Alexandr's Cherished Submissive (46 page)

That had also earned her some odd looks, but she’d ignored them.

“A baby,” he whispered as he led her off the dance floor. “I’m going to be a father.”

“You are.”

He stopped abruptly and placed both of his hands on her shoulders, looking her straight in the eye in an unexpectedly serious way. “I swear to you, Jessica, that I will do everything I can to keep our child safe.”

Wanting to ease the terrible worry in his gaze, she slid her arms around his waist. “And I’ll do everything I can to keep our baby safe and comfy cozy inside of me.”

Her teasing words did the trick, and once again there was more happiness than grief in his beautiful storm gray eyes. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Alex. So much.”

Early the next morning, Alex could easily read the shock on Dimitri’s face as they stood just inside the bedroom of the honeymoon suite and he laid out what Jessica had just told him and Catrin, via phone, had confirmed.

Shaking his head in disbelief, Dimitri stared at him. “Father actually said your mother was alive?”

“Yes,” Alex replied in Russian, trying to keep his voice level and smooth. Jessica was watching them with weary eyes, having just told him of her conversation with Jorg before the wedding. He wanted to strangle Catrin for giving the laptop to Jessica, but he understood better than most that Catrin had no choice. If she defied Jorg, he would make her, and Nico, pay. That did not mean he liked that the women had hid it from him until now, and they would be having words about it later, but he understood.

Jessica was tucked safely beneath the warm blankets, cocooned by furs and looking tired. He’d kept her up most of the night, unable to keep his hands off of her as he took her again and again, celebrating their wedding and her pregnancy.

“Son of a bitch,” Dimitri whispered in a rough voice. “I haven’t been able to see father alone for many days now. Every time I try to make an appointment, he breaks it, and when I show up, he is surrounded by his cronies and nurses. I knew something was going on, but never suspected this.”

“Something is wrong. I am coming to Moscow with you.”

“No, no. I can handle this with Oleg’s help. Enjoy your wife. If I need you, I will call you.”

“Dimitri, I will not leave you to handle this alone.” Alex tugged on a thick forest green and black sweater then ran his hands through his hair. “We have a doctor’s appointment in three days to see baby. I will come out after it is done.”

Dimitri rubbed his face, his eyes bloodshot and the reek of vodka coming off of him. With a groan, he stumbled to Alex’s bed and collapsed with his head in Jessica’s lap. “Your aunt Michelle is animal in bed. I think she broke my dick.”

She gave a disgusted look that dissolved into laughter. “That is so nasty. Get off me, you pervert. She’s like almost twenty years older than you!”

He chuckled then snaked his arm around her neck, drawing Jessica into a quick kiss. She jerked back and wiped her mouth with disgust. “Nasty!”

“Do not worry. I washed before coming here and brushed teeth. Even gargled.”

Jessica looked ready to do violence to Dimitri. Alex hauled his brother up and snapped in Russian, “What are you doing?”

“I am distracting her. She is with child, should not be worried like this. Is not good for baby.”

Forcing himself to relax, and ignore Jessica still going off on a tangent about how disgusting Dimitri was for fucking her aunt, Alex nodded then looked Dimitri directly in the eyes and spoke in Russian. “Something must be done about our father, now.”

“I’m not a fool,” Dimitri ground out. “I know something must be done, and I’ve been trying, but he’s our father, and I cannot take him out.”

“I’m not talking about killing him. I want to get him committed, his medicine adjusted. And I want him to see new doctors.”

“I’ve already tried that. He refused.”

“Refusing is no longer an option. Dimitri. He has access to weapons of mass destruction, biological weapons that could destroy Moscow—hell, the whole world if he orders their release. It must be dealt with, now.” He glanced over at Jessica, hating the tension now radiating from her. Soon, he promised himself, soon he would be able to give her the life and the safety she and their child deserved.

Five weeks later

Alex held his phone tight to his ear, eager to hear Jessica’s news as he froze his balls off on the outskirts of Moscow. He was getting rid of a body at a veterinarian’s crematorium owned by the Novikov
Bratva
. He could have been inside, waiting with Maks as the grim job was done, but he welcomed the bite of the cold. His soul felt so dark right now, a month without Jessica’s light to cleanse him. He missed her more than his next breath, but his world was falling down around him in Moscow, and he had to stop it before the violence spilled over onto her.

