Page 59 of Savage Little War

Maybe Cara and I won’t get many moments like that.

But I’m going to carve out every one we can.

And kill anyone who tries to take them from us.

18

Cara

Paolo Ferro and his men are gone, but my life is still chaos.

Just a quieter kind.

“Once we’re done here, we need to go to the bakery and decide what flavor cake we want. Then, we have an appointment with the florist later this afternoon,” I tell Dmitri as I lay on the exam table, waiting for Dr. Reeves to come in and discuss the ultrasound results.

Dmitri nods as he stands beside me. He’s barely left my side since we returned from Italy.

He told me that he wanted to be present for every appointment possible, whether it was a doctor’s appointment or wedding planning.

As excited as we are about the wedding, this appointment matters more.

“Most flavors are fine. But raspberries are where I draw the line,” he says with a grimace.

A soft laugh breaks from me as I take his hand and squeeze it. “No raspberries. I can easily agree with that.”

Dmitri leans down and presses a gentle kiss on my cheek. The man who terrifies half the city somehow turns soft whenever he looks at me. It’s yet another side to him that I love.

The door to the exam room finally swings open, and Dr. Reeves strides inside with my patient folder in her hand.

“Good morning,” she says with a polite smile as she pulls a rolling stool over to the ultrasound monitor.

“Are they both okay?” Dmitri asks immediately as Dr. Reeves spreads gel over my stomach and grabs the transducer. “Cara and the baby?”

“Everything looks great, Dad. I’d be happy to show you guys your son or daughter.”

Dmitri nods, holding my hand firmly as his intense gaze latches onto the monitor.

Dr. Reeves rests the transducer on my stomach and moves it around until the small shape of our baby comes into view on the screen. “There’s your little one. Strong heartbeat.”

Dmitri draws in a deep breath through his nose, but as his body tenses, his face actually softens.

I really am pregnant.

There’s a tiny life growing inside me.

And even after everything that happened…our baby is still okay.

I look up at Dmitri, relief washing over me as Dr. Reeves goes over the baby’s measurements and other readings. Hearing that everything is in line with what it should be takes so much weight off my chest. I almost pushed off this appointment because I was afraid of what we would find out.

Even though the abuse wasn’t my fault, I know I would have blamed myself if anything had happened to the baby.

“I would put you at around ten weeks,” Dr. Reeves tells me before lifting the transducer off my stomach. “I’ll send you guys home with some pictures and video.”

The last ten weeks have been the craziest of my life. I can only hope that the rest of my pregnancy is fairly uneventful, but that’s about as realistic as getting a unicorn for a wedding gift.

“What should we do moving forward?” Dmitri asks her. “I want them both safe.”

I squeeze his hand until he looks at me. “I already have a list of all the vitamins that I need to take and all the food that I need to avoid.”