Page 2 of Secret Bratva Baby (Dubrov Bratva #16)

It’s only Tuesday, and this week already feels way too long. My tiredness has tripled in the three short hours since I woke up.

This morning when my alarm went off, I was so excited. I woke up feeling amazing, looking forward to the meeting first thing with my boss. Everything I worked so hard for was finally going to pay off.

I’ve been going all out for years, practically killing myself and sacrificing so much time away from my little baby girl, working towards the promotion my boss promised me.

I desperately need it, because at the moment, I’m working two jobs, and it’s impossible to keep going like this—but once I level up, I can let go of the other job and won’t be killing myself week after week just to hold things together.

But as soon as I sat down opposite my boss at his desk, I could see it on his face.

The promotion went to his latest mistress.

The newest one in a long line of women he cheats on his wife with. He doesn’t even try to hide it, but I think his wife puts up with it because he’s stinking rich and she gets whatever she wants.

It’s disgusting, if you ask me. What kind of a life is that? It’s empty and shallow and miserable.

I’d rather be single and struggling than living with some rich, arrogant asshat who cheats on me and can’t even be bothered to hide it.

What happened to good old-fashioned love?

He explained his decision in his monotone, deep voice.

“I’ve decided that Melanie is better suited for the job than you are. We will review your performance again in twelve months, and perhaps at that time we can discuss a promotion for you, but as of now, your position remains the same.”

When he told me that, I wanted to fly across his desk and claw his eyes out. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t hide the anger on my face, and he was uncomfortable, but not uncomfortable enough to care or change his mind.

What I’d wanted to say was, You arrogant piece of shit.

Everyone knows you’re sleeping with her, and that’s the only reason she’s getting this promotion over me.

I’ve been at this company for three years, and I have worked day and night to earn this.

She’s been here two months and she’s already earning more than me despite having zero qualifications or experience.

But I hadn’t said it. Because I need this job.

I’d pressed my lips together. I’d forced myself to stand up calmly and nod. “Thank you for letting me know.”

That’s all I said.

Then I’d gone to the bathroom to cry for thirty minutes, locked in a cubicle, sitting on the closed lid of a toilet.

Right now, I’m leaning against the sink, staring in the mirror, trying to figure out if any amount of makeup reapplied is going to hide my splotchy face and red eyes. When I cry, my already bright blue-green eyes go even paler, making my face look haunted with emotion.

Sighing loudly, I try to push away my internal frustration.

The tap runs cool, clear water, and I lean forward to splash my face. The cold soothes my skin. Taking a few deep breaths to quiet my angry inner voice, I look into the mirror again.

“One more year, then you’ll get promoted,” I say to the tired reflection of my own face. I’m only twenty-three. I should not look this tired.

I pull the claw clip from my hair, brushing my fingers through the long blonde curls.

I’m stalling having to go back out there.

Everyone will have heard by now, and I’m so embarrassed.

We were all already celebrating my promotion.

We’ve been talking about it for two weeks.

My boss made it sound like it was set in stone.

I take my time, hoping my face will stop being so blotchy, as I redo my neatly twisted bun and put the claw clip back in where it was before.

If I could, I would quit right now, just on principle of the matter.

But I can’t lose this job. It pays more than my second job, which I do on weekends and sometimes at night after hours, but on its own, it isn’t enough to cover all of my expenses for myself and my little girl, Lily.

I want to save for her future. I want to give her everything she deserves.

But how can I save when I’m barely making my rent payments each month?

My heart warms at the thought of her. She’s my reason.

She’s the thing that fills me with purpose and happiness and pride, and she’s my reason for being able to keep pushing forward.

You can do this, Rose Ann. You’ve got this. You’re strong and capable.

I dab a tissue over my cheeks and take a final deep breath, ready to get back out into the office and carry on with the day.

Just another Tuesday, no longer anything special about it.

As I push the swinging door of the office bathroom open, Melanie walks past me, smiling.

“Good morning, Rose Ann.” She grins. “Did you hear?”

Her smug expression makes me want to claw her eyes out, too.

I decide the best answer is no answer at all and push past her.

Tania grabs my arm as soon as she sees me and tugs me to the side near the water cooler. She immediately wraps her arms around me, making me want to cry again, and whispers in my ear, “I’m so sorry, sweetie. Every single person in this office knows you deserved that promotion.”

I smile tightly, pushing away from the hug because I can’t get emotional again. “It’s ok. Maybe next year.”

She frowns. “It’s not right.”

“I know. But what can I do?” I shrug.

At lunch, I go for a walk. Usually, I stay at my desk and work all the way through, but today is not a good day, and I need to feel a little bit of warm sunshine on my face.

But as I walk around the corner towards the nearby park, I have a weird feeling.

One that has me constantly glancing over my shoulder to see if someone is following me.

What an odd sensation. There is no reason for anyone to be after me.

I’m pretty boring, as far as people go. I work. I spend time with Lily. That’s it.

Every time I glance behind me, I see nothing out of the ordinary. Just normal people doing normal things.

It must just be my stress level. I’m overworked, over tired and upset about not getting the promotion. That’s all that’s going on.

Still, I decide to cut my walk short and head back to the office.

I’m not even enjoying the walk, anyway.

***

After work, I catch the bus to the stop closest to home, on a quiet street in a not-so-great neighborhood. But I know all of my neighbors, and we look out for each other, so the community here is a good one.

It’s late and dark, and the street lamps are already burning bright pools of light in circles over the road. In between the pools of light, it’s a daunting, uncomfortable dark.

The prickly feeling of being followed hasn’t subsided yet.

I push the discomfort away as I near my destination.

