Page 8 of Scarlet Sins (Yegorov Bratva #2)

Chapter Seven

ERIN

It’s hard. Damn hard.

That night, I pretend to be asleep when he comes back late from a meeting. I don’t know where he was or who with, but there’s the thud of a gun in the bedside drawer, a sound I never thought I’d get used to or know. But surprise, now I do.

I fist my hand, ready to add it to the list of crimes like making me come and having sex with me the night before.

But the click of the lock takes that from me.

Sasha can’t get into the locked drawer and every single other person is hyper-careful with their weapons. No one leaves them lying around for sticky, curious little fingers to find. Not that Sasha’s ever given a chance.

Before Demyan can pull back the covers or go to the en suite to shower, his phone buzzes and he swears softly, turning and disappearing out of the room.

I get up and go to the door. I don’t even look at the guard as I cross the landing to the balcony of the staircase. His voice floats up from down below, from his study, and I sigh.

Instead of going to the bedroom I share with Demyan, I go into Sasha’s room. My baby’s sleeping, but there’s a small frown on his face and he stirs. “Mama?” His eyes flutter sleepily and I go to him, to those reaching little arms, and climb into the bed with him.

He sighs happily and his wiggly little body curls against me, with goat clutched tightly, and he drifts off again.

I hug him, having missed him more than I can say, knowing I could have lost him and he could have lost me.

Tears burn my eyes when the door creaks open. “Come back to bed.”

I don’t answer, but instead of leaving, Demyan comes over. I don’t hear him, but I can feel him, that tingling in me flaring bright as the pressure changes. Then, in the low soft glow of Sasha’s room, he comes around to the other side and crouches down.

For the longest time, he stares at our son and the love in his eyes pulls at my heart. He smooths Sasha’s hair from his forehead, then kisses it. Finally, he looks up at me.

“I get you want to punish me, but I don’t want to marry her and I’m not going to.”

“There’s a but. I sense a but.”

“Come back to our bed. This is ridiculous,” he murmurs.

“No.”

Silence spreads.

It’s not a word he’s heard often, I’m betting, and definitely not one directed at him by a woman. And here I am, with a heart that aches and bleeds for him, saying no.

I’m safe here, with Sasha. And he’s too aware of the brutality inflicted on me to do anything. His kid gloves are firmly on. I’ll worry about them when they come off and not before.

“Sasha needs me.”

“And there’s a but, right?” He sighs. “Fine. I have to play this carefully. But it’s you I love, Erin. You I’m going to marry. Not her. Okay?”

I just look at him. He stands, then leans over Sasha and kisses me, too. The spot on my cheek burns bright.

“Will you trust me?”

“Do I have a choice?”

He sighs. “Trust always means a choice. But I love you and I promise I’m going to find a way out of this wedding. Good night, Lyubimaya .”

The next day I’m still angry, still twisted inside. I’ve just finished feeding Sasha, who’s anxious to get to his toys and then go and play in the backyard.

I’m taking him up to get changed when the doorbell rings. Demyan appears, looking harried, and I swear to fucking God there’s guilt glittering in his eyes as he looks at me and he mutters something under his breath.

“It’s her, isn’t it?”

“Erin, I haven’t had a second this morning, but?—”

Magda opens the door and leads in the blonde.

Her gaze barely touches me and her nose wrinkles at the sight of Sasha, who’s staring at the glamorous creature standing there.

He tugs on my shirt. “Mama? Is that a clown?”

Horror swamps me as Magda makes a sound like laughter. “Upstairs with you, Master Sasha,” she says, sweeping him up and promising him lots of Russian treats.

The woman, Stefina, moves past me and kisses Demyan on the cheek. He stands there, stiff, his face turning a ruddy shade and he pulls free. “I’ll see you in the living room.”

Olga appears to lead her in, followed by one of the security men, the type who carries, I presume, a concealed weapon.

But Stefina reappears, her gaze going to me.

“My wedding planner will be here shortly. We have a perfect vision and a few places that will be incredible on social media shots. I have swatches for the wedding outfits. I intend to look like a vision. More than I do already.” She spins in her short skirt and runs a hand down his tie.

“A good-looking man deserves a smoke show wife, so?—”

“Go wait, Stefina,” he says.

The moment she’s gone, I glare at him.

“Erin. I have to do this.”

“So you say. If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got your son to take care of.” And I push past him, forcing myself to take the stairs slowly.

Magda doesn’t say much as we clean and dress Sasha. He’s not a fan of being cleaned up. It’s not fun like a bath is, but he’s such a good little boy that there’s only minimal fuss.

