Page 17 of Scarlet Sins (Yegorov Bratva #2)

Chapter Fourteen

ERIN

The doctor, due to an emergency, is running horribly late, almost two hours, so after arriving, I did the blood tests required and we rescheduled for a little later in the day and then went for tea at a tea shop nearby, one where the smells soothed rather than turned my stomach.

Demyan had just texted a little while ago, but I’m too nervous to text him back. Not about the checkup, but about what I’m going to do.

Now, I’m sitting with Alina in the waiting room of the clinic, which is pretty much one of the swankiest waiting rooms I’ve been in.

Alina smiles as we wait for my name to be called, or… rather, Alina’s.

I turn to her. “Does she know it’s me?”

I’m clutching the clipboard with the paperwork.

“She’ll know, but it’s under your name?—”

“The initial appointment was, but I just changed it on the phone when I got up. The name Yegorov has some sway. You’re fine. Finished?” She points at the clipboard .

I nod, and she takes it from me, handing it to the receptionist.

“Nervous?” she asks as she takes her seat again.

My hands clenched in my skirt. “A little.”

That’s the understatement of the century.

And the world’s swankiest waiting room, a place that probably gives first-class airline lounges a run for their money, makes me feel a little out of my depths. Like I don’t belong.

Alina’s a Yegorov, but I’m not. And this is miles away from the basic waiting room of the hospital appointed OB I used when pregnant with Sasha.

Not to mention a whole lot more expensive. My insurance won’t cover this. I know that Alina offered to pay, but I have enough in my bank. And I don’t feel right having Max’s widow, Demyan’s sister, my friend, paying.

Shit. Demyan. A twinge of guilt passes through me, making my stomach turn. He should be here, not Alina.

I have to tell him. Soon. Bite the bullet, suck it up, and deal. It doesn’t matter if he has to marry Stefina and we don’t work out—and we won’t if that happens—he has the right to know.

And he’s proved himself to be a great and loving father to Sasha, which means he’ll be a great and loving father to this new baby, too. If I give him the chance.

I have to.

Even if, by some miracle, I’m able to hide the parentage from him if the marriage with Stefina goes ahead, I need to share with him the truth. I need to give him the chance to be a father right from the start.

“Erin Banks?”

I look up as my name’s called, and Alina squeezes my hand. “Go, I’ll be right here. Unless…?”

“No, I’ll be fine,” I say to Alina and rise.

The doctor’s a friendly-looking woman and her smile and easy ways puts me at ease.

She takes her time, chatting with me as she does her examination and manages to slide in all the right questions that, thinking back, made me nervous as hell the first time around, like diet and morning sickness and everything else.

“Please take a seat,” the doctor says. When I do, she takes hers and smiles, pulling up information on her computer. “Everything looks fine. It’s still early and things are progressing nicely. You’re in good health.”

Her gaze hits me. “You have a son? Two?”

“Yes.”

“If you don’t have a pediatrician, I can recommend one here at the clinic. Kids love her. If you want to schedule in an appointment for him next time you come in, we can. Just for a checkup and to get him on our system.”

“That would be perfect. We’re between regular doctors right now.”

Her gaze flips to the computer as she types something, then she says, “Your blood results came back from our pathologist. Obviously, they confirm the pregnancy. As I said, it’s early days.

Your HCG levels are doubling nicely and your bloodwork tells me everything’s looking good.

Some mothers want an ultrasound even this early. We can do one?”

“No.”

“It won’t look like a baby, which is perfectly normal, just a little embryo, which is what it is.” Again, the doctor smiles.

“I know,” I say. “Just… Demyan should be here for that.”

“The father? Bring him to your next appointment and we’ll do one.”

I nod and thank her and head out to set up the follow-up appointment and one for Sasha.

While I know presenting Demyan with a guess what, we’re pregnant ultrasound photo is a cute way of announcing the pregnancy, given our circumstances and how much he missed with Sasha, he should be present for the first ultrasound.

As we leave, Alina bumps shoulders with me. “How are you feeling?”

“Excited,” I say with a smile, hooking a strand of hair behind my ear. “And I’m sure Demyan will be, too.”

“When you tell him.”

“When I tell him.” I take a breath as we make our way to the car. “Even if our future’s uncertain because of this Stefina thing, I don’t doubt his love for Sasha or his commitment to his children, no matter what happens with us.”

She stops me and makes me face her. “Erin, you’re the one Demyan loves. I know that, I know him. I know my brother. And he’ll find a way out of this idiotic wedding.”

“What if he decides not to? What if marrying her makes better business sense to him and he goes ahead with it?”

Alina’s eyes flash. “He’d be crazy to go through with this wedding based on that.”

She continues to the car and I follow. The driver is waiting outside and opens the door. A glimpse of a gun brings reality crashing back down around me. “He might.”

I slide in next to her. As the door closes, she turns to me and gives me a sad smile. “Demyan would never decide to marry her based on it making good business sense when he has you. Trust me.”

“I want to. But there’s the possibility he can’t get out of it. And that’s not good.” I give her a sad smile. “I guess… I guess all I can do is hope things work out, but be prepared if they don’t.”

Because as much as Alina says her brother won’t make that decision based on business, I can’t shake the fact he might.

He’s so caught up in it all. And he’s bratva; business is life and death and power.

If this is power, great power, then… what little he’s told me about his father suggests he just might ma rry her because he was brought up to put the business first.

And Stefina’s gorgeous.

That must count for something.

“Erin?”

“Hopefully, this getaway will give us the chance to really see where our relationship stands.”

Or if we even have one.

When we get home, Demyan’s still out, but Sasha’s excited. He runs up to me, flinging his arms around my legs. “Mama! Mama! I went to a big park with Daddy! We went down the slide! I wanna go again! Dino is fun!”

And he giggles, letting me go and rushing to hug Alina’s legs. She mouths ‘Daddy?’ at me and looks happily.

Sasha’s babbling about his morning to Alina and I smile.

I’m so happy Demyan and Sasha are getting along so well, and it gives me a tiny nugget of hope that things just might work out.