by Sophia Gray
“I asked around.” He cleared his throat. “I wanted to make sure your mother had the care of the best doctors.”
I glowered at him. “I might—”
He held up his hand. “Don’t misunderstand my intentions. I was trying to help.”
I crossed my arms. “And what did you think when you realized I had already made sure she was seeing the best doctors in the area?”
“I thought all the more highly of you considering I know you were struggling before we made our…arrangement.”
I blushed at his praise. “Just because money had been an issue doesn’t mean I was willing to allow my mom to have less quality care.” It hadn’t been easy, but I had done everything I could for her. Once I got fired, I thought maybe it might be time to switch to a cheaper doctor, but I hated myself for even thinking it. This was my mom, my only family. I would have given up everything for her to continue to have her best chance at recovering.
“Your mother must be one hell of a woman to have raised a daughter like you,” he murmured.
Now that was very high praise. It would be the perfect opportunity to ask him about his own mother.
Except he continued talking.
“I don’t know how you feel about this, but because of the guy approaching you…” He glanced away, but I saw his jaw tighten and his hands curl into fists. He hated that I had been accosted, and something inside of me shifted.
“What did you do?” I whispered. Had he hunted down the man and killed him? What would I think if he had? What if that man came back and wanted to send another message to Anton — this time not with words but my dead body?
“I gave your mom a chauffeur as well as the nurse.”
“Chauffeur or bodyguard?” I asked pointedly. I didn’t know how to feel about this latest development. While I appreciated the gesture, I hated that there might be a need for my mom to have the bodyguard.
He had smiled widely at that. “Both in one.”
“Thank you,” I murmured.
“Don’t worry about it. And…I won’t keep you from your friends either,” he added.
That had surprised me. Twice now, he had shocked me. “You know about Denise?” The moment I asked, I felt silly. Alec had probably mentioned me, and if he had, he probably hadn’t said anything good about me…or about Denise for that matter considering he had dumped her. But if that had been the case, why had Anton given me a chance? Why had he agreed to me being his surrogate? And did this mean that if Alec had a role in my getting this position, I shouldn’t hate him like I did? It was so strange. I had been so against Alec for Denise, but here I was, with Anton. Well, not in a real relationship with him.
Real enough for me to need a bodyguard.
Real enough that I needed to guard my heart.
Why did I accept Anton when I hadn’t been able to accept Alec for Denise? Alec had been a little gruff and very full of himself. It had been off putting to me, but Denise thought of it as swagger.
Anton had confidence. He knew what he wanted and how to get it. He made things happen. Yes, he had servants, but he didn’t treat them unkindly, at least whenever he interacted with them in front of me. Was it possible Anton was putting on an act in front of me? Honestly, that seemed likely. How could he be in the mob, and obviously be thriving in it given his wealth, unless he was cold and capable of committing crimes? Which side of him was more accurate: the kind and tender side he showed me when no one else was around or the mob guy who did whatever it took to stay on top?
“What’s troubling you?” he has asked, his fingers rubbing my temples. “You look like you’re worrying too hard.”
It wasn’t like I could just talk to him about this. I couldn’t trust him to answer honestly. And if I couldn’t trust him with a simple question, how could I trust him with anything? Whether it was smart to or not, I did trust him.
“What’s worrying you?” he asked.
I gave him a wide smile. No more worrying thoughts…for now, at least. “Can’t have that,” I joked. “Can’t risk having wrinkles already.”
He laughed and kissed my forehead and then other places. Words weren’t spoken except in moans for a long while after that.
Over the next weeks, we spent a lot more time together, and not just in the bedroom. We usually had a meal a day together, and at first that had been so awkward. His servants would serve us, and he didn’t know what to talk to me about, and I didn’t know what topics of conversation were okay to broach, so I kept quiet, too.
But the first time he sent his servants away so it was just the two of us for breakfast, things felt much more natural. The constant reminder of his wealth was gone, and I could focus more on him. We talked about little, silly things and laughed and joked, and even though it wasn’t anything serious or deep, it had been refreshing. Despite his job, Anton was just a man.
But then the topic of conversation became more serious over time. We would talk about my mom, my old job, my hopes and dreams, about my life before Anton. That was how I was beginning to think of my life: “before Anton” and “now.” Eventually, I would have to go through “after Anton,” but I found myself not wanting to think about that. While I was here in his mansion, I felt safe. And I felt safe in his arms. And when I did leave to see my mom or Denise, I still felt safe because of the protection Anton offered. It wasn’t normal, and it scared me that I was already becoming accustomed to this lifestyle.
