by B. B. Hamel
But there was something about that kid. As soon as she’d held it up, I felt it, a shudder run down my spine, a weird feeling in my chest.
Plus, there was no way the girl would do this if she didn’t think I really was the father of her kid. She was a Russian mob princess, daughter of one of the most notorious bosses in the organization. Just showing up at our door was a huge deal, and it could be really fucking bad for everyone involved.
Bringing her inside was even worse. I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing, and Rafa kept looking at me like I was insane.
Finally, we got to the mansion. I helped the girl out of the cart.
“Thanks,” she said, “but I can walk.”
“Suit yourself, princess,” I said.
“I’m not a princess,” she snapped.
I grinned at her. I loved the fire, the anger. I had to admit, she was just as sexy as I remembered, her hair long and thick, her lips pouty, her eyes a deep green. Her body was fantastic, and I could barely believe she’d just had a damn kid.
“Come on. Follow me.” She fell in behind me and Rafa as we walked back inside. I hurried back to our office, my mind moving a mile a minute, trying to formulate what the fuck was going to happen next.
I quickly ushered her inside. “Sit,” I said, motioning at the table.
“Can I have one of these?” she asked.
“Sure. Whatever.”
She quickly grabbed a bagel with one hand and bit right into it. She poured herself a coffee, all the while bouncing her baby and speaking softly to it.
“Rafa,” I said, “outside.”
He nodded to me, and the girl acted like we weren’t even there.
Once outside, I shut the door. “What the fuck, boss?” Rafa asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t know, Rafa.”
“Why did you bring her in here? Is that really your kid?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “But this could be an opportunity for us. We’ve been looking for something to get over the Russians forever. Maybe she’s it.”
He made a face. “I don’t see how. Seems like a stretch.”
“Also, it could be my fucking kid. I can’t kick her out and risk the Russians stealing the fucking thing away.”
Rafa grinned. “Not a thing, boss. That’s a baby. I think his name is Alexei.”
“I know his name,” I snapped. “Look, just watch her for a little while. I’m going to talk to a few people, figure this shit out.”
“Fine. I can handle that.”
I turned and opened the door and then stopped dead in my tracks.
Rafa bumped into me from behind.
“What?” he asked.
Kaley’s shirt was up and she was nursing the kid right there in the middle of the office.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
“You’re, uh, shit, sorry,” I stuttered. I was fucking torn between trying to look at her perfect fucking breasts and getting the fuck out of there.
“You can come in and watch or you can leave, but make a choice,” she said.
“Hard to look away,” I said, smirking. “You sure you want to do that right here?”
“It’s either this or he starts crying. Your call.”
I laughed and nodded. “Fine. Make yourself at home.”
I quickly turned and shoved Rafa out of there, shutting the door behind us again. “Stop staring, you fucking pig,” I said to him.
“What? I couldn’t see shit.” He shrugged, grinning. “She could have gone to the bathroom if she wanted privacy.”
“She shouldn’t have to feed her kid in the fucking toilet,” I grunted at him. “Wait a minute and knock before you go back in, got it?”
“Got it, boss.”
“And Rafa? Be fucking nice to her. That could be my fucking kid.”
He grinned at me. “Okay, Papa Vince.”
“Fuck you,” I said. “Call me that again and I’ll rip off your cock and shove it down your throat.”
“Sure thing.”
I walked away, grumbling to myself.
There was no way that was my kid, no fucking way. This morning had gone from bad to worse in a matter of a few minutes. Suddenly I had a fucking sexy-as-hell woman breastfeeding in my goddamn office, claiming that her kid was mine. Oh, and she was the daughter of a rival gang member, which made it all way more complicated.
I hauled ass toward the stairs and then climbed up to the third floor. I went down a few halls and then stopped in front of a door and knocked.
It took a minute before someone answered. She pulled open the door and smiled at me kindly.
“Good morning, Vince,” Natalie said. “What can I do for you?”
“Morning, Nat,” I said. “I need to see Lucas. It’s urgent.”
“It’s always urgent with you boys,” she said, smiling. “Come in. He’s around here somewhere.”
