Chapter 12
CINDY
My palms are slick with sweat as Viktor opens the passenger door of the black SUV.
I know this is a risk.
But I have to do it.
"I’ll be right back,” I say.
Viktor doesn't question when I tell him I need a pharmacy run. Men never do when you mention feminine products—it's like a magic word that ends conversations.
"Tampons," I'd said this morning, meeting Luka's eyes across the breakfast table. "Unless you want to send one of your men to buy them for me?"
The look of horror on Viktor's face had been priceless. Luka had just nodded, sliding cash across the table with those elegant fingers that know my body too well.
Now I stand in aisle seven, staring at products I won't need for nine months, my stomach churning with more than morning sickness. The irony isn't lost on me—using the promise of my period to buy the test that will confirm I've missed it entirely.
"Fifteen minutes. Then we go."
I walk into the pharmacy. I keep my head down, baseball cap pulled low, trying to look like just another customer browsing the aisles. I am certain no one has reported me missing, but just in case. I don’t want Luka to think I tried to escape.
Why?
I dismiss the thought. I’ll have to psychoanalyze my choices later.
I make myself walk casually. I pick up a few things and then head for the feminine aisle. My hands shake as I reach for one pregnancy test. And then another. I grab two different brands, shoving them deep into my basket beneath the other items.
The cashier is a teenager with purple hair and multiple piercings, barely looking up from her phone as she scans my purchases. I pay in cash. Luka insists he covers my expenses and left me two hundred in cash this morning.
I don’t know if he knows how much tampons cost, but I think he’s trying to buy my forgiveness. I dismiss the idea. He doesn’t give a shit if I forgive him.
"Cindy?"
I freeze, the blood in my veins turning to ice water. That voice.
I turn slowly, and there she is. Anna. My dear sister. The one whose twin brother sold me out, who delivered me straight into Luka's hands like a lamb to slaughter.
She moves toward me with arms outstretched, as if we're old friends meeting for coffee instead of siblings divided by betrayal and blood money. "What are the odds?"
The odds are zero, I think grimly. Nothing about this meeting feels like a coincidence. But I let her embrace me anyway, my body rigid as her obnoxious perfume fills my nostrils.
"Anna," I manage, my voice flat. "What a surprise."
She pulls back, keeping her hands on my shoulders, studying my face like she's cataloging changes. "You look good," she says.
"Prison will do that to you."
"Cindy, I—" She stops, glancing around the pharmacy. "We can't talk here. But I want you to know, I never meant—"
"Save it." I step back, breaking her hold on me. "Whatever you're selling, I'm not buying."
But she's not done. Her hand moves to my throat, fingers toying with the necklace Luka gave me to replace the one he destroyed.
"Pretty," she murmurs.
Something cold settles in my stomach. She’s seen my mother’s locket a hundred times. She’s insulted it at least that often. Why is she fascinated with my jewelry now?
"Be careful, little sister," she says as I walk away.
Anna's words echo in my head. She’s a bitch. I don’t know what she’s playing at, but I don’t care. I have more immediate concerns waiting for me in that paper bag.
Back at the compound, I go straight to my room. I close the door behind me, not bothering with the lock. I take the bag into the bathroom, and this time, I do lock the door.
Two pregnancy tests. Two chances to confirm what I already know in my bones.
I follow the instructions to a T, trying to detach myself from what I'm doing.
Three minutes, the instructions say. I set my phone timer and sink onto the cool bathroom floor, back against the tub.
The marble is cold through my leggings. I can hear Mac's claws clicking in the bedroom, his worried whine filtering through the door.
My hands won't stop shaking. There's a water stain on the ceiling that looks like a bird in flight—I focus on it, trying not to think about how Luka's baby might already be growing inside me.
Two minutes.
My mother was alone when she found out about me. Did she sit on a bathroom floor too, terrified and exhilarated in equal measure? At least she chose her life. I'm a captive carrying my captor's child—what kind of twisted fairy tale is that?
One minute.
The second hand on my phone crawls forward. Somewhere in the house, I hear Luka's voice, low and commanding. The sound makes my chest tight. If this is positive, everything changes. No more hiding. No more pretending this thing between us is temporary.
The timer sounds like a scream in the quiet bathroom.
I look down at the tests. Two pink lines on the first. A blue plus sign on the second.
