Stepan
"Ro, we need to talk." My cousin's eyes go dark as soon as he lays eyes on Marina, and she is shaking like a leaf.
Those fuckers had no right to enter my home, but I'm glad she's with me and not them.
After what she told me, I know she'd be shipped off to an abortion clinic first thing in the morning, especially since they know she's been with me.
Roman turns from his place at the head of the table he's erected in his garage for this meeting with his wife's family and nods at them.
"If you'll excuse me, gentlemen, I have something to deal with.
" He sounds cordial to them, but I can see the dragon under the surface coiling to strike.
Dragging a woman into his intel meeting with the Radins isn't a good idea.
Especially when that woman is one of their dire enemies.
I see a few faces screw up in anger and acknowledgement of that fact, and I put my arm protectively around her.
Roman won't stand for any of them lashing out or hurting her for no good reason, and I'm banking on that fact as we turn our backs to the men and follow Ro into the house and around the corner into his office.
"Sit down," he grumbles, walking straight to his liquor cabinet to get out a bottle of vodka. He pulls three glasses out and carries them back to his desk, where he sets them down and leans as Marina and I take the wooden chairs positioned across from it. "Let me pour you a drink."
I watch him uncork the bottle and pour as Marina leans into me, and it finally makes sense why for the past month every time I've offered her a drink, she's refused it. She's known she's having a baby and she's making healthy choices. So before he pours the third glass, I clear my throat.
"Uh, just two... Marina won't be drinking."
Roman's eyes shift as he stops pouring and looks at me. Then his gaze flicks to hers and a knowing passes through his expression. It makes his features tighten as he corks the bottle and sets it down, then hands me my drink.
I'm going to be a father. Me—the loser who could never keep a woman, who never had a plan in life to even settle down.
I'm going to be a dad, and at the hands of someone we never expected.
I don't even know what to say to that. I down my vodka and nod at the empty glass, handing it to Roman who has his in hand.
He quickly refills it without question and gives it back.
Clearly, he understands what's at stake here without my having to say a word.
Before I even touch the second glass, I know I have to tell him everything. "Ro, someone broke into my home." My ears burn with shame. I brought this on myself, and he told me more than once if this goes sideways, it was on me. But I can't deal with this myself. I need his backup.
"Tonight? Did they take anything?" He leans forward as he downs his drink and sets the empty glass down. His eyes narrow and he glances between me and Marina, but he settles on me as I down my second shot and slam the glass onto his desk.
"I don’t know. They weren't there to steal anything." I can't even look him in the eye for this. If I had known she was pregnant, this whole thing would’ve gone differently. And it's my fault she never felt safe enough to tell me. I pressured her too, much too soon.
"They came for me," Marina says softly, hanging her head. "It was my father."
Ro sucks in a deep breath and blows it out loudly. He's upset, but he knows things happen. He has to know I'd never have let this happen if I had it in my control.
"And were you followed here?" he grumbles, but I know I lost them. I shake my head firmly.
"No, I lost them, I swear." I finally have the guts to look him in the eye, but he's looking at her now.
"So your father is tracing you? Does he have a reason to do that, Ms. Belova?
Do I have a reason to fear your father coming to my home?
" I want to jump up and lash out at him, but he's asking fair questions.
I've lied to her, and she kept her pregnancy a secret, but I know she's not a liar.
Besides, this is his home and he has a right to want to defend it.
"No, sir..." Marina's head still hangs, and she picks at her fingernails. "Mr. Radin, I—"
"It's Kuzin," he says firmly, glowering at me. I'm such an idiot. She doesn’t even know my full name because I kept it hidden from her this whole time. She never asked me, likely because she felt this would all be just a fling. And look at the mess we're in.
Marina finally lifts her eyes and I see they're full of tears.
"I'm pregnant and he wants me back home, sir.
I think he followed me... If so, it means he probably has figured out that Stepan is the one I've been sleeping with.
" Her bottom lip quivers as she speaks, and I take her hand to offer her some courage.
She glances down at where our hand is joined, causing a few tears to drip to my knuckles.
"And you're afraid of him?"
Roman knows everything that's happened on my end.
He knows Orlov is dead at my hand, and though we've done that cleanly, with this new development of Marina being pregnant, he's smart enough to figure out that Belova may connect me to the whole thing.