I followed her inside, and she gestured for me to sit. I collapsed onto the couch, worry running through my body.
I could handle a thug with a knife. I could fight a man and kill a man. I understood business better than most.
But a fucking baby?
Lucas emerged from the other room after a minute, looking haggard.
“Vince,” he said. “The fuck do you want?”
“You look tired,” I said.
“Try dealing with kids sometime; you’ll understand.”
“That’s actually why I’m here.”
Lucas frowned. “You want to talk about my kids?”
“No. I don’t know how to say this, so I’m just saying it. About thirteen months ago, I fucked the daughter of Anatoli Kozlov, and now she’s here claiming that her baby is mine.”
Lucas stared at me for a second and then burst out laughing. “You’re fucking kidding me.”
“No, I’m not. She’s fucking down there with an infant. Four months old, she says, and I fucked her like thirteen months ago.”
“Shit,” Lucas said, shaking his head. “Why did you let her inside?”
“Because what if it’s my kid?”
“So?” he asked, staring at me. “Since when do you care?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I couldn’t throw her out.”
“So what do you want me to do?”
“I don’t know, man. Fuck. I need a paternity test.”
“We can arrange that.”
“What do I do with her? She says she’s on the run from the Russians. They’re trying to take her kid or some shit.”
He frowned. “She said that?”
“Yeah. She’s an embarrassment to them. I was thinking she could be useful, but she may be trouble.”
Lucas nodded. “Big fucking trouble. I need to talk to my father.”
“Fine, sure. What do I do in the meantime?”
“Go to the infirmary and set up a paternity test. I’ll go talk to my father, tell him what’s happening.” Lucas paused and then grinned at me. “This is real, right? You’re not fucking joking around?”
“No, I’m not fucking joking, Lucas,” I snapped.
“Shit man. You might be a father.”
“Yeah,” I grunted. “Might be.”
“Congrats.” He grinned at me hugely and stood up. “You’re going to love it.”
“Fuck you,” I said.
He laughed and walked off. I stood up and flipped him the bird, shaking my head.
Fucking bastard. He didn’t have to take so much pleasure in my shit situation.
I left his room and began to walk down toward the infirmary.
What was I going to do if that was my kid? She was a Russian girl, a mob princess, and that was their fucking baby. They were going to want it back, especially when they heard that I was the father.
I couldn’t let that happen. If that kid was mine, I was going to have to figure something out. Fuck the Russians, and even fuck what Arturo and the other captains wanted. They were all a bunch of fucking cowards, Lucas excepted, but even he was going soft.
I couldn’t trust any of them, but I needed them for now. The girl was dangerous, very fucking dangerous, and she probably didn’t even realize it. This Chinese deal had everyone on edge as it was, and I didn’t need people making stupid fucking moves because some girl shows up with a baby.
I had to keep my head on my shoulders.
Fucking Kaley Kozlov. She gave me one of the best nights of my life with that perfect, soaked pussy of hers, and now she was giving me one of the worst mornings.
Chapter 5
Kaley
After a few minutes, there was a knock at the door. I smiled down at Alex.
“They’re afraid to see you eating, little boy,” I whispered to him. I looked up at the door. “It’s safe,” I called out.
Rafa slowly opened the door. “You’re decent?”
I sighed. “Yes, Rafa, I’m decent. I was just breastfeeding. It’s not a big deal.”
He looked at me, frowning. “I know. It’s just . . .”
“Never seen women do it before?”
He shook his head.
“How old are you?”
“Twenty,” he said.
“You’re young.”
He shrugged and shut the door, heading over to his desk. “Young, sure. That doesn’t matter though.”
“How’d you get involved with the mob, if you don’t mind me asking?”
He raised an eyebrow at me. “Why do you care?”
“Just trying to make conversation.” He was clearly not going to make this incredibly uncomfortable situation any easier. I lifted Alex up and began to burp him.
“Just happened, I guess,” Rafa said. “Grew up in a fucking shit neighborhood. The only guys around worth anything were made men, you know? So I got into it.”