“Alex,” Jessica said again, her excitement pulling a smile from him. “You there?”

“I’m here,
lyubov moya
. How did appointment go?”

“Great! We’re going to have a big baby. Everything looks good.”

“Jessica…”

“What?” Her giggle made his chest tight. “Oh, fine. I suppose you’d like to know what we’re having.”

“That would be nice.”

“I should make you wait until you come home, but I’m not that mean. We’re having a girl.”

His knees gave out as his heart thumped hard enough to roar in his ears. “A girl?”

She picked up on his distress instantly. “Yes, a girl. Did you not want a girl?” Her tone was cautious, uncertain.

Of course he wanted a girl, but after the shit he’d seen this week, the things he’d had to do to keep a
Bratva
-wide territory war from breaking out, his paranoia was at an all-time high. He could not help but fear the Novikov Curse that had taken so many women from them. Having a son would be safer, but he could not be disappointed by the idea of his daughter growing in Jessica’s belly. The biting wind numbed his face as he turned to the building he’d just left.

“Do not tell anyone until I come home. Is important.”

“Don’t tell anyone? What the hell are you talking about? Look, this is not the reaction I was hoping for.”

Tears filled her voice, and he internally cursed himself. “No, no. Is not what I mean. I love that we are having baby girl. I pray she has your hair, has your everything. I just do not want to share with world yet, to have something to keep for ourselves. A secret only we know.”

He held his breath, hoping his blatant and clumsy attempt at manipulating her worked. “That’s so adorable. Of course I’ll keep it our secret. I haven’t told anyone else. I wanted you to be the first to know. It will be our special secret.”

“Thank you.” The door to the crematorium banged open, and Maks came out, his left eye starting to swell shut from where one of the now dead men had kicked him in the face. “I have to go. I love you.”

“I love you, too. Oh, wait, Alex, what do you think of the name Tatiana?”

Even the hostile wind could not steal the warmth in his heart at that moment. “My mother’s name.”

“Yes. I was thinking Tatiana Kathleen.”

“Is perfect.”

Maks jerked his head in the direction of the car. Their work for the night wasn’t finished yet, unfortunately. They had to meet Dimitri and discuss what they’d learned from the two men who’d attacked them tonight. Someone had indeed tampered with Jorg’s meds. It was evident in the blood tests they’d done as well as Nico’s examination of the pills the
Pakhan
had been taking for at least three months. Placebos, all of them. Well-done fakes. The two nurses who had attended Jorg had fled, along with a doctor and pharmacist. Without them to question, they had no idea who had penetrated the ring of protection around Jorg, or how.

They walked back to the black Bentley together, each man scanning their surroundings uneasily. This far out of the city, the only light came from the building behind them, and the parking lot of the clinic, hidden behind an acre of forest from the road, was empty except for their car and the man’s who’d run the crematorium for them.

“How is your wife,” Maks asked in a voice rough from lack of sleep.

“She is well.”

He sucked in a quick breath then let it out again, clearing his head as best he could.

His phone rang, and he glanced down at it, seeing Luka’s name. “Hello?”

“Alex,” Luka sounded out of breath as he said in a rush, “Nicolai Gilyov was behind the warehouse fires and the guys that were beating up our prostitutes. That fucker has been playing us. Can’t talk, not safe.”

And with that he hung up.

A stunned Alex relayed the information to Maks, who looked at him with wide eyes. Bits and pieces of information began to come together in a rush, and Alex saw his dawning realizations reflected in Maks’ green eyes. If true, and he had no reason to believe it wasn’t, the Novikov
Bratva
, for the first time in a decade, would be forced to go to war.

Nicolai Gilyov had signed his own death warrant.

“So someone would like for us to think the Boldins are the ones who are taking shots at our truce, but in reality, it might be Nicolai Gilyov’s men. Fuck.”

