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Which means Dad’s threat applies to this innocent child in my belly. Suddenly, I’m split between my love for my father and love for my child. Which one can I accept? The fact that my father intends to kill my child’s father? Or the other way around? Where will this madness end?
“Isn’t there another way?” I ask softly.
“No.” His tone is too firm to argue with. “I trusted Alexander Vorobyov like a brother, and he betrayed me to gain favor. Your mother died because of that man.”
Tears speed down my face. “Did he shoot her?” I ask.
He sighs. “I don’t know. But it doesn’t matter. Because all of them will die.” His deep voice crunches like heavy gravel. “I’ll come for you, Eden,” he says. “We will be a family again. And you’ll never have to hide ever again.”
“I’d like that,” I whisper. I place my hands over my stomach, hiding my own secret. I can’t tell him yet.
Dad’s voice softens. “I love you more than anything in this world, Eden. Your mother loved you even more.”
“Daddy,” my voice trembles, “I love you too.”
“Eden,” he replies, “Promise me that you’ll keep your head down. Promise me that you’ll stay safe until I can get you. I love you, baby.”
“I promise, Daddy,” I agree, trying to hide my fear. “I love you too.”
As I end the phone call, my heart is aching. I know the truth, and it hurts.
I want to hate Nikolai. I want to claw him with my nails and make him feel real pain. The pain I feel now. The same pain he makes me feel whenever he looks at me. Heknewwhat he was doing to me.
Nikolai doesn’t have to do anything else to hurt my father. I’m pregnant with his baby, and that will be enough.
I place my hands over my stomach, and a fierce protectiveness builds inside me.
Suddenly, everything feels different.
A new determination rises inside me, and I realize that I must protect my baby against all the monsters in our lives.
I must do whatever it takes.
Like my mom did with me.
50
EDEN
EDEN
I don’t tellLarissa what I said to my father, and there is a silent understanding between us. She can’t tell Nikolai what she doesn’t know.
The next day is spent in a limbo between fear and boredom. Bratva men frequently show up at the estate, and I watch them with trepidation from a window in the family room as they patrol the large yard. All are armed, and a few men pace with huge dogs, pulling at the leashes. They walk closely around the fence and occasionally disappear into a detached garage.
When one gestures at the window, I step away.
Larissa sits comfortably in a huge easy chair with the television streaming some reality TV show she’s barely watching. None of this seems to bother her. She glances at me and smiles. I smile back and wonder how long I will be here.
Rurik strides quickly into the room, ignoring me like I’m a wilting plant in the corner.
It’s not my business, and I shouldn’t care, but I wonder what he and Nikolai have been saying about me. Rurik walks over to Larissa and kisses her cheek. A kiss that makes her light up with love. She speaks softly to him in Russian, and he laughs at her comment, kissing her again on the lips.
It makes me feel odd to see this cold-hearted man treat anyone sweetly. I’m not a bad person, but when he turns to leave, Rurik scowls at me.
“I’m tired,” I tell Larissa as I move toward the door.
“Of course,” she replies, standing up. She places a soft hand on my elbow. “You need your rest, she whispers. “I’ll walk with you.”
