Forced Bratva Captive Pregnancy (Tarasov Bratva #20)

Chapter 1 – Celine

The library was my favorite part of the school. I went there every day to study. To most people, I lived a rather boring life, and everything about me revolved around getting my degree.

As a twenty-one-year-old business student determined to make a name for herself, I couldn’t afford some basic luxuries like partying and clubbing. Not that I didn’t want to, but those things just weren’t my priorities.

My fear of failure superseded my drive to engage in fleeting fun that may or may not ruin my life. Maybe I was just paranoid. Maybe I was too uptight. Stiff. Rigid. Maybe I needed to loosen up a bit. Maybe.

However, at the end of the day, my studies would always come first.

With my AirPods plugged in, I strolled down the crowded hallway, lost in the music. The world around me had faded into the background, the noise drowned by the melody that kept my mind sharp.

My eyes were fixed ahead, my spine straight as I weaved through the crowd of students chatting and laughing. My backpack hung off my shoulder, and a pile of books sat balanced on my right arm.

I glanced at my watch, estimating how much time I would spend in the library. There was a lot to cover, especially with exams quickly approaching. I was still planning the next few hours when I turned a corner and ran into someone.

The sudden collision caused my books to fall to the floor, and my AirPods clattered at my feet. My breath caught as I looked up, a flicker of anger flashing in my eyes.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t see you coming.” A smirk lined the corners of his lips.

“It’s fine,” I said, my tone flat and dismissive.

It was Steve, one of the popular guys in school, who thought he could get any girl he wanted. And unfortunately, to some extent, he could. He was good-looking, with nice, curly, dark hair and a pair of seductive blue eyes.

Steve had it all: height, looks, fame, and charm. Because of that, girls were always throwing themselves at him. Personally, I never saw what other girls saw in him. He was handsome. So what? Why the hype? To me, he was just a regular guy who was so full of himself.

I bent over and began picking up my stuff, one book at a time.

“Lemme help you with that.” He crouched down, his gaze lingering on me.

I ignored him, quietly grabbing my stuff and hoping he would just leave me alone.

Steve retrieved my AirPods while I collected the last book from the floor. Together, we straightened again, his gaze still lingering on me.

“Here you go.” He handed them to me. “I hope they still work.”

For your sake, me too.

I accepted the devices and gently put them back in my ears. Luckily, they hadn’t been damaged from the fall.

“And?” He cocked his head to the side, as if waiting for my feedback.

“Works perfectly.”

“Ah, thank God.” He breathed a sigh of relief. “For a second there, I thought I was gonna have to face your wrath.”

My wrath? What does that even mean?

I curled my lips into a faint grin. “If you don’t mind, I gotta go now.”

“Wait.” He blocked my path, his eyes pinned on me. “Uh…I’m throwing a party this weekend.” The slight pause came when he handed me a flyer. “I’d love to see you there.”

“You’re wasting your time; she’s not gonna come,” a girl chipped in while passing by.

Her friend laughed. “Celine is allergic to fun.”

The two girls giggled as they disappeared into the nearby classroom.

“Don’t listen to them,” he said, wearing a soft grin.

“I won’t,” I replied, politely rejecting his flyer. “But you should.”

“Shame.” He let out a quiet exhale. “I was really hoping to see you there.”

“Sorry to disappoint.” I squeezed out a smile. “Maybe next time.”

He huffed a laugh. “I’m sure that excuse always works.” His fingers combed through his hair. “You should stop and smell the roses sometimes. It won’t kill you.”

I wasn’t sure why, but those words stung more than I thought. As usual, though, I brushed it off and walked away. However, on my way to the library, I couldn’t help wondering whether I was too uptight.

Maybe loosening up a bit wouldn’t hurt. Maybe letting off some steam every once in a while wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

My shoes scuffed against the pavement as I made my way to the library, eyes squinting at the sunlight. The door parted, revealing a cool, serene atmosphere on the other side.

