Chapter 16
Katrina
Ishoved the tests into my pocket and splashed cold water on my face, trying to pull myself together. Pregnant. I needed to think. Needed to plan. A knock on the door made me jump.
"Katrina?"
Olek.
"I'm fine," I called, my voice shaking. "Just give me a minute."
"No." His voice was firm. "I'm tired of chasing you down. I'm tired of you running. Open the door."
"I'm busy."
"Katrina." A pause. "Please."
The please broke me. I unlocked the door and stepped out, keeping my hands in my pockets, the tests digging into my palm. He looked exhausted. Dark circles under his eyes. Hair disheveled. Wrinkled shirts, something I'd never seen on him before.
"Can we talk?" he asked quietly. "In your apartment. Please. Just five minutes."
I should say no, tell him I was working. Instead, I nodded. We walked to the apartment in silence. I could feel him watching me, studying me, trying to figure out what was wrong.
Inside, I gestured to the couch. "Zara's with the other kids. We have maybe twenty minutes before.”
"What's in your hands?"
I froze. "What?"
"Your hands. You keep fidgeting with something in your pockets." He moved closer. "What is it?"
My voice cracked. "It's nothing."
"Katrina.”
And then I was crying. Not delicate tears. Ugly, gulping sobs that came from somewhere deep in my chest. All the stress, the fear, the overwhelm of everything in the past week all came pouring out.
"Hey, hey." Olek pulled me against his chest immediately, his arms wrapping around me. "It's okay. Whatever it is, it's okay."
"It's not. Everything's falling apart.”
He held me tighter. "Breathe. Just breathe."
I tried and failed, sobbing harder. He guided me to the couch and pulled me into his lap, rocking me gently like I was a child. His hand stroked my hair, my back, steadily , warmly and safely.
"I'm sorry," I hiccupped.
"Don't apologize. Just let it out."
So I did. I cried about Zara and Shanice. For the contract and the lies. For Marcus getting closer every day. For loving Olek when I wasn't supposed to. For being so scared and overwhelmed and completely out of control.
Slowly, the sobs subsided. My breathing evened out. I was left feeling wrung out and exhausted, but somehow lighter.
"Better?" Olek asked softly.
"A little." I wiped my face. “That was…"
"Human. You're allowed to break down, Katrina. You carry too much by yourself."
"I don't have a choice."
"You do now." He cupped my face. "Whatever's wrong, we'll fix it. Together."
"You can't fix this."
"Try me."
I looked at him—this powerful man who'd somehow become my safe place. Who was looking at me like I was precious. Like I mattered. Like he loved me.
"I'm pregnant," I whispered.
He went completely still.
"What?"
"I'm pregnant." I pulled the tests from my pocket with shaking hands. "I took three. They're all positive. I must have missed some pills. I didn't mean to. I was so tired and stressed."
"You're pregnant," he repeated, his voice strange.
"I know it's not what we wanted.”
He kissed me. Hard and desperate and full of so much emotion I couldn't breathe. When he pulled back, he was grinning. Actually grinning, wider than I'd ever seen.
"You're pregnant," he said again, and this time it sounded like joy. "You're having my baby."
"Olek…"
He laughed, pressing his forehead to mine. "This is everything. God, Katrina. Everything."
"You're not angry?"
"Angry?" He kissed me again, softer this time. "I'm fucking thrilled."
"But the contract.”
"Fuck the contract." He stood, pulling me with him. "I want you. For real. No end date. No terms. Just us."
"I don’t know…"
He kissed my forehead. "I'm in love with you." My cheeks. "I want to wake up with you every morning." My nose. "I want to raise our baby together." My mouth. "I want forever, Katrina."
Tears spilled over again, but these were different. Lighter.
"I love you too," I whispered. "I've been trying not to. Trying to protect myself. But I love you."
"Then stop trying to protect yourself." He lifted me, and I wrapped my legs around his waist automatically. "Let me do that."
