Page 64 of Unholy Matrimony

When the technician and doctor come in, the doctor explains everything they are looking at. Nash malysh1 is perfect, the right size, and has no problems. “Would you like to know what you are having?”

The technician smiles, and before I can say no, Lenya interjects. “We don’t want to know right now. Can you write it down and put it in an envelope, in case we change our mind?” The doctor does just that and hands it to me. She flips through her notes, then looks back at us.

“Everything looks perfect and you are right on track for the 30th of November.” That's only twenty short weeks from now. I hand Lenya the envelope and he puts it in his coat pocket. Grabbing my hand in his, we walked back to the car park. His phone goes off, and he curses under his breath. He is on edge, but he is not saying what is the matter.

I can tell by his tense body language that something is wrong. He gets into the car and starts it up. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong, moy lev2? I know something is wrong.” He sits rigidly in his seat. “There is an issue at the warehouse. Someone found a dead body. As far as I am aware, none of my men killed anyone.”

This must be bad if Lenya is worried.

“So that's why you have to go? To figure out who is dead and get to the bottom of it.” He nods his head, pulling out of the car park to head home. The car ride home is mostly silent until his phone rings again.

“Chto teper'? YA v puti3.” Whoever responds on the other end pisses Lenya off. “Der’mo4!” He tosses his phone into the backseat of the car as he increases his speed.

I have to shout at him to get his attention, “Zamedlyat'! Ty menya pugayesh’5.” He looks over at me. “Izvinite, moya lyubov’6, but I need to hurry.”

He turns into our driveway through the gate and drives straight up to the door. “Get inside and lock the door. I will be home as soon as I can.”

He leans across the seat and kisses my lips. “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he pulls me back and kisses my forehead. He pulls my coat open and pulls my shirt up. Placing a soft kiss on my belly, “Prosti, malyshka. Pape pora idti. Obeshchayu, chto vernus' domoy k tebe i mame.7” After placing another kiss, he looks up at me. “Go. lock the door.”

I quickly got up the steps and went inside the house. I lock the door, and adrenaline is coursing through my veins. Whatever is going on is not good. After I hang my coat, I make my way to our closet. Searching for something more comfortable, I decided on jeans and an oversized shirt. I lace up my tennis shoes and head to the kitchen.

Thinking that eating something will help calm my nerves. Upon entering the kitchen, something feels off. I look around and Alina is nowhere to be found. Not finding her in the main house, I head out the back and trudge over to her cottage. Admiring our backyard along the way to her cottage, thinking how wonderful it would be to have children running around. It makes me smile.

As soon as I approach the door, I get a feeling I should turn back. The happy thoughts I was just thinking are gone. The door to her cottage is ajar. My breathing becomes heavy and ragged. I push the door open with my foot and I call out, “Alina? Are you here?” I enter and I gasp as my eyes fall to the floor.

Blood and dirt lead in a trail to the back of the house. Every single signal from my brain is telling me to run back to the house. My feet don’t get the memo, and I make my way to the back of the house. Following the trail on the floor. “Alina, answer me. Please!” I round the corner and a scream escapes my throat. As Alina’s lifeless body comes into view.

“Gospodi, pomiluy,8” I say as I cross myself. The hairs on the back of my neck stand and before I give myself a chance to overthink, I run. Sprinting across the stretch of land, I slammed the door closed once I got back inside, locking the deadbolt and knob. I slink back, and outside the window, three masked men come into view. I clamp my hand over my mouth to prevent my scream from coming out. The men inch closer to the house, dressed in all black.

Staring at me, the man in the middle locks his eyes on mine. I need to get to Lenya’s office and find his gun. That is the only chance I have of protecting myself. The men inch closer and I make a run for it. My heart racing, I sprint down the seemingly endless hallway until I finally reach the office. I rush over to the double doors of our room and lock those as well.

Behind Lenya’s desk, I look for the gun case. I tear apart the drawers of his desk and finally, in the bottom drawer, I find the case. The sound of glass breaking in the distance sends my heart into a frenzy. I open the case and his Glock sits, loaded and ready to be fired. My mind goes back to him, showing me how to use it.

“Remember to take the safety off, Tsvetok9. Otherwise, nothing will happen. The most important rule of gun safety, keep your finger off the trigger. Unless you are ready to kill whatever you are pointed at, keep your finger off it.” He spreads my feet and brings my arms up. “Don’t lock your elbows. Breathe.”

Before I can go through the rest of the steps, I hear them in the hallway. I take out my phone and hit Lenya’s number.

It rings.

And continues to ring.

His voicemail starts.

I leave the phone on the ground, stand up, and face the door. My arms raise, gun drawn. I flick the safety off and I take a deep breath. The men try to kick the door in, but Lenya’s office has a solid wooden door. I make my way to the corner of the room opposite our bedroom door. I stand there ready to fire as soon as the door opens.

The sound of a gunshot blowing out the lock is reverberating in the room. My ears ring. They kick the door in and I fire off two shots before they all enter the room. I hit the first man in the arm. He curses and lunges for me.

My hands shake, and before I can steady myself to fire, he barrels into me. We hit the floor with a thud, and my head smacked into the hardwood floor. “She is pregnant, idiot,” one of the assailants yells. “We are to bring her in alive!” I struggle underneath him, clawing at the mask on his face. I claw at his eyes, hoping to blind him. He raises his hand to slap me across the face.

I scream as the man's hands wrap around my throat. “Net!10” I try bucking him off of me. The two other men walk over, one is holding a cloth. He leans down and covers my face. I struggle for a little bit, but whatever is on the fabric makes everything go black.

The sound of voices in my subconscious state becomes clearer. We are in a moving vehicle. My hands and feet are bound making it impossible to move around. I try to focus on the voice, hoping for a clue as to who has taken me.

“What if he finds out? You know we will be dead. You don’t fuck with the Lev, and we just fucked with him and the worst way possible.” The man is scared of Lenya.

Good, he should be scared.

A second man’s voice comes in, “We will drop her off at the location, get our money, and disappear. Ioann, this is the easiest part.”

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