The faint scent of aged paper wafted through the air, blending with the quiet hum of the interior. Towering shelves lined both sides of the aisle, meticulously packed with books in muted colors.

I walked right in, comforted by the familiar serenity of the atmosphere. “Morning, Karen.”

The librarian looked up from behind her desk. “Hey, Celine, how are you?” She adjusted her glasses, her voice low and even.

“You know how it is.” I slowed down before the desk. “I’m stressed, but I gotta keep going.”

A small, genuine smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Go easy on yourself, girl.”

My response was a genuine smile, and with that, I walked past her station. My footsteps were soft on the carpet as I moved past long wooden tables, dotted with students. Some were already dozing off while others kept their eyes on their books and laptops.

I turned down an aisle, then made my way to my usual spot by the window that overlooked the quad. Sunlight filtered in through the glass, its warm glow draping over everything it touched.

Quietly, I slid into the chair at my desk, tucked away from the main floor. There, I settled in, backpack on the floor at my feet, books and laptop on my table.

This was my corner. My space. And for the longest time, no one had taken it from me.

Celine’s Spot, they called it.

A couple of hours passed, and I was quite immersed in my study, flipping through pages and searching the web. My fingers rattled across the keyboard, a pen carefully balanced behind my right ear.

I stretched after a short while, my backbone cracking in an instant. That’s when my eyes flicked toward a corner, and I spotted him, a tall, shadowy figure dressed in a dark suit.

His movements were quiet but suspicious as he strolled down the aisle across from me. Every now and then, he’d glance around, as if searching for hidden cameras.

Initially, I wanted to dismiss him as just another student, but there was something about him that felt unusual. The more I tried to ignore this strange man, the more my focus kept returning to him.

At this point, I wasn’t even sure that he was a student. Nor was I certain that he was a teacher.

Something wasn’t right.

Each time he glanced in my direction, I’d bow my head, pretending to be engrossed in my studies. From what I gathered, he was trying not to be noticed. But unfortunately for him, his actions had caught my attention. My attention was piqued, and I was interested in finding out what he was up to.

I thought about calling for help, just in case he was some kind of terrorist or robber. At least for the sake of every innocent student in the library. However, I decided not to do anything that would make him notice me. Besides, I had no proof that he was what I thought he might be.

The strange man withdrew a book from his inner jacket and looked over his shoulder. When he was sure no one was watching, he slid it onto a shelf and walked away quickly.

I watched him move quickly as if something invisible was after him. My eyes followed him from my spot until he turned a corner that led to the front door.

He’s leaving? Why now? I wondered.

A crazy thought hit me like a literal hammer. What if that’s a bomb he placed on the shelf? What if it’s not a book?

My heart stopped for a moment, and my breath caught in my throat. I turned toward the aisle he’d wandered, wondering what he was hiding on the shelf.

Mind your business, Celine. Mind your business, my voice of reason whispered in my head. Now is not the time to play hero.

I combed my fingers through my dark curls, my heart pounding like a drum in my chest.

But what if…?

Focus on your books, for Christ’s sake. I mean it, the voice warned.

But I couldn’t. I couldn’t focus on anything because my curiosity wouldn’t let me. Every now and then, my eyes would flick toward the aisle while I chewed on my nails.

What if it’s a bomb? I thought. What if I need to alert the school authorities?

Curiosity killed the cat, said the voice. Be sure to remember that.

Crazy how we always recited one half of that quote just to instill fear.

“Curiosity killed the cat. But satisfaction brought it back,” I whispered to myself. “Yeah, nobody ever finishes the saying.”

I rose to my feet, despite the protest in my head. My footsteps were silent on the floor as I moved across the aisle. The plan was to move quietly without drawing unwanted attention to myself.

I was familiar with almost all the books on this aisle. So, as I moved along, my eyes searched the shelves for any odd one out. Then I spotted it: a thick leather-bound book with a worn-out spine.

Don’t do it, the voice warned me. Do not touch that thing.