And we didn’t just talk about me. Anton talked about himself, too. Not about his mob life, and not much about his past either, but he talked about what he wanted for the future, and what he wanted for his son, and that made things that much more confusing for me, and right now, I didn’t need to be more confused.
Because as much as I hated the idea of being under the same roof as those weapons, and as much as the idea of why Anton needed those weapons close by frightened me, and as much as I couldn’t overlook the fact that Anton had connections to the mob, I was afraid of something even more important.
I was afraid I was falling in love with him.
I had this habit of falling for guys who weren’t good for me, and this was the kicker. As kind as he was, as incredible as he was in bed, I couldn’t risk falling for him like this. I was not a permanent fixture in his life, and once I gave birth, we would part ways. I still couldn’t wrap my mind around that, and I had better learn to accept that — the sooner the better.
But I found myself wanting to spend more time with him. I wanted to talk to him more, and the last few times we had sex, we talked beforehand and afterward, too. We had sex more than four times a week, and I wasn’t complaining about that, but I wanted more.
And I had no business wanting that. That wasn’t part of the agreement. Maybe I should stop talking to him so much, sharing with him. Because all of this closeness, all of the time we were spending together…it was making me so confused about our relationship. It didn’t feel like a business arrangement anymore. It felt like more.
That night, we had just finished eating dinner. Anton had just asked how my mom was doing, and I couldn’t help myself.
“She’s doing pretty well, actually. And speaking of my mom…you never talk about yours. How is she?”
Anton stilled. He was going to shut me out. Wouldn’t let me in. I knew it. Should’ve never asked.
“She’s…she’s dead,” he said stiffly.
Oh! My hands flew to my mouth. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know!”
“Of course you didn’t. My father’s dead, too.”
“I’m so sorry,” I said, not knowing what else to say, hating how pathetic my words were. He must have heard apologizes all his life.
He appraised me for a moment. “You never talk about your father. Was he…had he run off?”
“No. No, nothing like that. Dad hadn’t been a deadbeat. He had been great. Would’ve been so overly protective of me.” I smiled even though I could feel tears welling already. “He died. Had a massive heart attack. I was ten.”
“Eight when my parents died.”
I wanted to ask how they died, but I also wanted him to volunteer that information. And even if he didn’t share the how, I so appreciated him telling me this much. His parents dying so young…was that why he ended up in the mob? I wanted to understand him.
To try to explain away his dark side? To give him excuses? He had all those weapons. He had to have used some before. Had he killed anyone himself? Just who was Anton? What had happened in his past to make him the man he was today? How would his tragic past affect his future? Would he ever be able to move on and turn away from his life of crime? From the mob?
We would never work. I had no business asking him to leave the mob. We weren’t dating. I had to stop these daydreams of mine. We weren’t a couple. We had sex. He paid me. I would one day hand over a baby to him and walk away with even more money.
I hated myself for that.
I hated Anton for making me sign that contract.
I hated Anton for being in the mob.
I hated Anton for not wanting me, for not loving me.
But if it hadn’t been for the contract, we never would have met. And I had a feeling his mob connection had something to do with him wanting an heir so badly. And as much as I hated that he was in the mob, I did love the sense of mystery surrounding him and that bad boy aura he owned.
What would his parents have thought of how Anton turned out?
“It’s a terrible thing for a child to grow up without their father,” I said.
“Yes,” he murmured, and the sadness in his eyes had me reaching over and patting his hand.
I couldn’t imagine growing up with my mom. She had been the one constant in my life. To save her, I would have to leave behind a child, to condemn that child to a life without a mother. How could I live with myself if I did that?
***
When I woke up the next morning feeling sick to my stomach, I wondered if it had finally happened. If I was finally pregnant.
There was a bathroom right next to my room, and I knew from looking around earlier for more toothpaste that there was a box of pregnancy tests beneath the sink. Of course, since I desperately wanted to pee, I didn’t have to, so I drank a ton of water until I could. Peeing on that stick wasn’t fun, but waiting the minute to read the results was even worse. We had certainly had sex long enough now that I could be pregnant. Sometimes, it seemed like I had moved into Anton’s mansion a lifetime ago.
The timer on my cell phone dinged.
Yep. I was right. The pregnancy test was positive. Two dark lines marked the tiny box.
I was pregnant.
I sat down on the closed toilet and didn’t know what to think, what to feel. I vacillated between joy and terror because now that I was finally pregnant, it made me want to take back the promise I made to give up the child once he or she was born. I hadn’t given much thought to being a mom before this whole agreement, but now that it was here, now that I was pregnant, now that there was a baby growing inside of me, I already didn’t want to give the baby up.
Oh God, I was in trouble.
