Page 121 of Scarlet Promise

Alina is here.

I failed her.

Failed to keep her safe, failed to keep her happy. Failed. I should have worked harder to fix things with Demyan.

Shoulda. Woulda. Coulda.

The mantra’s there. In my damned head.

I’m close to saying I should never have touched her, never have told her about the stipulations of the fucking will, and never, ever have said yes.

But I can’t.

Because I’m a selfish prick.

And, if I didn’t, there wouldn’t be a baby.

Erin’s texts and her voice storm inside my mind, within that swirl of blame and self-recriminations.

Erin claims she’s fine, that this is an overly cautious doctor acting as such because of who Demyan is, and they just want to keep an eye on her.

She also told me Albert’s fine. If I didn’t think they’d refuse to let Albert in here, and if I didn’t think Albert would panic, I’d have gone and got him or had him delivered.

But right now, I need eyes on my woman and the words in my heart out in the air for her.

I look at the front doors of the hospital. I hate this fucking place. Where my men were taken. Where I was shot. Where Erin got kidnapped.

And—

“Ilya.”

I stop. Stone-cold stop.

And turn.

Demyan’s outside, in the corner. I didn’t even look, and now… Fuck. I don’t want to fight him, but if he tries to stop me from seeing Alina, I’ll go through both him and an army.

“Out of my way,” I growl.

He holds out his hands. “Not in your way. But I am waiting for you.”

My heart squeezes so tight that I can’t breathe. Panic distills down into a laser so bright and painful that my feet stumble.

“Alina? How is she?”

“She’s fine. She’s good,” he says.

He turns and goes inside.

I follow but sag against the wall, not even trying to make it to the waiting room. I’m not about to wait.

“What happened? Why is she here?” I look at him, search his face. “Erin was too anxious to tell me she was okay rather than tell me what happened.”

Demyan’s eyes narrow a little. “And you were too panicked and concerned for my sister to bother asking more.”

“Something like that.”

A muscle in his jaw works. “We were arguing about you, and she stepped on one of Sasha’s toys on the stairs and went flying.”