Smiling, I walk up my neighbor’s steps, just five houses away from mine, and knock lightly on the front door.

From inside, I hear Lily’s little voice, excitedly screaming. “Mommy here!”

My grin widens. I love that child to the ends of the earth and back again.

“Go on, go open up for her,” my neighbor says. Her name is also Lily. Of course, for my Lily, that meant they were destined to be best friends from the moment they met.

Lily, my retired neighbor, has been a godsend to me. She lost her family years ago and lives alone. She takes care of little Lily every day and sometimes even cooks dinner for me when I work late. She insists that it brings joy to her life and wouldn’t have it any other way.

I help her out with groceries whenever I can.

Little Lily leaps into my arms the moment the door opens, and I scoop her up and nuzzle my face into her cheek.

“Hello, cupcake,” I grin, kissing her cheeks until she squeals with laughter. Her little blonde curls bounce as she wiggles, trying to escape me. Her big, round, blue eyes are almost doll-like. She looks just like me, but she’s feisty, like I remember her father being.

“Mommy,” she laughs, grabbing my cheeks with her little hands and pulling me close so she can plant wet kisses on my face, too.

“Hello darling, and congratulations on—"

“I didn’t get it,” I sigh, my attention turning to older Lily.

“You’re kidding. What in the world happened?” Lily asks, her brows furrowed.

“His latest mistress is what happened,” I huff, rolling my eyes.

“Oh no, that’s not fair.”

I shrug. “It is what it is. Thank you so much for watching her. I’m not going to come in tonight. I’m exhausted and ready for bed. It was really disappointing…” My voice trails off. I don’t even want to think about it anymore. Just move on. Keep my chin up and keep trying. That’s all I can do.

“Of course, darling. I’ll make you some lasagna tomorrow. You go home and rest. The little one has already bathed.”

“Thanks, Lily. You’re a lifesaver.”

She hands me my daughter’s pink, glittery mermaid backpack, and I sling it over my shoulder as I step off the porch.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” I call out. Lily waves and shouts goodnight.

With Lily on my hip, I walk towards our house. She’s chatting excitedly, telling me about the cookies they made today and that there are a few of them in her backpack for me.

“Pink and blue cookies,” she says proudly.

“I can’t wait to taste them, cupcake. I bet they’ll be the best cookies I’ve ever had in my whole entire life.”

“They will,” she insists, then nuzzles her face into my neck and promptly falls asleep.

My word, I wish I had that skill.

Imagine being able to fall asleep in a flash and wake up feeling rested.

But now I have the challenging task of getting her into bed without waking her up, because if I do, it’ll take me at least two hours to get her back down again, and I’m way too tired for that.

From the dark street ahead, a man comes slinking towards us, and the hairs on the back of my neck spike uncomfortably.

I hold Lily tighter in my arms.

Lifting my chin slightly, I do my best to look unfazed by the tall, dark, and ominous stranger.

Glancing up and down the street, I don’t see anyone else around. Dammit.

It’s okay.

Just keep walking.

But the stranger steps into my path, forcing me to pause, before I hurriedly step off the walkway into the road.

He chuckles.

“Excuse me,” I whisper, not wanting to wake my daughter.

“You’re excused, Rose.”

How the hell does he know my name?

Every single cell in my body screams at me to get away right now.

I walk an exaggerated circle around him, and he reaches out and grabs my arm.

“What are you doing?” I hiss angrily, trying to tug my arm free, but his steel grip tightens, painfully.

“A woman shouldn’t be alone on the streets this late. I think you should come with me.”

“No, thank you, I’m fine,” I whimper, but he’s already dragging me towards a dark van parked down the road.

My thoughts are racing as Lily wakes up and starts crying. I can’t let him take us. My mind floods with panic. I have to think. I have to get away.

Out of nowhere, a second tall, dark stranger appears, body slamming the first man.

Man One huffs and lets go of me, stumbling hard onto the ground.

He reaches beneath his jacket and pulls out a gun. But the second man is already moving, a knife in his hand, he presses his knee into the first man’s chest, pinning him as he leans onto him with his full body weight.

I squeal in horror as the knife slices over the first man’s throat. It’s so quick that at first I don’t think it really happened. But then blood gushes from the wound, and he starts gargling and choking, drowning in his own fluids.

I have Lily’s face clutched against my chest, not letting her see anything.

Reality snaps back into place, and I turn to run. That’s all I have to do. Just run.

“Rose, wait.”

His voice is like a thousand bolts of electricity slamming into my body.

My feet stall, I can’t move. Is it really him? It can’t be.

“Luka?” I stutter, slowly looking up at the second man’s face.

For a moment, time stops.

His dark eyes are locked onto me.

His jaw is shaded with black stubble, framing his gorgeous face. Beneath the street light, I can see a deep scar over his left eyebrow. That was never there before. I wonder how it happened?

In four years, he hasn’t changed at all, except, maybe he looks more dangerous. Way more dangerous. The knife in his hand catches the light and glints ominously.

He notices me looking at it and tucks it away.

“Rose, you need to come with me.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I say quietly. Lily is still sobbing against my chest as I take a tentative step away from Luka.

“You have to come with me,” he growls angrily, losing patience. “There might be more of them.” He gestures towards the dead man on the sidewalk.

“Okay, are you going to kill all of them?” I snap, terror burning inside me.

“Stop making this harder than it needs to be.”

“It’s been almost four years since I saw you, Luka. Now you show up— kill a guy —and tell me to come with you. No, I need to go home. Or, or—I need to call the police. I have to—”

Luka shakes his head. “No police,” he warns me.

“Just stay away from me, Luka.” I take another step back, getting ready to start running.