When a peal of laughter rolls up the stairs, Magda’s mouth sets. “Maybe we should take him to the park.”

I smile at her.

The staff are nice, accommodating, and it’s clear they dote on Sasha. But I don’t want to go to the park with an entourage.

She takes my hand a moment. “Miss Banks, he won’t let you go alone.”

“I’m that see-through.”

“In this matter, yes.” She touches my cheek as she ties one of Sasha’s shoes, then the other. “You’re expressive, but it’s not hard to read you with… her in the house.”

“He made his choice.”

She sighs and ruffles Sasha’s hair as she rises from the bed.

“Demyan cares, and this is… business.” Magda shakes her head.

“Why don’t you put on something nice and see a friend?

Th e one I met. If it’s indoors and at one of his establishments, you’ll have a little more freedom.

The babysitters will not be so obvious.”

I’m about to argue that it’s still being trapped and watched, but her words start to take root. I haven’t seen Kara in a while. So maybe I can arrange something with her later today.

“First, though, I promised Sasha some playtime in the back.”

“Still,” she says, “put something nice on. I’ll take him down.”

“No, I wanna stay with Mama!”

“Ah, my little Sasha,” she says, tickling him. “Mama is here and will join us, okay. She’s going to get ready.”

He juts out a lip. “Why?”

“To look pretty,” I say.

Now he frowns. “But you are pretty now, Mama.”

And my heart melts.

“I’ll be down there in two shakes of a goat’s tail.”

That cheers him up, and he grabs his goat and shakes its stubby tail, making us laugh. But he lets Magda take him with her as she bribes him with a treat. Honestly, that boy’s going to be so spoiled.

But as I hurry into the bedroom, my heart sinks.

I wouldn’t have slept with Demyan, let him touch me, if I’d known he was going through with this horrible marriage.

I know he says he’ll get out of it, but what if he can’t?

“Don’t think about it,” I say, spending time putting on a nice dress and adding a little makeup, which I hate. I send a text to Kara, then head down.

The door’s open to the living room and I peek in, but it’s like a mini torture ride doing that.

Swatches litter the place, and Stefina has a book open. In it are samples of wedding invitations. The cards, the finishes, the writing, the colors, and she’s talking about color coordinating everything, down to the flowers for the flower girls.

I hate her.

Irrational, maybe, as I don’t know her, but in that moment, I hate her.

She’s snapping damn selfies of herself as she talks.

The woman is fucking beautiful, but while her looks don’t help, that’s not why I don’t like her.

The little I’ve had to do with her—not that we’ve actually been introduced as I’m sure it’s hard to introduce your fiancée to your baby mama—she’s come across, like she is now, as vacuous, self-absorbed, and shallow. She’s interested in one person—herself.

Oh, she likes Demyan for his money and looks, but she could swap him with someone else and be planning that wedding with the same level of devotion.

I stand to the side, listening. She sounds bored he sounds…

Like Demyan.

But a Demyan, I don’t know. He can be hard to read at times, anyway, but now? He could be a stranger and one who does nothing but mirror back.

And this beautiful creature with him? She’s the epitome of every girl I avoided in high school and probably as cruel.

The girl who gets everything and everyone.

Like now.

There’s no comparison between the two of us. None at all. Next to her I’m dust. A mouse.

“And one who’s feeling sorry for herself.”

I straighten up. Magda’s right. I shouldn’t sit around here while they plan their, quite frankly, repulsive-sounding and tacky wedding.

Pulling out my phone, I move to the kitchen to where Olga and Magda are just outside with Sasha, who’s on his new swing set. His little face lights up as he sees me.

“Watch me, Mama!”

I grin, push open the door, and step out. I call Kara.

“Girl, this better be a full-ass, five-star apology.”

“Something like that,” I say. I bite my lip. “I’ve been a bad friend, I know. So much has been happening but… do you want to meet me and Sasha for lunch?”

“My favorite godson? You bet!”

We arrange a place and I wave Magda over. “I’m going out.”

“Da.” She squeezes my shoulder. “I will arrange a car.”

As much as I want to just go, Demyan would kill me. That’s if he noticed. But that isn’t fair. He’d notice. He notices everything around here. And I’d be in trouble.

That isn’t fair either. But I get my bag, put on lipstick, and knock on the door to the living room.

Stefina huffs out irritation, and Demyan frowns, coming to the door. “Is something wrong?”

I flicker a glance past him. “There’s definitely something wrong, but not in the way you mean. I’m going out.”

“No—”

“Don’t tell me no, or I’ll cause a scene.”