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The woman was crazy. After another round of insults about what he could go do to himself, his patience was running thin. It was time to remind her of her deal with Kristoff. Elena was a Vory wife. Coming between him and his wife meant Tess had meddled in Bratva business. That came at a price.
“If you’ve had a hand in Elena’s disappearing—”
“My hands are as clean as a baby’s butt.”
The glee in her voice grated on his nerves. “If you’re lying—”
“I don’t meddle in Bratva business per my arrangement with my husband. He gets cranky if I do. But…” She paused for dramatic effect. “It doesn’t mean I can’t outsource it.” Then she hung up on him.
Dread filled his veins. There was only one person Tess would entrust with helping her friend out. An elusive person who was on both the FBI’s Most Wanted List as on the twins’ radar. Her sister, Onyx.
Fuck.
CHAPTER 30
ELENA
Eight months later…
The baby refused to come. Elena paced up and down the hallway of the one-story house she had rented months ago. Her son, who was overdue, appeared to be just as stubborn as his dad. If her water didn’t break in the next forty-eight hours, she was getting prepped for a C-section.
Part of her dreaded being all alone in the hospital, but mostly she couldn’t wait to welcome her baby into the world. She just hoped his birth would be less chaotic than her flight from his father, who had wanted to steal him.
It had been months since she’d run from Viking to Katya. There hadn’t been any time to think everything through. All she had wanted was to get away from him. She’d been a bumbling mess of tears when she’d told Katya what had happened. Then Kristoff had walked in, and she’d almost had a panic attack. Unlike what she’d expected, he didn’t immediately rat her out though.
“I owe you for Ekaterina, so I’m not going to keep you here. I let you live sixteen years ago and I’m letting you live again. That makes us even.” He had looked at his watch. “I think an hour head start is fair.”
“An hour?”
Kristoff shrugged. “It worked for John Wick.”
It had worked for her as well. Katya had brought her into contact with a hacker/digital mercenary for hire. A woman named Onyx, who happened to be Tess’ sister. Per the hacker’s request, their sole contact had been by phone and e-mail. Onyx had provided her with a burner phone, a fake ID, a suitcase filled with cash, and everything else a person on the run needed. When she asked about the money’s origins, she’d called it future child support. Onyx had even taken care of getting her house in a small town a few hours from San Francisco. At first, being so close to her home town had frightened her, but in the end, she decided to go with it because at least it was somewhat familiar. She’d made it out of San Francisco unscathed, but not without leaving behind her heart and replacing it with the knowledge she was being hunted. Ever since, she’d been in a paranoid state of mind, expecting to walk into a Bratva soldier at every corner.
She regularly spoke to Vicky on the phone but hadn’t told her about the predicament she was in. Judging by their chats, her daughter had no idea, which was exactly the way Elena wanted it. Vicky didn’t need to get involved in her parents’ messy situation. And what a mess it was. The more she thought about it, the more difficult it seemed to untangle herself from the cathartic state of her marriage.
During the last few months, she’d had a lot of time for reflection. Time to think and to fret.
She’d felt eyes on her for the past few weeks, but told herself she was being paranoid. No one had found her. If Viking had, he wouldn’t be on the lookout from behind a bush. No, he would barge back into her life and stash her back inside his house. She’d probably never see daylight again. Not after she’d shot him. Yes, she’d missed his vitals on purpose, but somehow she didn’t think pointing that out would cut it.
One thing was certain, she couldn’t go on like this forever. Isolating herself from everyone around her, afraid someone was going to connect her to the Romanov Bratva, was no way of living. It had been how she’d lived under Lorenzo’s thumb. She refused to go through that again. Sadly, she hadn’t found a solution to her conundrum yet. If only Viking would be reasonable about this. If only he could push aside his rage and find it in his heart to forgive her. They could be a family, have everything they’d ever dreamed of. This baby could have been their new beginning, a new hope. Instead, history was repeating itself.
A kick to the stomach had her on high alert. She groaned as her stomach tightened. Taking a deep breath, she dragged herself to the stairs and tightly clutched the handrail.
When the pain intensified, it hit her she was having contractions. She called a cab, then went into the living room to get her bag. Another contraction hit her, and her knees almost crumpled. Sweat dripped down the back of her neck. Gasping, she made her way back to the stairs. If she sat back onto the plush couch, she feared she’d never be able to get back up. Within ten minutes the doorbell rang.
“Just a second!” She was halfway into the parlor when her water broke and another contraction squished her intestines.
She couldn’t keep her cry in.
Then the door burst open. When she looked up, she came face to face with a bewildered-looking Viking. His light blond hair was disheveled and a five o’clock shadow dusted his face. Her treacherous heart fluttered in her chest as she took in his big frame while relief poured through every fiber of her being because she was no longer alone. Hope filled her because there wasn’t a trace of anger on his face, only relief, as if he was happy to have found her.
Silly, silly girl. Haven’t you learned anything?
In her pregnancy-hormone-filled mind, she was imagining things. She couldn’t trust him again.
Steeling her heart, she blurted, “You are not getting your hands on my son!”
He blinked. “We’re having a son?”
