Throne of Vengeance (Throne Duet #2) - Rina Kent Page 0,60

really want to kill you right now.”

“That will leave you alone with our baby, so I vote against that option.”

I turn around and punch him across his slowly healing face. He doesn’t attempt to avoid it, even though he must’ve seen it coming. “It’s not our baby.”

“You and I made him or her, so that makes the baby ours.”

“You made this happen.”

“Fine, but don’t get too agitated. It’s not good for your health.”

“How can you be so calm about this?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Right, why wouldn’t you?” My voice rises with a sense of mockery that’s so close to rage. “You’re the one who plotted for this all along, and it’s simply working according to your plan. Now what? What’s next in your grand plan? Are you going to put a few other babies in me?”

“If you want to.”

“I don’t want to! That’s why I took the damn pills.”

“Are you done?”

“I’m not fucking done! You know, this is why I can’t trust you, Kyle. This is exactly why. One moment, you make me feel as if the world is at my fingertips, then you go and stab me in the damn back.”

“Don’t be so dramatic.”

“Dramatic? You think this is dramatic? Oh, I will show you what dramatic is really like.” I push at his chest. “You and I are no longer on speaking terms.”

“Fine.”

“Don’t talk to me!”

“I’m not, you are.”

Frustration bubbles in my veins, but I bottle it up and storm out of the room. I’m well aware of Kyle following right after me. I stand in front of the car because I have nothing on me, not even a phone to call Ruslan and Katia. As soon as he opens the door, I slide in the passenger seat and stare out the window.

I try to ignore the memories that come with being in this seat. Less than an hour ago, he made me feel over the moon. Now, he’s done it again in a completely different way.

A sigh leaves him and I feel his eyes watching me. “Do you feel nauseous? The doctor gave me a prescription.”

I don’t respond and continue staring at the other cars through the window.

“So this is how it’s going to be? Silent treatment?”

Exactly.

Until I figure out what to do with the life growing inside me and the man who put it there.

Because there’s no way we’ll ever be the same after this.

23

Kyle

The drive home is spent in utter silence—the suffocating type.

Rai erases me completely and focuses her entire attention on the world outside.

I clench my fist around the steering wheel to keep myself from grabbing her and knocking some sense into her. That will only escalate things for the worse, so I stop myself.

After all, it’s not like she’s mad for no reason. I may have played it down at the hospital so she didn’t pop a nerve, but even I know her anger is legitimate.

As soon as we arrive at the Russians’ compound, she barges outside. Katia and Ruslan greet her at the entrance, and she merely nods in their direction.

I walk beside her, keeping up with her angry strides. Anger is good sometimes. It means she cares enough to be angry. It’s the lack of reaction that grates on my nerves.

We’re only two steps inside when Anastasia jerks up from her position at the bottom of the stairs and quits clinking her nails against each other. Was she sitting there all along? She’s in her pajamas, her white-blonde hair is barely brushed, and the dark circles under her eyes hint at many sleepless nights.

We stop when she runs and clasps Rai in a hug. “Are you okay, Rayenka? I heard what happened and was so worried about you.”

My wife fakes a smile for her grandcousin’s sake, even though she’s been sulking around me. “I’m totally okay, Ana.”

“But Papa said the Albanians got you and took you and…” She trails off, sniffling.

“Anastasia Sokolov, don’t cry for something as trivial as this,” Rai scolds like a loving mother, and the analogy hits me with the image of her carrying her own son or daughter. My son or daughter.

My gaze trails to her stomach, and although it’s flat, the doctor said our child is there. Our. Mine and Rai’s.

Holy fuck. I never thought it would feel this…euphoric. Fascinating, really.

“It’s not trivial,” Anastasia argues. “You were in danger.”

“But I’m not anymore, you crybaby.”

“But you were in the past and you will be in the future.” Something flashes in Anastasia’s gaze, something I never thought a soft, sheltered thing