Page 8 of Secret Bratva Baby (Dubrov Bratva #16)

The door clicks open. I kick it and push it open, rushing inside, immediately opening the car door and climbing into the back with Lily on my lap.

Luka isn’t far behind. He bursts through the door, closing it behind him. That should buy us some time.

I’m in disbelief at how efficient he is. How calm he is.

He climbs into the driver’s seat, stealing a quick glance at us.

He reaches back and touches my leg.

“Are you both okay? Is anyone hurt?”

“We’re okay. We’re fine,” I stammer.

“Strap in,” he demands as the car revs to life. “The car is bulletproof, but keep your head down anyway,” he says, looking back as the garage door slides open, and slams his foot into the accelerator to reverse over a man waiting on the other side with his gun pointed at us.

Bullets thump into the back window and side doors. I squeeze my eyes shut, wondering how he has this all under control.

It’s crazy how safe I feel with him. His confidence and ability to take charge in this chaos have me obeying his every word.

We wheel spin away from the safehouse. He doesn’t slow down until we’ve left it far behind, and now we’re driving in silence through the night.

I think we’re safe; no one is behind us.

There is no sound other than the steady hum of the engine, and with all the immediate panic passed. All I can think about is that I basically told him she’s our daughter.

Lily. Our daughter.

I can’t believe I let it slip. I was so scared when she ran out of the room. I turned away from her for one second to see if there was anything I could use as a weapon, and she ran straight for Luka.

I panicked.

And I told him what I wasn’t ready to.

I sense his eyes on me, and I look up to find him watching me in the rearview mirror. My cheeks heat, flushing pink, and I’m grateful it’s dark enough for him not to notice.

He must have a hundred questions. How am I going to answer them? My heart races at the thought of facing this problem.

I wasn’t ready.

But maybe it’s for the best. Maybe it needed to come out like this. Unplanned. Sudden. Unavoidable.

Was I ever going to tell him?

I can’t say yes or no. It would have depended on how things played out with me being his prisoner.

He was about to tell me something, too. When the attack happened. It seemed important. Like it would matter to me.

I can’t believe how quickly it all went. One second we were talking, and in the blink of an eye there were gunshots, and I thought we were all going to die.

I let out a soft sigh, Lily snuggled against my chest, as I turned my head towards the window to watch the city lights flash past us, casting bright reflections on the glass.

I want to ask where we’re going, but I’m too nervous to say anything at all.

In the heat of the mayhem, I saw the shock on Luka’s face when I let the secret slip. But he pushed it down to focus on getting us out of there safely.

I have no idea how he feels or what he’s thinking.

And I’m terrified to face him.

We drive for half an hour before we pull into the driveway of a mansion. I can’t stop myself; curiosity gets the better of me. “Where are we?” I ask.

“This is my home. I’ve contacted my brothers, and they will arrange for additional security. There’s no point in staying at a safehouse when they managed to track us.”

“How do you think they tracked us?”

He shrugs, parking the car and turning off the engine. “Most likely your phone. I should have taken it away and gotten rid of it. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

I bite my lip. “Are they really after me? Why? What did I do?”

“We obviously need to talk, Rose—about a number of things.” His eyes are burning into me through the rearview mirror.

I look away, towards the mansion. It’s a massive, beautiful place with stone white pillars leading up the wide entrance steps.

“We do need to talk,” I mutter quietly.

“Let’s get inside, take a moment, and get Lily settled.”

I nod. It’s happening tonight. I guess it’s better this way. I wouldn’t be able to sleep with all of this on my mind, weighing me down.

I follow Luka up the stairs and through a massive double door entrance. There are security guards around the property, patrolling the garden. “Did you get these guards because of what happened?” I ask, nervously realizing just how bad the situation is.

“No. This is the standard crew. I am going to increase the number of guards tonight.”

“Standard? You always need guards?”

“Get Lily settled, Rose. I’ll be waiting downstairs.”

“I want to make her some warm milk with sugar. It helps her sleep.”

“I’ll make it and bring it up. Pick any of the bedrooms upstairs,” he sighs, burdened with emotion. He gestures towards the staircase leading to the upper floor.

“Any bedroom?”

“Yes. Whichever one you are comfortable in.”

“Thank you,” I mutter.

Upstairs, I glance into three bedrooms. One is crisp and white and stark.

Another is dark gray, and it looks like it might be his bedroom.

The third one is decorated with softer colors, coral and green tropical wallpaper adorning two sides of the room.

Lily will like this more than the boring white room.

I try to set her down on the bed, and she grips tighter onto my T-shirt, not wanting to let me go.

“Hey, sweetie. It’s okay. We’re all okay now.”

“They were baddies,” she says, her voice small.

“They were baddies, but Luka kept us safe, didn’t he?”

“Mm,” she nods.

“And now, he brought us to his castle.” I gesture around the room.

Luka walks in carrying a glass of milk. “Here you go, kiddo. Milk for the princess.”

“Is this really a castle?” Lily asks, staring up at Luka with wide eyes.

“Of course, it is. It’s a magical castle. Tomorrow I’ll show you around the garden when the sun is out.”

“Okay,” she says, lifting the milk to her lips and taking a sip.

She’s exhausted. Her eyes are red and she’s struggling to keep them open.

Luka leaves, and I sit with her, talking, telling her stories, until her head drops onto the pillow and she’s breathing softly.

It’s time.

