AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Katya
I knew it wasn’t the most eloquent prayer ever said, but it was from the heart and I was short on time. Plus, I meant every word. Aleks could do whatever he wanted to me as long as my son and Zane were safe. I’d offer up my life for both of them over and over again if I had to.
What broke my heart, even more, was that I did not get to tell Zane my good news. At least, I had hoped he would think it was.
That morning, I’d been woken up early by an aggressive wave of morning sickness. I ran to the bathroom, and threw up everything in my stomach, then went out into the kitchen to get a glass of water.
The sun hadn’t even risen yet, but I was desperate to know the truth, so I snuck out of Zane’s room and picked up a pregnancy test at the pharmacy around the corner. I took it in the bathroom in my own suite, and learned I was pregnant just five minutes before returning to Zane’s place and finding Aleks there with a gun.
I knew it was Zane’s because I had my cycle the week after the last time I was with Aleks so thankfully that ruled him out. I wanted to be excited about this news, but at the moment, it really just felt like another thing to worry about.
I wasn’t sure what to do. Would I have to pretend it was Alek’s baby to keep him from going off the deep end? I didn’t know for sure, but I was pretty confident that if he thought the baby was Zane’s, he would make our lives even more miserable than he was already planning on doing. I made up my mind to do whatever I had to do to protect my unborn child.
It was a thirty-minute drive from the lodge to Alek’s grandmother’s house, and we didn’t bother talking. There was nothing to say. Aleks had completely lost his mind and nothing I could have said was going to change that. Aleks had tunnel vision when he wanted something and the best thing I could do for the sake of my children was to stay quiet and go along with whatever he said.
I always knew he was abusive, but I had no idea that he was this evil. The suspicions surrounding his grandmother’s disappearance should’ve been red flags, but I was dumb and naïve when we met. I didn’t want to believe he was capable of something so violent. Seeing him with a gun pointed at Zane’s head quickly changed that. Hitting me was one thing, but threatening Zane’s life as well as mine and Luca’s, well that was something I hadn’t been prepared for.
For the remainder of the trip, I held Luca who was quietly crying in my lap, and thought about the last few weeks. It was so nice to feel safe and comfortable for a while. It had been so long since I had experienced that feeling that I had taken it for granted.
As devastated as I was over losing what I had, I knew I had a choice to make. I could choose to wallow in my misery or be grateful for the time I’d been given with Zane. I decided to be grateful. It might have only been for a few short weeks, but in that time, I felt safer and more loved than I ever had before. We might’ve had some rocky patches, but I always felt safe and that’s something I will always keep with me. I looked out the window and said a silent thank you to God and to Zane for allowing me to feel that at least once in my life. I told myself I would get through whatever was in store for me. I always had.
But for some reason, this time, it just didn’t feel like I was going to make it.
It felt like I was lying to myself.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Zane
AssoonasAleksand Katya left, I wasted no time.
I had to get them back and I was willing to do whatever it took. I just didn’t know where to start. I threw on some clothes, grabbed Kenlee, and made a beeline for Harry’s office. I needed help and a rational voice of reason. All I could see was red. In the last two hours, I’d been held at gunpoint and forced to watch as a psychotic lunatic took Katya and Luca away from me. But come hell or high water, I would get them back. This was not the end and I would not go away quietly. Aleks Petrachova had messed with the wrong man.
Losing Sarah had been out of my control but I would be damned if I lost Katya too, not if I could still do something about it. I began wondering if there was any truth to what Aleks said about Katya being an heiress. I supposed it could be true, but it didn’t make any sense. If her family was that wealthy, why did she leave? I understood that getting pregnant at sixteen was never any parent’s dream for their child, but I doubted that it could have been that bad. Or was it? I didn’t know and I couldn’t spend any more time thinking about it. I had to find a way to get her back and put Aleks away for good. If that didn’t happen, the answers to my questions wouldn’t matter.
When I arrived at Harry’s door, I banged rather than knocked. I didn’t have time to wait. Harry didn’t even ask who it was, he flung the door open ready to take someone’s head off, but his face changed to worry when he saw me. He quickly hurried me inside, shut the door, and locked it. He could tell something serious was going on.
“Zane, what the hell is going on?”
I could barely get out the words. “Katya… He took her. I think he’s on his way to his grandmother’s house, but I have to move fast.”
I knew I wasn’t making any sense but it was the best I could do. Panic had taken over and I was frozen. Harry went to the kitchen and got me a glass of water, but when he handed it to me, I could only manage to take small sips.
“Ok take a deep breath,” Harry said in a low, calming voice. “Start over. Who took who? And who’s grandmother’s house are they going to?”
Sighing, I put the glass down and fixed Harry with a serious look. “Katya’s ex-boyfriend showed up in my room with a gun, and took her and Luca. I don’t know for sure, but I have a feeling that he’s taking them to his grandmother’s house.”
Harry’s eyes widened. He reached out and took Kenlee’s baby carrier from me, and put my sleeping child down on the floor by the kitchen table. “How the hell did the bastard get into your room?”
Waving him off I said, “He stole a universal key but that really isn’t what’s important right now. He has Katya and Luca and I am scared to death. He said if I followed them he would kill me, and after seeing the look in his eyes, I believe him. But I have to get them back.”
Tears began to form in my eyes, and I slumped down into one of Harry’s kitchen chairs. “I don’t know what to do,” Harry. I can’t lose her.”
Harry pulled out a chair and sat next to me. He put his hand on my shoulder. “First things first, you need to breathe. C’mon, now, I’ll do it with you. Breathe in… breathe out…”
This did make me feel a little better, and the oxygen helped to clear out my foggy brain a little. I took another deep breath and then let it out slowly, and Harry got up from the table and grabbed his phone from the counter. “I’m going to call my friend who’s a cop,” he said. “Maybe he’ll know what to do.”
“What if the cops show up at his grandmother’s house and spook him?” I asked. “What if he shoots her or Luca when he sees them?”