After glancing around to be sure no one was watching me, I reached out and grabbed it. With lightning speed, I withdrew it from the shelf and paused, waiting for my racing heart to calm.

I exhaled slowly, my chest rising and falling with slow, steady breaths.

Now what?

I checked out the book’s cover, front and back. There was nothing special about it. It wasn’t a novel, and it wasn’t a textbook either. It was just a regular book that looked more like a journal. A thick one.

“Let’s check this out, shall we?” I murmured and began heading back to my spot.

You, Celine Hart, are gonna be the death of us.

I slid back into my chair and set the mystery book on the table. At least it wasn’t a bomb. Thank God for that, right?

What if it were some kind of grimoire?

I let out a quiet exhale, glanced around one more time, and then flipped the book open.

Nothing.

No eerie sounds.

No strange feelings.

No gust of wind.

Nothing.

Clearly not a grimoire.

“Hmm.” I stroked my jaw, skimming through the contents of the book.

The handwriting was neat and elegant, almost deliberate. From my experience, it looked like an accountant’s ledger: the dates, the jaw-dropping figures running into millions and millions of dollars.

I squinted my eyes, flipping through the pages of this book. The more I studied it, the more I discovered that its contents weren’t supposed to be public knowledge.

Everything written down in this book was shady: the transfer codes, the arrows connecting entries that shouldn’t be connected, etc. Of course, I was familiar with stuff like this; I was a business student.

This was no ordinary book. It was a ledger, one that recorded illegal transactions and some serious money laundering. In the wrong hands, this book could cause serious damage to some of the most powerful families in the city.

According to this ledger, these families were involved in embezzlement, racketeering, and every corrupt practice known to man.

Fuck.

The more I studied, the faster my pulse became, and my heart pounded like a galloping horse. No matter how hard I tried to tell myself this was just some eccentric professor’s project, I simply couldn’t ignore the patterns.

The transfer codes.

The names. Local and foreign.

The offshore markers.

There was no way this was just some random shit. This was fucking real.

No wonder that man was so shady.

The criminal activities noted in this book were all connected to the Mafia. And that alone was more than enough reason to stop digging. But I was hooked. I couldn’t stop myself.

These numbers and their sums pointed to something hidden. Something dangerous. Yet, I kept studying them, uncovering some serious secrets that made my stomach twist.

This was blood money, and such knowledge could land me in serious trouble.

I didn’t realize how much time had passed until a familiar voice spoke to me.

“See you tomorrow, Celine.”

Startled, I jolted upright, my heart skipping a beat. A wind of relief washed over me when I realized it was just Joey, a fellow bookworm.

“Wait. You’re leaving already?” I asked, confused because Joey had never left until the library closed. “So soon?”

She raised her brows, surprised by my reaction. “So soon?”

I was about to respond when the library announcement echoed through the stacks. “Attention, everyone; the library will be closing in fifteen minutes. Please begin wrapping up your work and head to the exit.”

What the hell?

I checked my watch. It was almost eleven o’clock.

“Whatever is on there must’ve been pretty interesting, huh?” Joey teased, nodding at the ledger in front of me.

I responded with a wry smile, fingers scratching the back of my head. I was still struggling to understand how I’d spent hours on this thing without even realizing it.

Joey beamed at me and walked away, her footsteps echoing through the empty space.

I was the one left behind, so I packed my things into my backpack. After a soft exhale, I closed the book, stood up, and walked back to the shelf. Without hesitation, I returned it to its exact spot and walked away.

Whatever was on there wasn't my concern, and I wasn't involved. I told myself that since I returned the book to where I found it, I was safe.

But why didn’t I feel safe?

Why did I feel like I’d just walked into something dangerous?

At this point, I was starting to regret not listening to my voice of reason. Maybe if I had just ignored that strange man, I wouldn’t be living in fear for my life.

This knowledge was a curse, a burden that was already starting to weigh me down.

I wished I never opened that damn book!