25. Alexei

25

ALEXEI

“I asked you to do one fucking thing, Dimitri. One thing , and you couldn’t even do that right!” I yell the moment Dimitri slams the door to my office behind him.

My entire body is shaking.

Bianca got out. She could have been taken. She could have been snatched from right under my nose, and I could have lost her.

I could have lost my child.

My breath catches in my throat, and my legs almost buckle beneath me.

I stagger over to my desk and brace my hands against it, screwing my eyes shut as images of Bianca lying in my arms as she bleeds out flash in my mind.

“No. No. No. No .”

“It was an honest fucking mistake, Alexei.”

“That could have cost her her life !” I roar, whirling around to face my brother. “I told you to watch her! I told you not to let her out of your sight.”

“She said she had a fucking headache! What was I supposed to do? ”

“Not get fucking distracted by the thought of fucking her friend and follow her upstairs!”

Dimitri scoffs as he stalks over to the drinks cabinet. “Seriously, Alexei, you sound insane. I wasn’t going to sit outside her door all day and night. She’s a grown ass woman.”

“Who has a fucking target on her back.”

He shrugs as he reaches for a crystal tumbler, as if Bianca’s safety means nothing to him.

The gesture has me seeing red, and I’m pulling out my gun before I have a chance to talk myself down.

Dimitri pours himself a finger width of scotch and downs it in one, slamming the crystal glass back down before turning to face me.

He eyes the gun pointed right at the center of his chest, and a smirk starts to tug at his lips.

“Let’s fucking go, brat .” He reaches into the back of his jeans, pulling his own gun free and pointing it at my chest, clicking the safety off.

We both stand staring at each other, our heavy breathing filling the space between us.

I can barely keep my hands steady. My whole body feels like it’s overflowing with rage, and I don’t know how to get it out.

“Shoot me, I fucking dare you,” Dimitri taunts.

“She could have been taken.” My voice feels foreign.

“She wasn’t?—”

“She could have been!” I click the safety off my gun.

Dimitri doesn’t even flinch.

He raises his eyebrows. “I don’t think that’s what’s got you all worked up. So, why don’t you tell me what’s really bothering you?”

Where do I even start …

“You let Bianca sneak out?—”

“What the fuck happened with Ricci?” Dimitri’s brown eyes narrow as they flick over my blood-stained clothes. “Because I bet that’s what’s really got you all riled up. What did he say?”

“He was a waste of my time, that’s what.”

“He had no useful information? Or did you kill him before he had a chance to talk?”

I have to look away from Dimitri as I try to ignore Ricci’s last words.

How could he accuse Papochka of cheating on Mamochka?

“He talked, all right. Nothing but bullshit, so yeah, I killed to fucker.”

“Think you did more than that. Mikhail sent me a picture of the body. Looks like he had been put through a meat grinder.”

“Since when do you question my methods?”

“Since you don’t seem to be fucking thinking straight. So, I’ll ask you again, brat, what is really bothering you?”

We stare at each other, guns aimed and ready, as I try to work up the courage to speak the words out loud, because once I do they become real.

“Bianca is pregnant.” I lower my gun and I sit, head in my hands.

Dimitri’s mouth drops open as he lowers his own gun. “She’s actually pregnant?”

“Yes, that’s why she snuck out. To go and see an OBGYN.”

“The doctor confirmed it?”

“Yes.”

“And it’s yours? ”

“Of course, it’s fucking mine.” Even before the doctor confirmed how far along she is, I knew it was mine.

“This is… Whoa, this is big. I didn’t realize you guys were wanting to actually do the whole ‘relationship thing’. I mean, it was obvious you were fucking but…” Dimitri shuts up when he sees the look on my face.

Exhaustion plagues me, but I don’t have time to give in.

“Trust me, this was not part of the plan.” I run my hands through my hair. “None of this was part of the plan.”

This is exactly the sort of thing I was afraid of.

I never should have crossed the line with Bianca. I knew better, and I did it anyway, and now the consequences are even greater.

The life of our child is at stake.

“A baby.” Dimitri holsters his own gun, moving to take the armchair beside me. “Fuck, this is…”

He leans back in the chair and runs his hands through his hair, his eyes wide.

“As if she didn’t already have a target on her back. If this gets out…” I can’t finish the thought.

“Alexei, for once can’t you take this for what it is?” Dimitri leans forward to rest his forearms on his knees. “It’s happy news, brat . You’re going to be a father!”

I screw my eyes shut as Ricci’s words ring in my ears.

“I know nothing about being a father.”

“Dad was around for the first two decades of our lives, so you know exactly what it takes. And then when he was gone, you stepped into his role and took care of this family. You took care of Mikhail and Danil. You took care of me . He would’ve been proud.”

Would he ?

I shake the thought from my mind. This is exactly what Ricci wanted, to get into my head and have me start to question my family and their loyalty.

