27. Rose
ROSE
"I wish you could come in with me." My fingers lace with Kon's, and I map out the weaving shadows between our fingers with my eyes as we sit in the car.
"Is something wrong?" Kon's brow curls together and a slight hint of worry flashes in his eyes when I look up to meet them.
"No. I've just been enjoying spending time together, that's all."
Kon's face softens with a smile and he leans across the armrest.
His fingers curl around my chin and lightly guide me closer for a soft, long kiss. We've fucked every night since Kon's apology, but it's not enough.
I'm not pregnant.
This meeting with Mathew will go one of two ways and a lurch in my heart sends a chill skittering down my spine. If it goes south, this might be the last time I see Kon.
"I enjoy spending time with you too," Kon murmurs against my lips. "If you need, I can reschedule—"
"No." I quickly cut him off and gaze into his eyes. "You have a mess to fix, I understand. You'd just be bored anyway."
"I could never," Kon replies and he kisses me once more. As he leans away, he eyes Calvin who rests in the front seat, and then Ethan who refused to sit out of this despite his condition. "Take care of her."
"I will," Calvin promises.
I squeeze Kon's hand, then climb out of the car and remain on the sidewalk under the midday sun until the car pulls away and vanishes down the street. Then I turn to Calvin and wince slightly.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
The bruises on Calvin's face from Kon's beating have faded a little, but not enough to completely hide the damage done.
I half-expected Calvin to pack his bags and leave after being doubted and beaten like that, but for some reason he's still here.
"I'm fine," Calvin assures me. "Are you?"
I squint up at him and shake my head. "Nope. Just… can you promise me something?"
Calvin nods immediately.
"Just let me deal with him. Mathew. This could get messy but I just… I need to do this, okay?"
Calvin's eyes narrow but he nods again. "I promise to let you try, but if I see you in any danger then I'll pull you out."
"Don't worry." I touch his arm as I take a breath and move past him toward the restaurant. "He won't do anything in public."
That's what I tell myself as we head into the little bistro and a waitress escorts me toward a table tucked away at the back.
As promised, Calvin hangs back near the counter to give me some space, but he remains within view.
I use that as an anchor as I sit down and face Mathew.
He's not alone.
"Lev?" I can't keep the surprise from my voice. We haven't seen each other since before the wedding, but the thought of his twisted games is enough to make my blood run cold.
Anger knots his face, making his eyes dark and his jaw tense as he glares at me across the table. "The fuck makes you think you can say my name, cunt?" he growls darkly. "You're lucky I don't fucking kill you right here and now."
"Relax," Mathew snaps stiffly. "I already told you she'll pay for Daniil. But we still fucking need her."
Lev snarls as if he's chewing on a wasp and struggling to keep it contained behind his lips, then he tears his gaze away from me and stares down at his coffee.
"So." Mathew sighs deeply. "You don't look pregnant."
I press my lips together and lift my chin while interlocking my fingers under the table. "That's stupid. Even if I got pregnant on my wedding night, I still wouldn't be showing by now. Don't you know anything?"
"I know one more word out of you like that and I'll smash your fucking face in," Lev growls and his eyes snap to me. "Maybe you'd like that, huh? You were always begging for me to fuck you."
Bile burns at the base of my throat and I swallow hard while my heart begins to pound. It takes every ounce of strength I have to meet his eyes and speak calmly. "Begging not to be murdered isn't the same as begging you to fuck me."
Lev slams his hand down on the table and draws the attention of Calvin, along with a few other guests, but Mathew is quick to intervene.
"Fucking hell. If I knew you'd act like this, I never would have brought you."
"Are you kidding me?" Lev hisses. "This whole entire plan was your fucking idea and now our baby brother is in the ground and this cunt thinks she can talk to me like that?!"
"We need her," Mathew reminds him sharply. "And I'm sure she's sorry, because she certainly doesn't want you to take all that anger and work it out on her little sister now, does she?" His cold, calculating gaze slips back to me and locks me in place.
Beatie.
Shit.
I came here with a plan to tell them where to stick it, but what use is any of that when Beatie or my mother will be on the receiving end of their fury?
A chill closes around my shoulder and I grip my knuckles tightly. "I'm sorry, Lev," I say, each word strained and tight. "I shouldn't have said that."
Lev leans into the table, licking his lips as he wrestles with his anger. "Damn fucking right you shouldn't have. Fuck. Give her the fucking tests and let's get out of here. I'm done with this bullshit."
Mathew sighs wearily, then he reaches into his jacket and pulls out a couple of pregnancy tests.
"You know this is your last chance," he says as he slides them across the table alongside the bread basket.
"I brought multiple to be sure but let me be clear.
If you walk out of that bathroom without the answer I want, I will kill you before my food gets here. "
His threat doesn't land with the impact intended. Each threat is the same and they all roll into one.
This is the end.
I know the results before I even take the test and Kon's going to find my body in the trash bins right next to Calvin's. There's no way they'll let him walk out of here.
Taking the tests, I hide them in my jacket and hurry off to the bathroom, which is thankfully empty when I arrive. It's rather nice, given the homely feel of the bistro, and the tests look alarmingly out of place on the warm oak counter next to the baby blue sink.
This is it.
