Page 6 of Secret Bratva Baby
“Pink and blue cookies,” she says proudly.
“I can’t wait to taste them, cupcake. I bet they’ll be the best cookies I’ve ever had in my whole entire life.”
“They will,” she insists, then nuzzles her face into my neck and promptly falls asleep.
My word, I wish I had that skill.
Imagine being able to fall asleep in a flash and wake up feeling rested.
But now I have the challenging task of getting her into bed without waking her up, because if I do, it’ll take me at least two hours to get her back down again, and I’m way too tired for that.
From the dark street ahead, a man comes slinking towards us, and the hairs on the back of my neck spike uncomfortably.
I hold Lily tighter in my arms.
Lifting my chin slightly, I do my best to look unfazed by the tall, dark, and ominous stranger.
Glancing up and down the street, I don’t see anyone else around. Dammit.
It’s okay.
Just keep walking.
But the stranger steps into my path, forcing me to pause, before I hurriedly step off the walkway into the road.
He chuckles.
“Excuse me,” I whisper, not wanting to wake my daughter.
“You’re excused, Rose.”
How the hell does he know my name?
Every single cell in my body screams at me to get away right now.
I walk an exaggerated circle around him, and he reaches out and grabs my arm.
“What are you doing?” I hiss angrily, trying to tug my arm free, but his steel grip tightens, painfully.
“A woman shouldn’t be alone on the streets this late. I think you should come with me.”
“No, thank you, I’m fine,” I whimper, but he’s already dragging me towards a dark van parked down the road.
My thoughts are racing as Lily wakes up and starts crying. I can’t let him take us. My mind floods with panic. I have to think. I have to get away.
Out of nowhere, a second tall, dark stranger appears, body slamming the first man.
Man One huffs and lets go of me, stumbling hard onto the ground.
He reaches beneath his jacket and pulls out a gun. But the second man is already moving, a knife in his hand, he presses hisknee into the first man’s chest, pinning him as he leans onto him with his full body weight.
I squeal in horror as the knife slices over the first man’s throat. It’s so quick that at first I don’t think it really happened. But then blood gushes from the wound, and he starts gargling and choking, drowning in his own fluids.
I have Lily’s face clutched against my chest, not letting her see anything.
Reality snaps back into place, and I turn to run. That’s all I have to do. Just run.
“Rose, wait.”