Because while I might be falling in love with Anton, I had no illusions that he was falling in love with me. He was kind, yes, but what did that mean? I couldn’t accept that he loved me. Which meant he wouldn’t consider keeping me around once the baby was born. And even though I might be falling for him, I didn’t want him to raise my baby.
The baby’s not yours, a voice in the back of my head said.
Of course it is!
The baby’s not yours, the voice said. The money you took for the baby is.
I was sick to my stomach over this, or maybe it was because of hormones. What were my options? Did I even have any options?
Even though I might regret this, I hid the pregnancy test away. I would keep this information to myself for now so I could figure out what to do. Should I stay or should I go? What would be best for the baby? What would be best for my mom?
What would be best for Anton?
What would be best for me?
Chapter 20
Anton
That morning, I woke up in my own bed. Never a good time. I preferred to wake up in Lily’s arms, but I had vowed to stop doing that, at least so often. While I enjoyed spending time with her, there had to be boundaries…at least I thought there should be boundaries. We couldn’t get too comfortable.
And we were getting comfortable.
And I liked it.
But as much as I liked it, I didn’t want to risk falling for her. As wonderful as she was, she deserved more. She shouldn’t have to be dragged into my life. She was too pure and innocent.
Well…she sure wasn’t pure and innocent in bed. She was a tiger. She was willing to dominate and to be dominated, and I was slowly discovering that sometimes it was more satisfying to give over control, to allow others to do what they want to your body. Because Lily was getting to know my body, and what turned me on, I was having a hard time keeping my hands off of her.
But for all the sex we were having, Lily wasn’t pregnant yet. For all of my plans, things were moving, but they weren’t moving fast enough for me. I wasn’t getting close enough to formulize a plan for my revenge, which was eating away at me. The only time I felt like I was human was when I was with Lily. Otherwise, I felt like a demon, consumed by rage and anger and the need to kill. Vanya Golovkin had taken so much from me, and I wasn’t about to rest until I had taken everything away from him and then took his life, as well. I feared my obsession wasn’t going to end well, but who would be the one to pay the price?
I was like a caged animal all day, and I couldn’t be happy about anything. Breakfast tasted bland, and Lily had slept in, so I didn’t even have her to talk to. No preoccupation from my dark thoughts.
After lunch, I tried to call Alec for an update, but he didn’t answer. Which wasn’t too surprising, but it fouled my mood even further.
When I couldn’t handle the wait any longer, I decided to take matters into my own hands. After his shop closed for the night, I sneaked to the back door with the intent of looking for anything I could use against Golovkin. I had learned how to burglarize without a trace in my youth, before I reclaimed my name. It served me well then, and the skill had continued to serve me well as an adult. Some of life’s most important survival skills were things you wouldn’t be taught in school but out on the streets.
The lock was a decent one, but I took my time and still managed to unlock it. A quick glance to make sure no one was around. Good. The coast was clear. I quietly slipped inside and closed the door behind me. It was dark inside, too dark to see, and I had to wait for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. I couldn’t risk turning on a flashlight in case someone was lingering around, though I didn’t hear anyone else, and I had watched everyone leave before breaking in.
Once my eyes adjusted enough that I could see, I made my way to Golovkin’s office. While the rest of the place looked rather messy — actually that was too kind, as the place looked like a tornado had swept through it — Golovkin’s office was stark and neat and empty. He wouldn’t be the kind to leave trails, so this might be for nothing, but on the off chance his hubris could help bring him down, I had to check.
I moved to the filing cabinet first and had to unlock each and every drawer, but quick glances didn’t reveal anything important. I didn’t want to stay here longer than was necessary, so I moved onto the desk. If I needed to, I’d return to the filing cabinet. He was putting on a show that he was legitimate business owner, so if he was laundering money, he was doing a superb job of hiding it. More than anything, I wanted to find out to whom he owed money. That information would be the first nail in his coffin.
There wasn’t anything on the surface of the desk except for a pen. There were plenty of locked drawers, but what caught my eye was the trashcan.
The not empty trashcan.
It was full of shredded papers.
The shredder was tucked away in the ba
ck corner of his office. He must have done a ton of shredding recently, because the bin was still filled even though he had put some in his regular trash. But the best part was that there was a large piece that hadn’t shredded completely and was sticking out of the top. Maybe the shredder had overheated or maybe the papers were too thick.
I pulled out them from the top and riffled through them. A faded paid transaction to Garcia Trucking. Interesting. Then I ransacked through the bottom and discovered strips that looked like they had been other transactions. This must be the connection I needed.
I wasn’t stupid enough to think Golovkin came back to my city just to earn money to pay back this company, which was most likely a cover for someone else. With those guns he had recently acquired, was Golovkin’s big plan to take me down and steal my money to get this third party off his back?