Both positive. Both declaring the same impossible truth.
My legs give out. I hit the bathroom floor hard, my knees cracking against cold marble. The tests scatter from my numb fingers. One slides under the vanity. The other lands face up, that damning plus sign staring at me like an accusation.
The scream builds from somewhere deep in my chest—not my throat, deeper. It tears through me like something alive trying to claw its way out. The sound that emerges isn't human. It's animalistic. Raw. The sound of a woman who's just realized she's trapped in a way she never imagined.
Pregnant. I’m pregnant with Luka’s child.
The word loops in my head, each repetition making it more real. Pregnant with my captor's baby. Pregnant in a world of violence and blood. Pregnant when I can't even save myself, let alone an innocent child.
My hand moves to my stomach without conscious thought. Somewhere in there, cells are dividing. A heart will form. Tiny fingers. Luka's eyes or mine? His darkness or my stubbornness?
"Fuck," I whisper to the empty bathroom. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."
The sound of claws scratching at the door breaks through my breakdown. Mac always seems to know when something's wrong. His worried whining filters through the wood, followed by heavier footsteps.
One sharp knock.
"Cindy?" Luka's voice is sharp with concern. "What—"
I scramble to my feet, shoving the tests into the drawer before he can see them.
As expected, he walks in a second later.
There is no such thing as locks in this house.
My face is a mess of tears and panic, but I force myself to meet his eyes.
"I'm fine," I say quickly, wiping my face with the back of my hand. "Just... tripped. Hit my elbow on the counter."
He stares at me. I can practically see him cataloging every tell, every inconsistency in my story.
"You screamed," he says flatly.
"It hurt." I shrug, trying for casual. "You know how it is when you hit your funny bone."
He doesn't believe me. I can see it in the way his jaw tightens. But instead of pressing, he steps closer, his hand coming up to cup my jaw. His thumb brushes across my cheekbone, wiping away a tear.
“You’re lying, dikaya.”
He drops his hand and leaves the bathroom.
I wait a minute before I move the tests to the back of the drawer behind the makeup, boxes of toothpaste, and a couple of washcloths. I don’t dare put them in the trash. I’ll have to sneak them out later.
At dinner, Leo chatters endlessly about his day.
Without warning, he climbs into my lap. It's something he's been doing more often lately—seeking physical comfort in a way that breaks my heart and terrifies me in equal measure.
Leo's head rests against my shoulder as he picks at his dinner. I find myself placing my hand on his back to keep him from falling. Across the table, Luka watches us with an expression I can't quite read.
There's something in his gaze that makes my breath catch.
For a moment, I let myself imagine what it would be like if things were different. If I weren't here against my will. If he weren't a dangerous man. If we were just... normal. A family.
The fantasy is so vivid it hurts.
"Cindy?" Leo's voice breaks through my daydream. "Are you okay? You look sad."
I force a smile, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. "Just thinking, sweetheart. Nothing important."
But when I look up, Luka's still watching me.
Later, after Leo's been tucked into bed and the compound has settled into its nighttime routine, I find myself back in Luka's bedroom.
It was so natural. After saying goodnight to Leo, he silently took my hand and led me to his bedroom.
I didn’t question it. Didn’t hesitate.
There’s something different about him tonight. He hasn’t said a word to me, but I don’t need him to.
I get it.
We're attracted to one another.
I lie in his bed, staring at the ceiling in the darkness, hyperaware of his breathing beside me. He sleeps like a predator—never fully relaxed, always ready to wake at the first sign of danger. But tonight there's something different about the way he settles next to me.
His arm is around my waist, pulling me closer. His hand rests on my stomach. Just sits there, heavy and warm, fingers splayed across my naked skin.
I freeze, certain he knows. Certain he can somehow sense the life growing beneath his palm. It's just a coincidence.
Still, I can't help but think about that hand that doles out death.
"I'll protect you," I whisper into the darkness, the words so quiet they're barely breath. "Whatever happens, whatever I have to do, I'll protect you."
He doesn't stir, doesn't give any sign that he's heard me. But his hand tightens slightly against my stomach, and for a moment, I let myself believe that somewhere in his subconscious, he understands.
I close my eyes and try to sleep, one hand moving to cover his, both of us cradling the secret that will change everything.