Page 10 of Secret Bratva Baby (Dubrov Bratva #16)

The mansion is beautiful.

It’s massive, and there is plenty of space for Lily to run around and enjoy herself.

Besides that, it’s the safest possible place for us to be right now.

With the amount of guards patrolling the property on a daily basis, I can sleep restfully at night, knowing that if someone tried to break in, there would be a solid wall of security for them to have to get through.

Of course, there are other things that keep me up at night. Unfortunately, I can’t leave because of those things. I’ve got to deal with them—my past and my emotional ties are not a good reason to leave and put my daughter at risk.

Regardless of how difficult it is for me to process being around Luka every day.

On the grass outside, sitting near the pool, I’m watching Lily attempt to catch a butterfly.

She’s squatting on her haunches, watching it like a hawk, wiggling closer every now and then while trying not to disturb it, but inevitably it will flutter away from her and land somewhere else; then the whole activity starts again.

I stretch my legs out, wiggling my bare feet in the soft green lawn. Spring is one of my favorite times of the year. It’s warm, but not uncomfortable. The sun shines most days, but you still get the occasional fresh rainfall to wash things away.

I love the rain as much as I love the sun.

I’m not one of those people who need to choose between them.

Lily giggles, falling forward and landing on her hands and knees in the flower bed, getting dirt all over her pretty yellow dress.

She brushes her hands over the fabric, smearing the dirt in deeper. She looks proud of herself. I don’t know how she managed it, but there is a thick streak of soil across her cheek, too. I laugh.

“Did you catch it?” I call out to her.

“I almost did,” she nods, turning around to look for where it might have landed.

I pull the skirt of my dress up a little higher, enjoying the sun on my legs. I can’t remember the last time I just sat outside in a garden and enjoyed a moment with my daughter like this.

Before Luka took me, I was working myself to the bone. I never had time for her. I was missing all the best moments with her.

I didn’t even realize what that meant until I was forced away from the situation and into this one. This one has its own tension, but I’m loving every moment I get to spend with my little Lily flower.

At least something positive is coming out of this craziness.

I sense movement behind me and turn to see Luka standing on the patio.

He’s looking directly at me, a slight smile on his face as his eyes trace over my stretched-out legs.

His gaze sends a shiver of desire pulsing through me.

I don’t pull my skirt back down. I want him to look at me like that, even though I shouldn’t.

My lips curve into a smile as well. But I can’t hold his stare, and I end up turning away from him to look at Lily again. My heart is racing.

Things have been so tense between Luka and me over the past few days.

It’s made more complicated by the fact that I’m so freaking attracted to him. I can’t keep my eyes off him when he’s around, but I’m also struggling with what he told me about himself and his family.

What’s best for my daughter?

That’s what I’m trying to figure out. At the end of the day, it’s the only thing that matters to me.

For now, what’s best for her is to stay here where it’s safe.

And for now, that’s all I’ve managed to decide.

Luka steps off the patio, walking towards me. I pull in a sharp breath, begging myself not to do anything stupid.

He smiles and stops right where I’m sitting.

“It’s a beautiful day today,” he says, looking towards Lily and her butterfly antics.

“It is. It’s nice to get some real sunshine.”

His gaze drifts over my legs again; this time, I feel the heat of his stare more intensely than the warmth of the sun. My cheeks flush pink.

Luka notices the corner of his lip curling upwards before he looks away. “I see you’re enjoying it,” he smirks.

For a while, we are quiet, watching Lily.

“I should get her a butterfly catching net,” he chuckles, watching her fall again.

“No, I think she’ll just end up squashing them. She’d be devastated if she did that by accident.”

“True,” he nods.

I begin to feel awkward sitting on the grass with Luka standing over me, his presence looming and commanding above me. Standing up, I brush my hands over my legs to dust the grass off.

“Yilian just called.”

“Oh,” I say, turning towards him. “Are they coming for dinner?”

Yilian and Ark stopped by the day after we had pizza to drop off a dragon toy for Lily.

I was so stunned by their kindness and eagerness to make her smile.

It wasn’t pink, it was red, but it was a weird sort of red, and the moment Lily saw it, she shouted excitedly that it was a pink dragon.

A big, cuddly dragon with floppy wings. It also came with a stack of storybooks.

Every book is a different adventure that this dragon has gone on, which can be read while she plays with the dragon.

It’s perfect. Luka said he will read her one story a night until they’ve read about all of the dragon’s adventures.

I told her to bring the toy out into the garden so she could play with it here, but I’m glad she left it up in our room—apparently, he wanted to sleep for a little while.

If she’d brought it, it would be coated in several layers of dirt by now.

I think somehow she knew that would happen and wants to take care of her new toy.