Especially if Orlov's buyers fight back against the accusation of murder.
"He wants me to kill my baby." Marina's voice is so small, it feels like someone stabbed me in the chest. I won't let them do that to her. I won't allow her to go home if that's what her father will do.
"Ro, we need your help." I'm not too prideful to ask for his help when I need it, and I need it. "I fucked up bad."
Roman pushes a button on his phone, perched on the corner of his desk, and less than ninety seconds later, Sorin appears, dressed in her night clothes with her hair under a cap. She nods and bows, then shuffles in, warily glancing at me and Marina. "Sir?"
"Sorin, can you please help Ms. Belova? We'll need a hot bath and some salts for her. If she's hungry, feed her, and help her into some night clothes and a guest bed for now."
My heart feels the weight of a thousand planets lift off it as my cousin gives his maid the orders.
"Of course, Mr. Kuzin. Ms. Belova? Come with me, please." Sorin holds out her hand, and Marina looks up at me nervously. Her bottom lip is worried between her teeth.
"It's okay," I tell her. "Remember, I promised you're safe here. I'll come be with you soon. Go relax."
She throws her arms around me and I hold her for a second. Roman turns his eyes, and Sorin drops her gaze to the floor, and when Yegor and Radimir waltz in like they were called, I get the point. "You gotta go, baby. Sorin will take good care of you, okay? I promise."
I push her back and kiss her forehead, and Sorin takes her hand and leads her out of the room. Then it’s just me and my cousin and his men.
Roman lowers himself into his chair and pours himself another vodka. He doesn't pour me one this time. He drinks it slowly, watching me over the rim while Yegor posts up by the door with his arms crossed and Radimir drops into the chair Marina was sitting in.
"So," he says. "Let me make sure I have the full picture.
You killed Orlov ahead of my timeline. You got a woman pregnant.
That woman is the daughter of Sergei Belova.
And now Belova's sent armed men to your place and you've dragged her here, to my home, where I'm currently hosting a meeting with the Radin family—her father's biggest enemy.
" His eyebrows rise in skepticism as he purses his lips, and I feel the heavy weight of shame ready to crush me.
"Yeah," I grumble, eyeing that bottle of vodka. I want another shot. I need to let my chest loose or I'm gonna explode like a coiled viper.
"That's one hell of a mess, Stepan."
Yegor shifts but keeps his mouth shut. Radimir stares at the floor. Neither one of them is stupid enough to chime in. If they say a cross word, I'd slit their throats, and Roman isn't in a mood to fuck around.
"Call Timur," Roman says. "Get him on speaker."
I pull my backup phone out and dial. It rings a few times before Timur picks up, and I expect him to be sleepy, but he's wide awake and alert. He sounds on edge too, like he's wired to explode any second just like me.
"I was about to call you," Timur says.
Roman and I lock eyes across the desk. That sentence has never been followed by good news.
"You're on speaker," I tell him. "Ro, Yegor, and Radimir are here with me. We got trouble."
"Good, then you all need to hear this." I hear Timur sigh hard and clear his throat.
"Sergei Belova sent a threat through the underground channels about three minutes ago.
He said if Stepan doesn't send the girl home, whatever that means…
" I glance at Roman, and he scowls at me.
"That the full weight of the Orlov-Belova alliance will come down on us. What the hell is going on?"
My blood runs so hot in my veins, it's making me sweat. This fucker has the nerve to threaten us after he tried to kill me and threatened to kill his own daughter? Roman pushes off his desk and rubs his forehead before speaking.
"He's saying we took her?"
"That's how he's spinning it," Timur confirms. "And I get the feeling he's not bluffing."
I crack my knuckles and shake my head. "This fucker's ridiculous. Orlov can't back him. He's fucking dead... He thinks we don't know that."
"Probably a good thing for your sake, Stepan." Ro walks around his desk and pulls his chair out, sitting down.
"What?" Timur asks, and I watch Radimir stiffen. I guess not everyone in this family's gotten the news yet.
"I killed the bastard myself. He threatened to kill her and...
It's this whole thing. Look, all you need to know is Marina is here, and she's pregnant with my child." My hands shake from the surge of adrenaline. Knowing Belova is ready to make a move only heightens this pressure I’m under. When he reaches out to Orlov for help and finds out he’s dead, this'll be a war.