Page 89 of Cruel Russian Monster
“Apology accepted. You were worried about our sisters, as you should’ve been. But you should also know I'll never willingly put any of you in danger.”
Avit nodded, and I continued, “Things didn’t exactly go as planned. Everything feels like it’s gone to shit. Now I’m worried about Yegor, Zahkar…and Kira. Who knows what Artyom will do after their outright defiance.”
“Jaroslav,” Lev chimed in. “None of this happened the way we hoped. If I’d known Vera was your ex, I’d never have gone to Artyom. And if I did know, you would've just been the one to marry her. But the past is done. All we can do is move forward.”
I nodded my head in agreement. There was nothing we could do with the past besides learn from it.
“Once Vera gets out of here,” Lev insisted, “we’ll sit down with Artyom. We'll work something out…sweeten the deal. Tide him over. We’ve got you. We may be cold-hearted Bratva bastards, but before that, we’re brothers. We’ve got your back. And your wife's.”
Lev stood up and walked over. I stood too, and he pulled me into a hug. One by one, the others echoed his words and did the same.
“We’ve gotta go,” Lev said. “But once you hear anything, call us.”
“Will do.”
Once they filed out, I closed the door and looked at Vera. I needed to feel her in my arms. Carefully, I climbed into the small bed beside her, wrapped an arm gently around her waist, and closed my eyes.
Even though my eyes were closed, I didn't fall asleep. I listened to the monitors attached to her, the sound of her breathing, the footsteps passing outside the door.
When the door creaked open sometime later, my eyes snapped open just in time to see Dr. Decker. She approached me with a smile on my face. I was about to get up, but she shook her head.
“No need to get up. We’ve got Mrs. Safin’s blood work results. Congratulations…she's pregnant.”
Vera's pregnant?
“D-did you say pregnant?” I stuttered.
“I did,” Dr. Decker grinned. “You and your wife are going to be parents.”
A hundred emotions slammed into me at once…relief, disbelief, a rising panic wrapped in joy.
Then my brow crinkled. “The sedative she got, could it affect the baby?”
“Already sounding like a father, Mr. Safin,” she smiled. “But, don't worry, the sedative used is safe for pregnant women. When Mrs. Safin wakes up, we'll take her to get an ultrasound so we'll know how far along she is.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
“You're welcome. If you have any questions for me or need anything, use the call button.”
“I will.”
Dr. Decker smiled again and left the room.
“I'm going to be a father. Holy fuck,” I whispered.
I kissed Vera on her head. Although I knew I was supposed to call Lev to let him know Vera's results, I wanted to share the news with her first.
But I felt like an idiot. What happened to her today could've been prevented. I should've insisted that Vera have security details, especially with everything going on. And now that I knew she was pregnant, I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice.
This time, when I closed my eyes, I allowed myself to drift into a light sleep.
I woke up to the light strokes of Vera’s fingers on my chest and her mumbling incoherently, the beeping on the blood pressure monitor rising.
I opened my eyes. She looked like she was struggling to open hers. I stroked the side of her face.
“You’re safe now, malishka. I’m here. You’re safe,” I repeated the words until the beeping slowed and steadied.
About ten minutes later, Vera’s eyes finally opened.