It melts my heart that Luka’s family did that for her.

“No, not for dinner. It was about the stuff I asked him to look into. He let me know that they figured out how the rivals managed to find the safe house. It was the phone call you made that night.”

“Really?” My heart sinks to the pit of my stomach. “It was my fault we almost died. I’m so sorry, I had no idea that I was taking that risk.”

I look anxiously towards Lily. What if something had happened to her because I was acting recklessly?

“Hey, it’s okay,” Luka says, reaching towards me, sensing my anxiety bubbling up. His brows are knitted with concern as he looks down at me.

I let him wrap his arms around me, pulling me against his chest. I can feel his muscles ripple over his torso as he holds me, and I sink deeper into his embrace.

I shouldn’t like this so much. This is the closest I’ve been to him in ages, and it’s making my body ignite in every way possible.

I want him so badly it hurts. I trace my fingers up his sides, over the muscles that shape his ribs.

His body is perfect. I always thought he was the most beautiful man on earth.

In my eyes, no one could match him.

My heart is yearning for him. My skin wants to feel his touch.

I’m still so in love with him. It’s painful to accept just how much I need him.

I close my eyes, leaning into him, resting my cheek against his chest.

Suddenly, I realize they might track us to this place, too.

“My phone,” I blurt out, the horror clear in my voice. He jumps a little and chuckles at my outburst.

“ Rose, take a breath. I disposed of it before coming here because I thought it might have been the reason they found us. It’s not here.

It’s gone.” He holds my face in his hands, gently brushing his thumbs over my cheeks as his eyes stare into mine.

His eyes are so dark it’s difficult to differentiate between his pupils and his irises.

My heart flutters like those butterflies Lily is chasing.

I glance towards her, then back to her father.

He would make an amazing father, if he even wants that. I don’t know because I’ve been very efficient at avoiding him since I told him. We haven’t spoken about it at all.

A conversation that is probably one of the most important conversations we’ll ever have. Does he want to be a part of her life? Do I want him to be a part of her life?

I want him.

I want him in my life and hers.

I let out a heavy sigh, and Luka smiles. How does he stay so calm in every situation?

“It’s going to be okay, Rose. I promise you. There is no way you could have known they’d be tracking your phone when you made the call. They must have been tracking it for a while before they tried to attack you.”

“Do you think they were planning to hurt me?”

He frowns. “I think they just wanted to scare me, to use you as bait. I don’t think they wanted to hurt you.”

But I’m not sure I believe him.

“Luka, I’d rather know the truth, no matter how scary it is. Knowledge is power in situations like this. So don’t cover something scary up to try and keep me safe from worrying.”

He nods. “Sorry. I understand. Honestly, I don’t know what they would have done to you, but they’re really bad people, and they kill without hesitation. It’s why I couldn’t hesitate, either. It’s why I had to be so brutal when I came to find you and when we escaped the safehouse.”

I nod, feeling better that he was honest with me, but wondering what else he might be hiding.

I can’t believe all of this is happening. Sighing, I mutter to myself, “All of that mess at the safehouse just because I wanted to phone my work.” I shake my head. The stress about keeping my job and that stupid promotion seems so far away now. It feels like a different lifetime.

Now my biggest worry is whether or not I can trust the man whom I’m madly in love with. And whether or not I can trust myself around him.

I don’t think I can.

I don’t know what I would do if he tried to kiss me. Even holding me now, I’m not in control of this moment. I want to be in his arms.

He makes me feel safe, and that’s very dangerous. What if he is more dangerous than I know? What if he’s hiding things, half-truths and half-stories, manipulated to his benefit?

I don’t fully understand who he is. Or what he does.

The mafia is dangerous. I know very little about them, but I do know that.

Luka steps back a little to look at my face.

“You’re worried about work?” he asks, frowning.

“Um, no, that’s not what I meant. Yes. But no—I mean, I was worried because I didn’t want to lose my job, but—"

He smiles. “I have work for you to do if you’re worried about not working.” He shrugs. “If that’s what you want. You don’t have to worry about your other job. I mean, if you’re looking for something to do during the day.”

I frown, tilting my head to the side as I watch him. He misunderstood what I was trying to say, but now I’m intrigued. What work would Luka have for me to do? Would it lead to me being able to find out more about him and his family?

“What kind of work?” I ask.

“I’ll figure out what’s needed right now, but I know there’s plenty that needs to be done. Especially with me being here lately, I’m a bit behind on things. You can help me out, definitely. It would be amazing, actually.”

That’s a very vague answer, which hasn’t dulled my curiosity in the least.

“Okay,” I say, smiling, my eyes narrowed at him. I can always change my mind later. But for now I’d love a distraction from—well, him .