Pregnant For the Mafia Boss

Chapter 17

VIKTOR POV

BACK AT THE SAFE HOUSE

"Boss, we've got the bus route." My tech specialist pulled up a map on the screen. "It's a tourist bus that does a loop through the old town and ends at the waterfront district. Final stop is here..." He points out. "...near the marina."

I studied the map, my mind already working through possibilities. "She'll get off before the final stop. Somewhere crowded where she can disappear."

"There are four major stops before the marina. I can have teams at each one..."

"No." I shook my head. "It will be too obvious. She'll see our people and run again. We need to be smarter."

Alexei moved closer to the map. "What about traffic cameras? We can track which stop she gets off at, then move in."

"That could work." I traced possible routes with my finger. "But we need to be fast. Sokolov's men are still out there, hunting her."

"Boss." Dmitri appeared in the doorway. "We interrogated one of Sokolov's men that we grabbed at the café. He says they have orders to grab Bella alive if possible, but..."

"But what?"

Dmitri's expression was grim. "But if she resists too much, they're authorized to use force. Whatever it takes to bring her in."

My vision went red. "Whatever it takes? She's pregnant!"

"I don't think they know that."

"They're about to find out. When I start sending them back to Sokolov in pieces." I turned to Alexei. "I want a message sent. Anyone who touches Isabella Volkov dies. Anyone who even looks at her wrong dies. Anyone who works for Sokolov and doesn't immediately leave Montenegro dies. Clear?"

"Crystal."

"Good." I pulled out my phone and dialed a number I hadn't called in months. "And get me Katya Zolotov. If Bella's going to reach out to anyone from her old life, it'll be her best friend."

The phone rang three times before a familiar voice answered. "Hello?"

"Katya. It's Viktor."

Silence. Then I hear: "What the f**k do you want?"

Fair question.

"I need to talk to you about Bella."

"You mean the girl you destroyed and drove away? That Bella?" Her voice dripped with venom. "Why should I help you with anything?"

"Because she's in danger and Sokolov's men are hunting her. And also because she's pregnant with my child and trying to survive alone in Montenegro."

There is more silence and it is longer this time.

"Pregnant?" Katya's voice was barely a whisper. "Bella's pregnant?"

"Yes. About eight weeks." I closed my eyes, hating that I had to say this next part. "She doesn't know I know. She's been hiding it, dealing with it alone. But I need to find her before Sokolov does. And if she reaches out to you..."

"You want me to betray her trust? To tell you where she is so you can drag her back to Moscow?" Katya laughed bitterly. "You really are a monster. She was f*****g doing better in US what have you done?"

"I want you to help me keep her safe," I corrected. "I want you to help me protect her and our baby from the men who want to use her against me. I want..." I took a breath. "I want a chance to make this right."

"You can't make this right, Viktor. You broke her heart. You destroyed her."

"I know." The admission came easier than I expected. "I know what I did. I know I can never take it back. But Katya, she's carrying my baby. And Sokolov's men are hunting her. So whatever you think of me, whatever I deserve...think about Bella. Think about that baby. And help me protect them."

The line was quiet for so long I thought she'd hung up.

Then: "If she calls me, I'll tell her you're looking for her. I'll tell her Sokolov's men are in Montenegro. But I won't tell you where she is unless she wants me to. That's the best you're getting from me."

"That's fair."

"And Viktor? If you hurt her again...if you break her heart one more time...I will personally put a bullet in your head. Best friend's lover or not."

"Understood."

She hung up.

BELLA'S POV

The burner phone felt like it weighed a thousand pounds in my hand.

I sat on a bench overlooking the marina, tourists and locals streaming past me in the late afternoon sun, and stared at the keypad like it might bite me.

One call. That's all it would take. One call to Katya, my best friend, the only person in Moscow I still trusted.

But making that call meant admitting I needed help. Meant breaking the silence I'd maintained for eight weeks, risking that Viktor might find out where I was.

I place my hand to my stomach, a gesture that was becoming automatic.

"What do you think, little one?" I whispered. "Is it worth the risk?"

The baby, of course, didn't answer. Just existed quietly inside me, completely dependent on me to make the right choices.

And right now, the right choice seemed to be swallowing my pride and asking for help.

I'd been lucky this morning...escaping those men, losing them in the market crowd, making it onto that bus. But luck ran out eventually. And I couldn't keep running like this. Not with both Sokolov's men and...

And Viktor.

I'd heard him shouting for and for a moment I thought I was dreaming, but it had been unmistakably him. Viktor Konstantin, in Montenegro, looking for me.

The question is: why?

He'd made it clear I meant nothing to him. So why come after me now? Why send men to track me down?

Unless someone had told him about the baby.

My blood ran cold at the thought. Dr. Marković wouldn't have betrayed me...I'd paid him well for his discretion. But there were other ways Viktor could have found out. Surveillance...spies. The kind of resources a man like Viktor Konstantin had at his disposal.

If he knew about the baby...

No. I couldn't think about that right now. I have to focus on the immediate problem: staying alive long enough to figure out my next move.

I took a deep breath and dialed Katya's number from memory.

The phone rang once. Twice. Three times.

Maybe she'd changed her number. Maybe she wouldn't answer an unknown international...

"Hello?" Katya's familiar voice, cautious and confused.

Relief flooded through me. "Katya. It's me."

Silence. Then: "Bella? BELLA? Oh my God, where are you? Are you okay? I've been so worried..."

"I'm fine," I lied. "I'm safe. I just... I needed to hear your voice."

"Safe where? Bella, what happened? You just disappeared. One day you were here, the next you were gone, and Viktor wouldn't tell me anything except that you'd left and..."

"Viktor." I cut her off, my chest tightening. "What did he say about me?"

Katya hesitated. "Nothing. Just that you'd decided to leave. That you'd gone back to university early." Another pause. "But I knew he was lying. I could see it on his face. And you would have told me if you were leaving. So what really happened?"

Where did I even start? How did I explain the seduction, the rejection, the pregnancy, the running?

"It's... complicated," I said finally.

"Then uncomplicate it. Bella, talk to me. What's going on?"