“I promised Emilio I would keep Bianca safe, not knock her up and give Gilanto even more ammunition to come after her.”

“Gilanto won’t find out.”

“We can’t trust anyone with this information, Dimitri. The fact that some random doctor knows has me on edge. If only she had told me, I could have brought someone in that I trusted.”

Dimitri shrugs. “We can pay him off.”

“No doubt he will sell the information to the highest bidder.”

“Then we just have to make sure that’s us. We have the resources to protect her, Alexei.”

“What if it’s not enough?” The thought has been plaguing my mind since I saw the ultrasound.

She’s carrying my child, a child that will be brought into a world filled with nothing but darkness, and I don’t know if I’ll be enough to protect them.

“What’s gotten into you?” Dimitri shakes his head. “This isn’t like you at all.”

I run my hands over my face and set them before me on the desk, wincing at the sight of the purple bruises on my knuckles.

I didn’t miss the flash of fear in Bianca’s eyes as I stormed into the doctor's office and she took in my bloody shirt.

She was scared of me.

Good. Perhaps now she’ll actually listen to me.

“She could’ve been taken…”

My chest tightens at the thought of what could’ve happened. Any one of Gilanto’s men could have intercepted her on the way to the doctors, and I wouldn’t have been able to get to her in time.

I would have lost her.

I screw my eyes shut as I try to ignore the images that flash through my mind.

It’s no longer my father. It’s Bianca. Those beautiful blue eyes are vacant as she stares up at me, her blood soaking into my skin as I clutch her to my chest.

“Alexei?” Dimitri’s voice pulls me out of my nightmare.

“She has no idea what she’s done.” I lean forward to rest my head in my hands.

“I don’t think she lied on purpose. I think maybe she wanted to wrap her head around the pregnancy first and confirm her suspicions before she spoke to you? I don’t blame her, considering how you’ve acted?—”

“How else was I meant to act? She fucking ignored my one request, and now not only has she put her own life in danger but also the life of our baby!”

“You need to talk to her, brat . I know you’re angry as fuck, but you can’t ignore her forever. She’s fucking pregnant, Alexei. She needs you now more than ever.”

“Which is exactly what Gilanto will think. He’ll use this against us, Dimitri. I can’t have my wife and child being used as pawns in his sadistic little game.”

“Can you for one second not think about Mario fucking Gilanto?” Dimitri slams his hand in the arm of his chair. “Your wife is pregna?—”

His phone rings, which I’m grateful for.

I didn’t come in here to get lectured by my younger brother.

I know I can’t ignore Bianca forever, but I’m too pissed right now to be able to have a constructive conversation with her .

The truth is that I don’t trust myself, and I don’t want to say or do something that might push her away forever.

I run my hands up and down my thighs, my body a tight ball of nervous energy as Dimitri curses under his breath.

I frown. “What is it?”

Dimitri hesitates, pulling the phone away from his ear, turning off the call.

“Dimitri.”

“Anton and I managed to bribe one of Gilanto’s men that we intercepted outside Alessandro’s to turn his allegiance to us.” He rubs his jaw. “A guy named Luca Caruso.”

“Caruso? Name doesn’t ring a bell.”

“For good reason. The guy’s a complete ass wipe if you ask me. He folded the moment a couple of hundreds were in his hands, no loyalty to Gilanto whatsoever.”

“Which is good for us.”

“It is. But you’re not going to like what he found out.”

I don’t miss the pity that flashes in my brother’s eyes, and I have a feeling I already know what he’s about to say.

“Spit it out, brat .”

“Gilanto’s planning on going after Bianca to get to you. He must know that she’s more than just a business deal with Emilio.”

“Fuck!” I slam my hand down on the table in front of me, causing my gun to rattle against the glass.

“We don’t know that he knows about the baby?—”

“It’s only a matter of time.”

“Should we call Danil and Mikhail? I think we should all sit down and come up with a plan.”

“We don’t have time for that.”

“Then what do you suggest we do?” Dimitri’s focus is on me .

“I’m taking her out of the city.” I get to my feet. “Pack her a bag, Dimitri. We’ll leave in an hour.”

“That’s ridiculous, Alexei. Bianca is safe here.”

I shake my head and shoot him a glare.

I hate the way he’s lounging back in the armchair, the picture of ease, as if he didn’t just get a call confirming that Gilanto’s planning on making a move on my wife.

“Clearly, she isn’t. If her friend can get in, and Bianca can get out, any fucker can get in. You, Mikhail and Danil can stay at the penthouse. I want everyone to stay away from this house until the security has been overhauled.”

“Alexei—”

“I’m not taking any more chances when it comes to my family, Dimitri. Please, I’m begging you. Just do this one thing for me.”

“Fine, I’ll make sure Mikhail and Danil stay in the city. Where exactly are you planning on going?”

“Somewhere Gilanto won’t think to look.”