Page 100 of Debt to the Mafia King
“No more than normal. It’s just I remembered the gate.”
“The gate?” he parroted back. “There’s a gate?”
I nodded, chewing on my fingernails. They were already short because I bit them all the time, gnawed on them, actually.
“Yeah, I completely forgot. You can’t get in or out of the property unless you go through that or climb the wall.” I chuckled and motioned to my huge, tight stomach. “And I don’t think I could manage that today.”
“Ok, so we will drive up and ask for him.”
I rolled my eyes. If only it were only that easy. “Viktor doesn’t want to see me, Dion.” I sighed, and the movement made my stomach feel even tighter. Maybe it was time I acceptedthe truth. Viktor didn’t want me. He had never wanted me. I was nothing but a means to an end, and now, he didn’t need me.
What we had shared had been nothing but make-believe. I could kid myself all I wanted, but I knew Viktor, if he wanted me, he would have come to me.
It had been months, and the only contact he made was to send money into my account every month. Money I hadn’t touched. I would never touch it.
“I’m not going to let you run away from this, Leah. If he rejects you, then it’s the end. If he’s not here or they won’t let you in, I will never push you to contact him again.” He turned, reaching for my shoulders, and gave me a little shake. “But you need closure. There are things you need to say to him.” He went back to driving, and the curve in the road that said the gates were coming up came into view.
“There are things I need to say to him as well,” he added
The thought of Dion verbally attacking Viktor was enough to make my blood run cold.
I reached out to him. “Please don’t do that. I don’t want you to get hurt. The baby and I need you.”
“I’m not going to get hurt, Leah, but fine, I don’t feel like being knocked on my ass by him anyway. Once was enough.” He smiled and winked, and I was reminded of the time Viktor had found us together at work.
“He reminds me so much of my father, I don’t know what you ever saw in him.”
I remained silent as we pulled off the main road, and the wrought iron gates came into view. It was so familiar, even if the last time I had seen it there had been snow on the ground, and now the place was blazing with sunshine.
“Shit.” Dion slowed his old, battered car to a crawl. “Just how rich is this guy?”
“Rich,” I said softly and winced back as a pain lanced through my lower back. This pregnancy thing was tough. There was always somepart of my body that hurt these days, and the pains were getting worse and worse.
But I had a feeling that the aches and pains of late pregnancy were going to be nothing compared to the pain of seeing Viktor.
“Why am I doing this again?” I asked, absently rubbing my hand over my stomach.
“Closure,” Dion said and pulled the car to a stop as a man appeared out of the guard room and approached us.
“What can I help—” bending into Dion’s rolled down window, the blond man peered at him with barely hidden disdain. Then, his eyes found mine, and I let out a startled breath.
“Leah?”
“Stephen.” Fumbling, I pushed open the door and rushed around the car toward him, enveloping him in a hug that I meant to be crushing but was just awkward because of my huge stomach.
“Stephen, I thought you were dead.” Tears welled up in my eyes.
He gave me his familiar lop-sided smile and stepped away. “Technically, I died twice, but I’m ok now. Viktor let me come back. Now, let me look at you?” His eyes pursued me. His eyebrows raised when he saw my stomach. “Jesus, Leah, you are huge.”
From the car, Dion chuckled. “Brave, stupid man,” he mumbled under his breath.
“It’s good to see you again, Leah, and I’m glad you are doing ok. I kind of miss guarding your annoying ass, but I have to ask,” half turning, he frowned, and following his gaze, I saw a car approach. “What are you doing here?”
Black and sporty.
My heart skipped a beat. There was only one person here who would drive a car like that.
“You need to leave, Leah,” Stephen whispered with a shake of his head. “Turn around and do not come back. Spend his money and build a good life for yourself and that baby. Do it now, Leah. You don’t want to see him.”
