Til Death Do Us Part (Kornilov Bratva Duet #2) - Nicole Fox Page 0,3
way about two human beings?
My phone beeps to tell me the three minutes are up, and I reach for the first test more out of instinct than a conscious decision. Before I can steel myself to see the results, there is a blue plus sign staring up at me from the display screen.
Confirmed. I’m pregnant.
Viktor studies me as we eat a family dinner and play in the living room. Even as he hikes Theo over his shoulder and stomps around the house, laughing and tickling him, I feel Viktor’s eyes on me.
I haven’t asked him to visit us once since we moved into the apartment. He has, of course. Theo gets upset if he sees Viktor any less than five or six times per week. But I’ve never asked Viktor to come over, until now.
The second Theo is in bed for the night, Viktor sits on the couch next to me and frowns. “Okay. What’s going on?”
I almost don’t want to tell him. He deserves to know—believe me, I’ve more than learned my lesson about keeping a secret child from a crime boss—but I’m afraid of what will happen when he does. Like me, Viktor worries. He is terrified of what Fedor will do, which is why he locked me in the bedroom in the first place. It’s why he bought me an apartment in the most secure building in the city and still posts guards at my door twenty-four/seven. And that was to protect his brother’s child.
How much more will he worry when he finds out I’m carrying his child?
“Molly,” he says softly, reaching for my hand. I pull it away before we can make contact, and he sighs. “Clearly, you didn’t ask me to come over to chitchat. So, what is it?”
Heat pools in my stomach as I understand his meaning. Part of him hoped I’d asked him to come here because I wanted to see him. Because I wanted to do more than just see him.
I swallow back the lust in my throat, chalking it up to raging pregnancy hormones, and spit it out. “I’m pregnant.”
Viktor’s mouth falls open, and he sinks back into the couch. Then, he sits up, back straight, and shakes his head … before falling back into the couch.
“We used a condom.”
I nod. “We sure did.”
“So, you can’t be pregnant.”
“Except I am.” I shrug. “I took six tests. All positive.”
“When?” he breathes. His usual stern mask has slipped. He looks younger when he is confused, softer. It makes me want to reach out and stroke his hair.
“When did I take the tests or when did I get pregnant?” I ask and then decide to answer both. “I took the tests this afternoon, and my best guess is that I got pregnant the day we got fake married and had sex all night.”
His jaw tightens, and he shifts his hips. I wonder if he is experiencing the same rush of heat I am at the memory. Suddenly, he pushes himself to standing, plants his feet in front of me, and turns.
“We have to get married.”
I don’t know what I expected him to say, but it wasn’t that. I blink at him in confusion for several seconds before I gather the ability to shake my head.
“No.”
Viktor sighs and spins on his heel, dragging a hand through his hair. “If we get married, my men will protect you. They will sacrifice their lives for yours.”
“No,” I repeat. “This isn’t the 1950s. You don’t have to marry me just because I’m pregnant.”
“This has nothing to do about social obligations, Molly. I’m in a war. We,” he says, gesturing from himself to me, “are in a war. Fedor wants Theo, and he wants you dead.”
“And now that I’m carrying your child, you care more about my life than you did before?”
His lips turn white, and his nostrils flare. “Don’t say that like I haven’t spent countless hours and a fortune keeping you safe. Don’t act like I haven’t made it clear I care about you.”
Guilt swirls in my stomach, making me nauseous for a different reason. “Then you can continue keeping me safe whether we are married or not.”
“Not the same way I can if we are married.” He steps forward and grabs my elbow. His touch is gentle, but I feel the strength in it. The passion coursing through him. He is serious about this offer.
There is a part of me that wants to lean into his touch. Viktor has made mistakes, but he has also proven