He carried me to my bedroom, laying me down gently on the bed like I might break.
"We're supposed to be at dinner in an hour," I said weakly. “And I need to get Zara.”
"They can wait, and Zara is safe." He covered my body with his. "Right now, I need to make love to my woman. The mother of my child."
I opened my mouth to speak. He silenced me with a kiss, slow and deep and devastating. His hands moved over my body with reverence, like he was discovering me for the first time.
"So beautiful," he murmured against my skin. "Carrying my baby. Do you know how perfect that is?"
"I'm terrified."
"I know." He kissed my stomach through my shirt. "But you're not alone anymore. You have me. And I'm not going anywhere."
He undressed me slowly, kissing every inch of exposed skin. When I was naked beneath him, he just looked at me.
"What?" I asked, self-conscious.
"You're going to be round with my child soon." His hand splayed across my still-flat stomach. "That's the most erotic thing I've ever imagined."
"You have a breeding kink."
"I have a you kink." He kissed me. "Everything about you drives me insane."
He made love to me slowly, carefully, like I was something precious. None of the rough urgency from before. Just gentle touches and whispered words and so much emotion I could barely stand it.
"Home," he murmured. "This is home."
I couldn't speak. Could only hold him as he moved in slow, deep strokes that built pleasure gradually, sweetly.
"I love you," he said against my ear. "I'm going to take care of you. All of you. I promise."
"I love you too."
He kissed me as we moved together, his hand finding mine, fingers interlacing.
When the orgasm rolled through me, it was soft and warm, spreading through my whole body like light.
He followed moments later, groaning my name.
He came inside me and stayed deeply seated inside.
We lay there afterward, tangled together, his hand on my stomach.
"Marry me," he said.
I blinked. "What?"
"Marry me. For real, because I love you and I want you to be mine in every possible way."
"This is…"
"I know it's fast. I know we have things to figure out. But I'm sure, Katrina. I've never been more sure of anything." He propped himself up on his elbow, looking down at me. "Marry me."
I should say no and be practical. Instead, I said, "Yes."
His smile was blinding. "Yes?"
"Yes. I'll marry you."
He kissed me again, deep and claiming and full of promise.
"The ring," he said suddenly. "Wait here."
He searched for his pants, naked, and returned a moment later with a small velvet box.
Inside was the most beautiful ring I'd ever seen. There was a simple diamond solitaire, perfect and elegant.
"I bought it two weeks ago," he admitted. "I was just waiting for the right moment."
"You were that sure?"
"I was that hopeful." He slipped it on my finger. "Marry me soon."
"We can't get married that fast.”
"I can make anything happen fast." He kissed my hand. "Say you'll marry me this week."
"I…"
"Please. I want you to be my wife. Want our baby to be born with married parents. Want to start our life together now, not later."
I looked at the ring on my finger. At the man I loved looking at me like I was his whole world.
"Okay," I whispered.
"Thank God." He pulled me close. "You're mine now. No more running. No more fear. Just us."
"Just us," I agreed.
And I believed it might actually be true. My phone rang. Shanice's name flashed across the screen as if she knew all that was happening.
"I should get that," I said, reaching for it on the nightstand. "She probably wants to know how Zara's doing." I answered. "Hey, I was going to call you later. Zara's having the best.”
"Hello, Katrina."
My blood turned to ice.
That voice. Deep. Rough. The voice that still haunted my nightmares. Marcus.
"Marcus," I couldn't breathe. "How did you?”
"Get out early? Good behavior." He laughed, and the sound made my skin crawl. "Thirty-one days early, to be exact. Surprise."
Olek sat up immediately, reading something on my face. "What's wrong?"
I shook my head, unable to speak.
"Who's that?" Marcus asked. "You got a man there, baby? That why you've been hiding from me?"
"Where's Shanice?" My voice shook. "What did you do?"
"Your friend? She's right here. A little tied up at the moment, but she's fine. For now."