Maybe I should call Kon and tell him the truth so he hears it from me before he finds my body. Maybe some small part of him would rush over here to try and save me.
Doubtful.
After everything he's done, including his groveling apology, there's no way he'll look at me the same when he finds out my entire time with him has been built on a lie and a trap.
The memory of his lips on my skin, his whispers in my ear, and the warmth of his embrace linger in my mind as I take the first test on autopilot. I set it aside and take another one on autopilot, then busy myself with washing my hands.
I want to go back to when we were in the bath.
Everything there was warm and safe, and Kon was so tender as he washed my hair and made me feel like I was something so incredibly precious to him.
I want to hear him tell me he's obsessed with me just one last time, want to feel his lips on mine just once more before—
Pregnant.
The words on the first test glare up at me from the tiny screen, derailing my wandering train of thought, and my heart lurches so violently that I jolt where I stand.
Pregnant?
No.
No, there has to be some kind of mistake. I'm not pregnant. I'm not.
But the second test says the exact same.
Oh no.
No, no, no!
I can't be pregnant. I can't be! Not now. Not after everything.
My trembling hands rise and cover my mouth as fear collides with excitement in my chest and a sharp, trembling ache swarms my body.
I'm pregnant.
No fucking way.
Kon's infertile, so this can't be real, can it?
There must be something wrong with the tests.
Then again, Kon told me that it was possible, it was just extremely rare for natural conception.
Somehow, against all the odds, it's worked.
One hand drops to press over my abdomen and I turn to look at myself in the mirror.
My skin is flushed despite not feeling any heat, and tears swim in my eyes that I didn't even notice until I blink.
They roll down my cheeks and my breath catches in my throat.
This is it.
This is what we were working toward. With this, I can save my family, rescue my mother and my sister, and free my father from his debt.
But what about Kon?
Sweet, kind, sexy, slightly terrifying, and unbelievably incredible Kon?
He's been so good to me, more than I deserve, with everything that's been going on, and now his baby is inside me.
A baby that would give him the family he desires and yet has accepted he will never have due to his condition.
"Fuck," I whisper. "What do I do?"
I stare hard at my reflection as if she will take on a will of her own and give me an answer, but she remains as shocked as I am and doesn't say a word.
I can't go out there and tell them I'm pregnant. But if I go out there with nothing, then they'll kill me.
Suddenly, Mathew's words jump back into my mind.
"We need her."
They need me.
That's it!
In a flurry of activity, I rip open the last test and dip it into the liquid soap dispenser, then into the toilet and quickly dry it off with some tissue.
I can't let them know I'm pregnant, but I can buy myself some time to work out what the fuck to do.
My family remains on the line, but the Vasiliev brothers have just as much to lose.
Thankfully, the third test shows a negative reading so I keep that one and destroy the other two, then I splash water on my face to cool the flush in my cheeks and head back out to the table.
Lev and Mathew are deep in conversation but they draw apart when I approach. Rather than sitting, I throw my test at Matthew's chest, and he recoils in disgust.
"What the fuck?"
"I'm not pregnant," I snap in a hushed whisper and I lean forward, bracing one hand on the table and invading Mathews' space while Lev picks up the test and examines it.
"It's over for you," Lev snarls.
"No, it fucking isn't," I snap back. "You need to back the fuck off, you hear me? Women aren't fucking machines that can churn out a baby on command. If you had any fucking sense, then you would be doing everything you can to help me get pregnant rather than hindering it!"
Trying to imitate Kon is difficult since the man speaks with such power, but I do my best to imitate how he talks with purpose.
"Believe me when I say I will do everything I can to save my family, but this stress and pressure you're putting on me? It's too much. It's affecting everything. So if you really want to bring Kon down and get revenge for your brother? Then help me. Stop fucking hindering me, you got it?"
Silence falls and I'm left panting as my flurry of confidence rapidly depletes in the face of two men who have torn me apart again and again.
One wrong word and this is all over, but if I have a chance, then this is it.
Mathew surprisingly leans back against the booth, while Lev scoffs and tosses the test into his empty coffee cup.
"What, did you find your balls back in that bathroom?" Lev asks.
I don't look at him. I know if I do, I'll crumble, so I keep my gaze locked on Mathew.
His jaw works side to side for a long moment, then he sighs. "Fine. How long do you need?"
"A month," I reply, drawing that out of thin air. I didn't really expect to get this far. "And I don't want to hear from you unless I call first, understand?"
Mathew and Lev exchange a glance and while Lev shifts in his seat and grunts, he doesn't speak.
"Fine." Mathew leans forward and it takes all my restraint not to shy away from him. "You have one month."
"Excellent." I pull back and smile widely. "Bye."
How I make it out of the bistro without collapsing on my jelly legs is a mystery, but soon I'm back outside with the sun baking down on me and Calvin at my side. His face is a picture of worry but as his lips part to speak, I hold up my hand and silence him.
"I might throw up," I murmur.
"What happened?" Calvin finally asks. "What did they do?"
My mind swims with adrenaline, fear, and the new panic that I am indeed pregnant. And now I have one month to work out how the hell I'm going to save everyone. I walk to the end of the street with Calvin by my side, and then I stop and grab his arm.
"Calvin." We turn and face once another. "I need your help."