The Gilyov
Bratva
, up until this point, had been a pain in Alex’s ass, but not a threat. At least, not on the surface. It turned out Nicolai had been a busy man behind closed doors, sabotaging the Novikov
Bratva
with information he learned through various spies within the
Bratva
. His gut clenched. Shit. Oleg’s wife’s sister was married to one of Nicolai’s lieutenants, Matto…who was very close with his sister-in-law and visited often.

God, no.

Because of this, his first call was to Oleg. “My friend, brace yourself.”

“Jessica,” Oleg breathed out in a harsh voice.

“No, not Jessica. We have rats in our house, nibbling away at our stores, poisoning our food with their shit. Your house has probably been compromised, but not this phone. These traitors are conspiring to bring the Novikov and Boldin
Bratvas
to war while they sit back and reap the profits of war. One of them being Matto, your brother-in-law. Where is he? We need to talk with him.”

There was dead silence before Oleg said in a rush, “He’s staying with us in Ireland, visiting with my wife and girls.”

Alex’s heart seized in his chest, and he managed to croak out, “No.”

“Yes. I’m getting off this train at the next stop and will get home as quickly as I can. An hour at most.”

“Call Krom, tell him what is going on. Tell him to isolate Matto by any means necessary. We have to question him. Do not kill the fucker, but make sure he goes nowhere.” Alex’s hand shook, and he tried to calm himself. “Do it, now.”

Oleg didn’t bother to reply, just hung up.

Next, he called Jessica and got nothing but her voicemail. This was not unusual. She forgot her phone everywhere, but he prayed she would hear it this time and pick up. When she didn’t, he called Dimitri back.

Before he could speak, Dimitri said in an utterly shaken voice, “Thank God it’s you. Our father has lost his mind and kidnaped the Boldin twins, killing a bunch of their guards. He has them in the winter manor. We have to get them out, right now. If we don’t, the Boldin
Bratva
will burn us to the ground.”

Ireland

7 hours later

Jessica was awakened from a deep sleep by a man clasping his hand over her mouth. She tried to fight and scream, but Krom whispered into her ear. “Listen fast. Alex’s father has lost his mind. He has captured Alex on suspicion of treason, and your husband is being tortured for information he will never give. Jorg is demanding to talk to you on your computer. You need to be calm, rational, and you may save your husband’s life and yours. Understood?”

She blinked up at him as her mind processed this information. Then she nodded her head, tears already prickling her eyes. A sense of forboding, so huge it overwhelmed her, threatened to stun her into inaction, but she managed to shake it off.

Krom removed his hand, and she sat up quickly, grabbing her flannel robe and tugging it on before looping the belt around her waist. Inside, she was screaming, wailing, and, in general, having an epic freak out. On the outside, she was calm and composed, her mind focused only on one thing, saving her family from a monster masquerading as a man.

It took her less than thirty seconds to get up from bed and go to the computer desk across her large room, not caring that her hair was probably sticking out all over the place from her braid or that her face was pale with shock.

Someone was torturing Alex.

She blinked rapidly, fighting back her tears, turning her mind from that thought which could easily make her insane.

When the call connected, she flinched at the sight of Alex’s father, who was totally off-the-wall-fucked-up on something. His gaze was heavily-lidded, and he kept listing to the left. Someone must be there with him, because they were propping him up. When he focused on her, he smiled, and she noticed a drop of blood on his cheek that had slowly dripped down, leaving a dried trail behind it, and more dark splatters on his shirt.

She wondered if it was Alex’s blood, and if she might just throw up all over the computer.

Krom placed his hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “Here she is. Now let him go.”

“Listen to me, Jessica,” Jorg said in a wavering voice. “They are putting me down now like an animal that has gone crazed, but I must talk to you first. Someone drugged me tonight, and some terrible things have happened as a result. But I have also learned that a miracle has occurred, that you carry the future of the Novikov line in your belly.”

She pressed her hands over her stomach as if she could protect her unborn daughter from this monster. “I-I do. Where is Alex?”

“Dimitri and Lady Death have him. He is safe.”

“Lady Death?”

“Mimi Stefano, I believe you have met in Rome, but is not important.” Jorg frowned then snarled something in Russian to someone off screen. “Alex told me you are having girl.”