Page 1 of Oops Baby for the Mafia Boss

1

EMILY

There are two good things about my new job working for the Mortlake mafia. One, it’s paid enough that I managed to move out of my mother’s house. Finally.

I squint at the notebook I’m copying into a spreadsheet. I think that’s an eight. But it might be a very scrawled six. I put in a six, and mentally say you’re welcome, to “Rico”, the author of the notebook, very poor handwriting, and dealer in unspecified but definitely illegal products. Because if the head of the Mortlake Bratva—Markov Lunacharski—thought he was receiving less than he was owed, I suspect the consequences would be fatal.

Not that I’ve met the big boss himself, but last week he shot someone in the reception hall in broad daylight. He doesn’t ask questions. He says nothing at all, apparently.

I shouldn’t be in the mountain forest, the audiobook whispers in my ear.But I have to get the power enhancer for Athdar.

I tsk to myself aloud. That’s not going to end well.

This is the second good part of my job. For an hour or so every morning I’m in early and I can listen to my latest fantasy romance obsession.

Once the rest of the staff arrives, it’s spoiled. In particular, my line manager, Denis Petrov. He’s a middle-aged blond guy with a Russian accent, a gut and no neck, plus a thing about yelling at me for not having cleaned the backlog of notebooks from what he calls Mortlake’s “agents”, and digitised them.

He has a daily quota that assumes I have four arms, two bladders, and am fuelled on air alone.

“Oh, I didn’t realise you were here, Athdar!”the audiobook continues.

He smiles innocently. “But who would protect you if I wasn’t? The forest has many monsters.”

Once Denis is here, I’ll have to hide away my earbuds and make do with silence punctuated by his farting and wheezing.

Yesterday he leaned over me, and his arm brushed my boob as he pointed out how I should be working faster, which was gross. But I really, really need this job. They say you should do what you love, then you’ll never work a day in your life. But since I couldn’t find any openings for listening to fantasy romance audiobooks, eating chocolate, and sipping tea, my only option is actually working. Especially because I had to move out of home andlive, rather than be under my mother’s hypochondriac thumb.

I thought being a librarian would mean reading lots of books, and since I had a degree, I’d be able to find a job. LOL. Face palm. And that’s how I ended up doing what I guess is archiving. Including some things that are almost certainly illegal.

He crowds me against the tree, yellow eyes flashing dangerously. I gasp and reach for his coat, opening my mouth and tilting my head up.

Oh wow. These characters are going to kiss.

I pause, looking at some numbers, unseeing. This isn’t unexpected as a plot direction, but I’m not sure I like it.

He grasps my chin, then his lips hit mine, wet and flexible.

Is that… hot? I guess so.

Athdar is good for Solene. He’s a fae, and they both hate Rovaj. So why am I not cheering for them more?

He’s too nice, and I don’t trust it.

His lean frame digs into my hip, and I moan.

“You’re so pretty, my little human,” he growls,and the narrator sounds more like a pet cat.

I squirm.

My tongue wipes his.

I’m really liking this book overall, but this is a bit cringe. I refocus on my work, but something catches in the corner of my eye.

His kiss is sweet as honey and light as air. I respond, my colt-like legs buckling so he has to catch me.

I look up and all the blood drains from my face, dropping to my stomach where it turns to stone.

There’s a man watching me.