I have to go downstairs and talk to him.

My heart clenches tightly in my chest.

It’s going to be ok.

Downstairs, I find Luka on the patio, standing near the edge, staring up at the night sky.

He hears my footsteps but doesn’t turn to look at me.

“There’s a whisky on the table for you,” he says.

“Thanks.” I pick it up, taking a sip and letting the smooth, single malt heat my throat.

“Luka,” I sigh, trying to figure out how to explain myself.

“She’s my daughter?” he asks, searching for confirmation of what he already knows.

“She is. She’s yours. I fell pregnant the last time we were together, about a week before you left me.”

It feels so good to admit that. So good to just tell the truth and not have to hide it anymore. “I’m sorry, Luka. I wanted to—I—” I stammer, not finding the words.

“I know why you did it. Why you lied,” he says quietly.

I walk closer to him, standing so that I can see his face.

“You do?”

He nods, closing his eyes for a moment. He sets his drink down on the ledge nearby.

“I kind of made it impossible for you to contact me again. So, there probably wasn’t a way for you to tell me.

But apart from that, I imagine that I hurt you badly when I broke up with you.

So, I assume you came to the conclusion that it would be better to raise the child on your own instead of involving me. ”

I bite the inside of my cheek. He’s pretty much spot-on. I’m surprised by his insight. But more than being surprised, I’m relieved. He isn’t furious. I thought this conversation was going to end up being a fight, but he’s so much more understanding than I was expecting.

He’s behaving like the Luka I fell in love with.

A kind, patient man. Understanding and caring.

“I wished so many times for it to be different,” I sigh.

“I wished the same thing—after it ended. I thought about it so many times, and I wanted to reach out to you. I wish I had. But we can’t change the past now.”

Luka lifts his hand and brushes his fingers across my cheek. “I’m sorry, Rose. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for our daughter. I’m sorry you were struggling to raise her alone.”

My eyes are stinging with tears. I try to fight them, but I fail, and they spill down my cheeks. I’ve wanted to hear him say that for as long as I can remember.

I tilt my head, leaning my cheek into his hand and letting his words sink in.

“I had secrets too,” he says, dropping his hand away.

“I guessed that,” I reply, watching a security guard walk past the outer edge of the garden, far across the lawn.

“Rose, I’m not an assassin, as you assumed. I have killed people. It is part of my job, but it’s not what you think.”

“Okay,” I say nervously.

He sighs and walks towards the sofas, picking up his drink on the way. Sitting down, he leans forward with his elbows resting on his knees.

“Sit,” he says, nodding at the other chair.

I do as I’m told, clutching my drink as though it offers comfort somehow, twirling the glass in my hands.

“My family is all part of a group. We do some dangerous business, and often work on the black market. My name isn’t Luka Blake.”

My jaw is clenched so tightly it’s hurting.

“Who are you, Luka?” I ask bluntly.

“My family name is Andreev. Luka Andreev. We are Bratva. Mafia,” he says, looking up at me to gauge my reaction.

“Were you—were you mafia when I met you?” I ask, my voice shaking. He didn’t even tell me his real name back then. No wonder I couldn’t find him when I looked.

“Yes, but listen, Rose, it was different when I first met you. In the past, we used to stay out of most of the danger zones. We weren’t as immersed in it as we are now.

The more power we got, the stronger my family became, and the more we had to do to stay strong in the underworld.

I’ve been involved in this my whole life, but in the last three years, it’s changed and become more dangerous. ”

“I had no idea.” My voice is tiny, shaking.

Luka shifts in his seat. I think he wants to reach out to me, but he decides to give me space instead. My head is spinning as I try to wrap my mind around what he’s told me.

“It’s why I had to push you away, Rose. To try and keep you safe. It’s why I gave you the wrong last name when I met you. I never wanted to drag you into any of this.”

For a long moment, I don’t say anything at all. I can’t piece it together. It’s too much to understand.

Finally, I ask a question. “Does this have something to do with why there are men trying to kill me and Lily?”

He clenches his jaw, the muscles feathering across his face. His fists are clenched in his lap, too.

“Yes,” he says tightly.

I’ve spent such a long time over these past few days trying to figure out what the hell is going on and what landed me in this situation. It wasn’t anything I’d done, not directly—except for the fact that I chose to date a man in the mafia.

Although I didn’t know that at the time.

Would I still have dated him if I knew?

He didn’t give me the option to make that choice for myself.

My head continues to spin with confusion and anxiety.

I stand up, unable to talk anymore.

“I need some time to think,” I say calmly.

“Rose, don’t you have questions? Don’t you want to talk some more?” He stands as well, reluctant to let me leave, but clearly not about to force anything.

I shake my head. “No. I need time. Please, just give me some space. I’m tired, I’m overwhelmed, I’m scared—and I’m really confused.”

He nods. “I understand. Please know how sorry I am for all of this.”

Luka’s eyes stay on me as I walk away from him. I can feel them piercing into me, the longing in his gaze heavy on my back as I step into the house.

I need to be alone right now.

Upstairs in the coral and green bedroom, I climb beneath the covers next to my daughter.

I’m suddenly drained of every ounce of energy I had.

I set my head on the pillow and wrap my arm around her delicate body.

There isn’t any point in fighting sleep so that I can think; I’m past the point of having control over it.

As soon as I close my eyes, I drift off into restless dreams and confusing ideas that taunt my thoughts.