12. Lev
I stare at the reports in front of me on the desk. It’s the numbers for the dementia medication trials. They look good, and I should feel happy about them, but I’m too distracted to enjoy the success. And there’s one reason why.
Brooke.
She’s pissed at me. For the last couple of days, she’s barely spoken to me. Barely looked in my direction. And when I reach for her at night, she turns away from me.
I know her friends are important to her, and I meant it when I said it brought me no joy to keep her from visiting them. But I can’t keep her safe if she isn’t with me.
Her indifference is making me uneasy. She’s pulling away from me, and there’s not a goddamn thing I can do about it. My hands are tied because she’s safest with me until Vlad is found, and I’ve smoked out the rat in the bratva.
“You’re here early,” Feliks says, waltzing into my office at ZeeMed, still wearing his suit from the night before. “Trouble in paradise?”
I send him a warning look telling him not to go there. “What are you doing here so early?”
“I was on my way home and remembered I left my little black book in my desk drawer.” He gives me a sheepish grin. “I have another number to add to it.”
His little black book is actually a phone where he keeps all the numbers and names of his hookups.
I return to looking at the reports on my desk. “Is that why you’re still dressed in yesterday’s clothes? Who was he or she?”
“They,” he says, sinking into the chair in front of me. “There were two of them. Candi and her best friend Andrew. They were quite the pair. Hungry and rapaciously naughty. I’m going to need to rest for a couple of hours just to get my strength back.” He looks at his watch. “Why are you here at seven o’clock in the morning?”
“There’s work to do.”
“There’s always work to do.”
“Well, now there is more work to do.”
He sighs. “I’ve known you all your life, Lev, and you’ve never been able to lie to me. Why start now? Is it Brooke?”
“She’s pissed.”
“And you’re surprised? You’ve cut her off from her life.”
“A necessity.”
“Maybe, but you have to expect this blowback. You could make a visit from her friends possible. Or send her out of town with security.”
“It’s too risky.”
“Hell, I’ll go with—
“She’s pregnant.”
Feliks opens his mouth but shuts it again, then shakes his head, looking dazed. “Well, I’ll be goddamned. Since when?”
“Since the day I met her on a plane and took her back to my apartment.”
I watch him as he processes the news.
“I’m going to be an uncle?” he asks with a broad smile.
“Technically, a second cousin.”
“Damn that to hell, I’m going to be this kid’s Uncle Feliks.” His smile grows bigger, and he claps his hands together. “And he or she is going to love me.”
“I’m sure.”
He sits back in the chair. “No wonder you’re acting like an overprotective father right now.”
“Even if Brooke weren’t pregnant, I’d still be demanding this level of security.”
“Of course.” He grins and crosses his legs and taps his chin with his finger as he thinks.
He’s about to get carried away with the idea of being Uncle Feliks—I can see it on his face. And I can’t help but smile.
“Is it a boy or a girl? Wait, don’t tell me. I want to be surprised. No, tell me, I’ve got some shopping to do, and it will come in handy knowing the sex.”
“Shopping?”
“I’m cool Uncle Feliks. I’m going to spoil this kid even before it’s born.”
Again, I can’t help but smile. “We don’t know. Brooke has a scan coming up, and we might find out then.”
The thought of seeing my baby on the monitor again and hearing their strong heartbeat makes me warm inside, and the uneasiness of Brooke’s indifference is momentarily eased.
Feliks rises to his feet and walks around the desk to stand beside me.
“What are you doing?” I ask when he opens his arms wide.
“Come on, Cousin, this deserves a hug. Get on your feet and let me congratulate you.”
Usually, I’d tell him to take two feet back, turn around, and get the fuck away from me. But after the hit of dopamine I just felt when I thought about my kid, I stand and give my cousin the hug.
He pats me hard on the back. “Does that mean I get to call you Daddy Lev?”
“Yeah, that’s not happening.”
He releases me from the hug. “I’m proud of you, Cousin. A baby. This is good news.”
“We’re not telling anyone yet. Not until after we’ve found Vlad and secured the bratva.”
“Wise.” He nods and taps his nose. “I’ll keep quiet.”
“Good.” I give him a wink. “Now go away. I have a lot of work to do, and I can’t afford to be disturbed.”
He gives me another hard pat on the arm and then leaves the room while I return to the reports on my desk.
Several hours later, he calls me.
I mindlessly pick up the phone. “I thought I told you I didn’t want to be disturbed.”
“I have an update from Ibiza,” he says soberly. “And I think you’ll want to hear it.”