Preg-Not

9

The second the Rolex bounced off her belly, she clutched it like her life depended on it. She played the role of a victim with teary eyes and trembling shoulders. Maksim threw cash at her to celebrate her performance, but he wished he could throw a Grammy at her instead.

How dare that snake return? She nearly killed him; brought him down to his knees in a bloodless slaughter. That wasn't enough for her, though. She wanted all the cash he had, too. That's why she showed up.

Maksim paced his office. Every time he thought of her, he remembered her cruel words and the embarrassment he felt.

He pulled out the last drawer of his desk. There was nothing inside there except Raelynn's murder weapon. For the millionth time, he read the letter. He knew it better than his name by then. He could recite the words forwards and backwards.

The letter replaced any hint of sadness or longing in him with anger. It was the anchor that kept him underwater, where he was safe. That's the thing about Raelynn. Without her, he felt like he was suffocating, and needed to swim to the surface before he drowned. Raelynn seemed like a breath of fresh air, but he knew that once he broke the surface, he would choke on toxic air.

He swam to the surface once. He wouldn't do it again.

An alarm flashed on his monitor, alerting him that he had a meeting. He dismissed the alert and dug out the nearest bottle of alcohol. He hadn't drunk since that day he left Arizona, but Raelynn's sudden appearance left him at a loss. Today, anger wouldn't be enough to wash away the sorrow. He needed more.

That fucking bitch.

Her whole body was a weapon. Her snug cunt was a noose around his neck, her nails trailing down his back were knives, her eyes were stun grenades. She was the mother of all Sirens.

– • –

RAELYNN

Raelynn was lost.

She ran out of Maksim's office and couldn't find the elevator or the security guard. Her tears made it hard to see in front of her. She took comfort in the fact that this floor was empty, so no one was around to see her melt into a mess.

She sat in a corner, hands on her stomach and eyes shut. She was rambling something to soothe herself, but she wasn't sure what it was. All she could hear was that awful word– whore, playing on repeat.

Maksim was hurt and confused, so she hadn't expected him to accept her with open arms. Nonetheless, it hurt to be dragged across the dirt by that the man she climbed the heights of happiness with.

Where does she go from here? Maksim was infuriated. He would tear her apart if he found out about the pregnancy.

"You're pregnant."

She was sure she was hallucinating when she heard those words, but the pair of polished shoes before her proved otherwise. This was no hallucination. Maksim found her in her moment of weakness. Now, there would be hell to pay.

She scrambled to her feet, nearly tripping. "Maksim, I–"

This wasn't Maksim. At least, not the right version. There were no peeking tattoos out of his shirt collar or hands. His skin wasn't as tanned as Maksim's, his left eyebrow was missing a small scar, and his expression wasn't scowling or bleak.

"Viktor, actually," he corrected.

Raelynn's throat dried. She didn't even know Maksim had a brother. He never talked much about his family; only sharing that they lived in Russia and he cut ties with them. She didn't talk about hers either, so it would only be fair if she didn't push him.

She didn't need to hear Viktor's accent to form the link between the two males. They had an underlining resemblance. She could only hope their personalities weren't similar, too, or this guy would seek revenge just like his brother.

"What? No, I'm not," she lied.

Who knows how long he watched her cry, grip her flat stomach, and frantically promise the bump that everything would be alright.

"So you're the one that turned Maksim into a dead man walking," Viktor chuckled. "His little girlfriend?"

"We're not together anymore," she fidgeted. She crossed her bag in front of her– a habit she couldn't seem to shake off.

"You think I haven't noticed that? Maksim went from asshole to dictator, and it's all because of you."

She took a step closer to the exit, ready to book it. She needed to get out of the building before Viktor reached Maksim, or else she would lose her baby before she even had it.

"How far along are you?" he asked, eyes locked on the purse that was supposed to shield her.

She looked down the corridor, paranoid that Maksim was lurking in a corner and ready to pounce.

She didn't owe Viktor any answers, but he would probably become angry if she denied them. The last thing she needed was two of these men on her bad side.

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "I wanted to talk to Maksim, but he didn't want to see me."

"That's putting it lightly. He called you a whore and tossed you out like yesterday's trash." With a smirk that unnerved her, he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his suit. "This is very, very messy."

He knew. He was holding her by the throat with a dangerous leverage.

She tried to read him, but came up short.

"I'm not a bad person," she said. Her word was the only thing she could offer. There was no other way to keep him quiet.

"I don't believe you. I think you're vicious, so spare me the waterworks. You ripped a grown man to shreds. I've never seen Maksim so... human. It's disturbing."

She shook her head. "It was just a misunderstanding. He won't let me explain. I had to..."

He raised a hand. "Listen. Maksim isn't my biggest fan, but he's still my blood. I'm not letting you run off with his kid."

"You can't tell him, please!" she slapped a hand over her mouth when she said the last word too loudly. "Just give me some time to do it myself."

"Why would I do that?" Viktor asked, raising a scar-less eyebrow.

"So I can fix this. He can be happy again."

I just have to convince him to leave the mafia, and I'll stay with him.

"You're going to fix him?"

She bit her lip and hesitantly nodded. "I just need a few months."

Victor looked down at her. "You're going to be showing soon."

"I know. I will hide it."

He pushed off the wall. "Fine, I'll give you this favor, because you'll be having a Kuznetsov. Remember this: I am not your friend, or your guardian angel. I don't like you, girl."

She nodded frantically.

"If you try to run or abort the pregnancy, you will know pain. That child does not belong to you. It's a Kuznetsov as of today. If you want to be a part of its life, you'll have to convince Maksim."

"Abort? I wouldn't..."

"I know you wouldn't, because my men will tail you. If you try something, I'll find out, and I won't be happy."

She nodded and took another step toward the exit.

"Good," he smiled. "I have to go talk to your baby daddy now. You can go. Figure this out because your clock is ticking."

She looked in the direction he pointed in and rushed away from the second Kuznetsov man that day.