"If you hurt her…”
"Then you better do exactly what I say." His voice turned cold. "You want to see her alive again? You meet me. Alone. Tonight."
"I can’t.”
"You can. You will." I heard movement, then Shanice's muffled scream. "Or I'll make sure she suffers. And then I'll find that little sister of yours. What's her name again? Zara?"
My heart stopped. "Don't you dare bring her into this!"
"Then meet me. There's a warehouse on the South Side. 2847 Carson Street. Midnight. Come alone, or I start cutting pieces off your friend." He paused. "And Katrina? If you bring the cops or anyone else, I'll know. And Shanice dies. Understand?"
"Yes," I whispered.
"Good girl. See you soon."
The line went dead.
I sat there frozen, the phone still pressed to my ear, my entire world collapsing.
"Katrina." Olek grabbed my shoulders. "What happened? Who was that?"
"Marcus." The word came out broken. "He's out. He has Shanice. He wants me to meet him or he’ll.” I couldn't finish. Couldn't say it out loud.
"Where?"
"A warehouse. South Side. Midnight." My voice cracked. "He said to come alone or he'll kill her. And then he'll come for Zara."
"Fuck." Olek stood, already pulling on his clothes. "I need to call Mikhail."
"No!" I grabbed his arm. "He said if I bring anyone, he'll know. He'll kill her, Olek. He'll actually do it."
"So you're just going to walk into an ambush alone?"
"What choice do I have?" Tears spilled down my cheeks. "Shanice has been there for me for years. She's taken care of Zara. She gave up her life to help us. I can't let him kill her."
"And I can't let him kill you." Olek cupped my face. "You're carrying my child, Katrina. You think I'm going to let you walk into a trap?"
"He knows things. If you come with me, it’ll be a problem."
"Then I won't come with you. Not obviously." He was already thinking, planning. "But I'll be there. Close enough to help. Far enough that he won't see."
"No."
"This isn't negotiable." His eyes were hard. "You're mine now. That means I protect you. Both of you." His hand went to my stomach. "All three of you. Four, counting Shanice."
I wanted to argue and tell him it was too dangerous.
But I was terrified. And the idea of facing Marcus alone when he wasn’t trustworthy was a struggle.
"Okay," I whispered. "But you can't let him see you. If he sees you, he'll kill Shanice just to hurt me."
"He won't see me." Olek kissed me hard. "Get dressed. We need to plan this carefully."
"What about Zara? The guests?"
"Elena can watch Zara. The guests won't miss us for a few hours." He was already texting Mikhail. "Tell me everything about Marcus. His habits. His weaknesses. How he thinks."
So I did. I told him about Marcus's temper. His paranoia. The way he always had a backup plan. The way he'd tracked me across two states. The fact that he’s a cop and has cop friends that help with his delusional plans.
I said. "He’s smarter than people think. And he's patient. He'll have planned this perfectly."
"Then we'll plan better." Olek's jaw was set. "He's not taking you from me. Not when I just got you."
"What if something goes wrong?"
"Nothing's going to go wrong." He pulled me close. "I've been doing this since I was twenty-three, Katrina. I know how to handle men like him."
"He's dangerous."
"So am I." He kissed my forehead. "That’s why you’ve got to trust me."
I looked up at him. This man was promising to save me even though it might cost him.
"I trust you," I said.
"Good." He released me and started moving. "Now get dressed. We have six hours to prepare."
"Olek?"
He turned back.
"I love you," I said.
His expression softened. "I love you too. Which is why I'm going to make sure that bastard never touches you again."
He left to get Mikhail, and I sat there on the bed, one hand on my stomach where our baby was growing.
I was in disbelief that Marcus was out. And I'd have to face the man who'd terrorized me for years.
The man who'd broken my ribs and scarred my back and made me afraid of my own shadow.
But this time, I wasn't alone. I had Olek.
I stood and started getting dressed, my hands were steadier than they'd been moments ago. Tonight, this ended. One way or another.