Page 30 of Secret Bratva Baby
“I know why you did it. Why you lied,” he says quietly.
I walk closer to him, standing so that I can see his face.
“You do?”
He nods, closing his eyes for a moment. He sets his drink down on the ledge nearby. “I kind of made it impossible for you to contact me again. So, there probably wasn’t a way for you to tell me. But apart from that, I imagine that I hurt you badly when I broke up with you. So, I assume you came to the conclusion that it would be better to raise the child on your own instead of involving me.”
I bite the inside of my cheek. He’s pretty much spot-on. I’m surprised by his insight. But more than being surprised, I’m relieved. He isn’t furious. I thought this conversation was going to end up being a fight, but he’s so much more understanding than I was expecting.
He’s behaving like the Luka I fell in love with.
A kind, patient man. Understanding and caring.
“I wished so many times for it to be different,” I sigh.
“I wished the same thing—after it ended. I thought about it so many times, and I wanted to reach out to you. I wish I had. But we can’t change the past now.”
Luka lifts his hand and brushes his fingers across my cheek. “I’m sorry, Rose. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for our daughter. I’m sorry you were struggling to raise her alone.”
My eyes are stinging with tears. I try to fight them, but I fail, and they spill down my cheeks. I’ve wanted to hear him say that for as long as I can remember.
I tilt my head, leaning my cheek into his hand and letting his words sink in.
“I had secrets too,” he says, dropping his hand away.
“I guessed that,” I reply, watching a security guard walk past the outer edge of the garden, far across the lawn.
“Rose, I’m not an assassin, as you assumed. I have killed people. It is part of my job, but it’s not what you think.”
“Okay,” I say nervously.
He sighs and walks towards the sofas, picking up his drink on the way. Sitting down, he leans forward with his elbows resting on his knees.
“Sit,” he says, nodding at the other chair.
I do as I’m told, clutching my drink as though it offers comfort somehow, twirling the glass in my hands.
“My family is all part of a group. We do some dangerous business, and often work on the black market. My name isn’t Luka Blake.”
My jaw is clenched so tightly it’s hurting.
“Who are you, Luka?” I ask bluntly.
“My family name is Andreev. Luka Andreev. We are Bratva. Mafia,” he says, looking up at me to gauge my reaction.
“Were you—were you mafia when I met you?” I ask, my voice shaking. He didn’t even tell me his real name back then. No wonder I couldn’t find him when I looked.
“Yes, but listen, Rose, it was different when I first met you. In the past, we used to stay out of most of the danger zones. We weren’t as immersed in it as we are now. The more power we got, the stronger my family became, and the more we had to do to stay strong in the underworld. I’ve been involved in this my whole life, but in the last three years, it’s changed and become more dangerous.”
“I had no idea.” My voice is tiny, shaking.
Luka shifts in his seat. I think he wants to reach out to me, but he decides to give me space instead. My head is spinning as I try to wrap my mind around what he’s told me.
“It’s why I had to push you away, Rose. To try and keep you safe. It’s why I gave you the wrong last name when I met you. I never wanted to drag you into any of this.”
For a long moment, I don’t say anything at all. I can’t piece it together. It’s too much to understand.
Finally, I ask a question. “Does this have something to do with why there are men trying to kill me and Lily?”
