Cruel Paradise - A Mafia Romance Chapter 119

It hurts so bad I have to bite down to keep the tears from spilling over. No. I will not give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry. Instead, I swallow my pain and stare back at him with an expression that I hope is as cold as the one he’s giving me right now.

Two can play at this game.

“I’d rather be separated now.”

He shrugs. “As much as I would prefer that, there are too many unpredictable variables at play. The people behind Josh’s kidnapping are still out there. For now, it’s better for you and the children to stay close. It’s the safest. You can’t exactly afford to lose the baby. You’d be losing your meal ticket, too.”

I flinch back, stunned by the casual cruelty. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he truly doesn’t care about me anymore.

And maybe I don’t know any better.

Maybe I don’t know any better at all.

“You’re right,” I hiss, springing to my feet and storming towards the door before I lose the battle with my tears. “I wouldn’t want that.”

15

RUSLAN

A baby.

My baby.

It feels surreal. And overwhelming. And completely fucking inconvenient. Was it so recently that I thought Emma was the answer to all my problems?

Despite everything that’s gone down, I don’t regret the pregnancy. I’m glad Emma’s pregnant. And that alone is confusing as hell. I should want nothing to do with her. I should want to move her into her own separate residence immediately, just as she’d asked.

But what’s the point of an excuse if you don’t use it?

No matter how foolish it might be.

My mood is dark when Kirill walks in, looking as though he’s spent an hour in the boxing ring. “Those girls,” he whistles. “They are a handful.”

“Babysitting again?”

Kirill collapses onto the leather sofa. “Someone has to.”

I ignore the subtle jab. “And Emma?”

“She came back from your rendezvous with a chip on her shoulder and ushered the kids to their rooms. So I assumed she had a ball during your little chat. No one else can inspire that kind of reaction.”

“Pregnant,” I spit in disgust. “How the hell did that slip past me?”

“Easy. Because you weren’t interested.”

“She should have told me herself.”

“Right, because you’re so easy to talk to,” he drawls.

“How exactly did she manage to wrap you around her little finger?”

Kirill chuckles. “She hasn’t wrapped me around anything. I simply decided to believe her.”

I get up and walk around my desk. “You spy and steal and torture people for a living, mudak. ‘Simply believing people’ is not in your job description.”

“I torture people who deserve it.” He shrugs nonchalantly. “She doesn’t seem like the type of person to deceive intentionally. She didn’t tell you about the baby because she didn’t think she could. And she’d have been right.”

Is there anyone left on my side? I think irritably to myself.

“How do you know that?”

“Because I tried to tell you about the baby and you refused to listen.”

I drop down opposite him. “Say that again.”

“Remember the medical file I stole right after Emma checked into the hospital? It was all there in black and white. Sonogram and all. I knew she was pregnant and I tried to tell you, but you wouldn’t let me get a word in edgewise.”

Fuck.

“So what? You tried to tell; I didn’t listen. So you were prepared to let her take my child and run from me?”

He rolls his eyes. “Don’t flatter yourself. She wasn’t running from you.”

I tense up. “Who else could she have been running from?”

“Ben.”

Somehow, I wasn’t expecting that. “Ben?”

“Who do you think gave her all those injuries?” Kirill asks with a skeptical eyebrow.

“That was Ben?”

“Well, she didn’t just trip.”

I remember walking into the apartment and seeing the broken coffee table. Fucker had pushed her right through the glass. No wonder she’d been cut up all over.

Fucking bastard. My hands tighten into fists on my lap.

“He’s gonna pay for that.”

“I thought you didn’t care about Emma.” Kirill makes a big show of tapping his lip like he’s deep in thought. “Why ever would you want to avenge a woman you claim you have no feelings for?”

Thankfully, I have my answer locked and loaded. “Because she’s carrying my child,” I snap.

“Right. What a satisfying, wholesome, extremely believable explanation.”

I don’t like that look on his face. It’s entirely too smug for my liking.

He sighs and continues, “I’ve already spoken to Judge Altemeyer. He’ll be able to resolve the custody order soon enough. Convert Emma’s temporary custody into permanent custody.”

“Good. Keep me in the loop.” I walk back to my desk and glare down at the massive stack of resumes piled on top of it. “Now, I have to get back to work.”

“That’s it?” Kirill asks, setting his feet back on the ground.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re not going to talk to Emma?”

“I already did.” I rake a hand through my hair and exhale at the memory of that frustrating exchange. “I told her where we stand. I explained how the addendum will work going forward. There’s nothing else to discuss.”

Kirill looks disappointed in me. “Is this really the kind of environment you want your kid growing up in, Ruslan?”

“What are you looking for us to be, Kirill? One big, happy family? Emma shot that future to hell when she started running her mouth to Remmy Jefferson.” He starts to talk but I hold my hand up to shut him up. “Before you defend her, let me remind you that she’s the reason the contract is out there in the ether, being leveraged for personal gain by that slimy little shit. I trusted her once and look where that got me.”

“It got you a child? A family? The chance to carry on the family name? Which one of those is supposed to be the bad thing?”

I narrow my eyes at him. “Get out.”

He sighs and raises his hands in self-defense. “I’m going. Anything else you need before I do?”

I pick up half the stack of papers on my desk and offer them to him. “Go through these resumes and narrow it down for me. I have to hire someone by the end of the week. Work’s piling up as we speak.”

“You know, Emma has experience with—”

“Get out.”

Giggling like a schoolgirl, he walks the resumes out of my office. I hadn’t counted on Kirill doing a full one-eighty on me. He is the one person who always has my back. I have no doubt he still does—in the important ways, at least—but I can sense that he’s questioning my choices.

Yeah? Well, screw him. I know better.

And it’s better that I keep my distance from Emma Carson.