AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She pressed the button to withdraw the tape measure with athwickand stuck it in her purse. Humming to herself, she turned around to talk to her bodyguards. They were the strong, silent types, and rarely had much to contribute, but Annika liked having them to talk to anyway.
But her words trailed off when she saw that she was alone now. She frowned and tilted her head to one side. This was odd. They were men of few words, but it was unusual for them to just disappear on her without an explanation. They had been hand-selected by Mikhail to guard her, and Annika couldn’t imagine he would be too pleased to find out they had walked away and left her unaccompanied, even for a moment. Mikhail was extra protective of her nowadays. She was no longer just his Baranov fiancé; she was the wife of the new, powerful Pakhan. That marked her as a target for enemies of the organization, and Mikhail always had someone to watch over her if he couldn’t be present himself.
“Hello? Where are you guys?” Annika called out curiously.
She walked slowly toward the doorway that led to the lobby. Her hand came to idly rest on her stomach. There was nothing to feel there; no swelling, no fluttery little kicks just yet. But Annika could already imagine the wealth of new sensations in store for her. Just that morning, she had taken a pregnancy test following a very nauseated breakfast with Mikhail. Normally, she devoured his cooking with delight, but this morning, she had felt too sick to eat. Once Mikhail had gotten into the shower, Annika had seized upon the moment of privacy to take an at-home pregnancy test. To her absolute joy, her suspicions had been confirmed.
She was pregnant with Mikhail’s child! For now, it was a secret only she knew. There was no way for anyone to guess, but she had still donned her loosest, most flowy dress in honor of her impending baby bump. She was so excited to become a mother, she was already eager to wear maternity clothes. The idea of raising a child with Mikhail made her heart burst with excitement. She could hardly wait to tell him the big news at dinner that night. Annika imagined his face, his reaction, and she was looking forward to it. He was going to be the best father; their child would grow up loved and fiercely protected by the most powerful man in Las Vegas.
But Annika stopped at the door for a moment, a sense of unease coming over her. She couldn’t explain it; there was no reason to be worried. Her bodyguards were probably just on the other side of the door, checking the perimeter and making triple-sure the entry was locked. Just a routine check, she assured herself inwardly.
“Hey guys,” she said as she pushed the door open.
She stepped into the lobby, her footsteps echoing around the empty space. The bright sunshine glared through the front windows, making her squint for a moment as her eyes adjusted to the light. She blinked and took another step into the room, rubbing her eyes. When she opened them again, she could hardly believe what she was seeing.
There were two large bodies lying flat on the floor. They were facedown, but she recognized their all-black uniforms instantly.
Her bodyguards. And they weren’t moving.
“Oh my god,” she gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth. “Oh my god, oh my god.”
Annika’s blood ran cold. Her hands trembled violently as she reached for her cell phone in her purse. Her fingertips shook almost too hard to pull the zipper, and her heart felt like it might beat out of her chest any second. Dread washed over her. Alarm bells sounded in her head. Every cell in her body begged for a solution, for safety. She needed to tell Mikhail what was going on. She needed to hear his voice to steady her.
But before she could even find her phone, a large, dark shadow loomed over her from behind. Annika yelped and tried to spin around to face her attacker, only to be met with the cold sting of something very sharp jabbing into the back of her neck. Her arms reached out blindly, desperately trying to catch her balance and stay upright, but the room was tilting sideways, fast.
Annika felt her knees buckle underneath her. She felt heavy, weighed down as though in a nightmare. She opened her lips to cry for help, but the words got strangled in her throat. Her field of vision shrank down to a pinprick of light in an expanse of twinkling darkness. Her heart pounded like a battle drum in her ears as she fell, twisting and limp, into unconsciousness.
