is try to keep up as this mess unfolds before me.

He leads me to the waiting car, pulling open the door for me. The guard gets out, and Ilya takes the wheel himself. My phone buzzes where I have it in my lap, and his gaze darts over to it.

"What’s she saying?"

I look down at the messages, grimacing when I see the cavalcade of panic she is sending in my direction right now.

"That I need to get there right now," I reply. "And Lisa is freaking out. Threatening to call the cops unless she sets eyes on me. God, she really thinks I would have anything to do with Petar, after everything he pulled?"

The thought is enough to turn my stomach—or maybe that’s just the morning sickness. Honestly, part of me is glad to hear that Petar seems to have dropped off the face of the earth. I don’t want that fucker anywhere near me, not after everything he has done, all the ways that he hurt and humiliated me in front of the entire world. And besides, what good would it do, anyway? Lisa might think he’s some amazing catch, but I know that he’s a cheat, a liar, and a thief. Hardly the kind of man I want around my child, even if it does turn out to be his.

We arrive at the store a few minutes later. Becky is standing in the doorway, trying to block Lisa from getting out before we’ve had a chance to talk to her. Lisa cranes her neck to get a look at me as I step out of the car, her finger stabbing in my direction in barely restrained fury.

"There you are!" she yells as she storms over towards the car. "You finally got the nerve to show your face around here, huh?”

"Lisa," I implore her, lifting my hands, trying my best to contain the fury that seems to be coming off her in waves. "I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"Oh, come on," she laughs, though there is no amusement in her voice. "I know that you have something to do with it. He makes bail and just vanishes—where else could he be? You really took him back, knowing that he’s in love with me?”

I exchange a look with Becky, who already looks frayed. I wonder how long she has had to put up with this hysteria. I pull an apologetic face at her, hoping that she can forgive me for this.

"Let’s go inside," I insist, glancing back at Ilya, who is standing by the car, absorbing the proceedings with obvious intrigue. "We don’t need to make any more of a scene out here, do we?"

"Oh, you don’t get to tell me what to do," she snarls back, pushing her face close to mine, but then Ilya steps forward, and she reels back in an instant. She might not be entirely aware of who he is, but she’s not blind to the aura surrounding him, the strength that oozes off him at every turn.