I nodded. I’d heard a version of that story again and again, over and over. It was the same with the Russians. Young guys saw the mobsters, their money and bling and all the crap, and wanted to get involved with the mob.
What they didn’t see was the dark side. The violence, the terror. I’d seen all of that and more living with my father my whole life. Some guys could stomach that sort of thing and some couldn’t. I guessed Rafa was the type that could if he had climbed so high in the ranks.
Then there was Vince, of course. Deadly, violent, terrifying. He was the sort of mobster I truly despised.
And yet he was the father of my child. Funny how life worked out sometimes, pushing you to places you never imagined you’d go.
“Is that really Vince’s kid?” Rafa asked.
“Yes, it is.”
“They’re going to make you do a paternity test.”
“Good,” I said. “Get this straightened out.”
He shook his head and laughed. “Vince with a kid.”
Alex let out a nice little burp. “Aw, there you go, my little prince,” I said.
Rafa laughed. “What the hell?”
“You have to burp them after they eat,” I said. “Otherwise they get all gassy and cry.”
“Huh,” he said, making a face. He clearly was grossed out and uninterested in Alexei, and I couldn’t blame him.
It was hard to love someone else’s baby but so easy to love your own.
“Where did Vince go?” I asked him.
“He went to talk to some guys. Just hang around here. He’ll be back.”
I sighed. “I know you guys think this is bullshit, but it’s the truth. Alex is Vince’s son, and my family is going to give him away if Vince can’t protect me.”
“Yeah,” Rafa said. “You told me that already.”
He looked away and began to do something on his computer, and I just sighed again. He’d clearly lost interest in me, and so I concentrated on rocking Alex. Hopefully he’d fall asleep after having eaten something.
Raising a baby was hard, especially in a household where nobody wanted him. My father was such a conservative asshole, so obsessed with the old ways and how things should be. The idea of keeping a baby around that had no father was abhorrent to him, completely wrong and immoral. He’d rather give Alex to some stranger than raise his own flesh and blood, all because his honor was offended.
He was stuck in the old world, living with the old rules. People got pregnant all the time by mistake. True, I’d never thought it would be me. I had never for a second thought I would have some stranger’s baby all because of one stupid mistake, but I couldn’t exactly take it back.
And part of me didn’t want to take it back. Alex was a lot of work, but he was so beautiful, so cute, and he smelled so good. He was my son, and I would do anything for him, including betraying my own family to seek help from the people they hated the most.
I wondered if Soph was okay. I was sure they were interrogating her right about now, and I hoped she was just cooperating. It didn’t matter if they knew where I was anymore now that I’d gotten away.
“Tell me something,” Rafa said after a few minutes.
“Sure.”
“What do you expect to get out of Vince?”
I cocked my head at him. “Nothing really. Protection for a little while, at least until my father decides that he isn’t going to tear Alex away from me.”
Rafa frowned at me. “You really think your old man is going to forgive you after this?”
I looked at him silently for a second.
And I realized that he was right.
I didn’t know what I expected to happen. All I knew was that I needed someone to help me keep Alex safe, and Vince could do that. But I’d never really considered my long-term plans.
Rafa was right. My father was never going to forgive me for this. He was going to see it as an insult to the entire family, the whole organization.
I shook my head. “I don’t know, Rafa.”
“Seems to me that you didn’t think this one through too much.”
“They were going to take my son away,” I said. “I did what I had to do.”
“Yeah. You keep saying that.” He smiled at me. “Cute kid at least.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.
“Enter,” Rafa called out.
Vince opened the door and stepped inside. My breath caught in my chest as soon as I saw him again.
He was as attractive as I remembered from that night, and every time I saw him it came rushing back to me. I had slept with him out of some stupid, rebellious spirit, anger at my family’s oppressive nature, but it was more than that.
I’d slept with him because I couldn’t stop myself. He was handsome, tall, strong, confident, and cocky. He was a piece-of-shit mobster, good for a single night of fun.
“Come on,” he said to me.
“Where are we going?”
“Seeing some doctors. We’re going to get that test started.”
I nodded. “Fine. Good.”
I stood up and followed Vince out of the room. Alex wriggled in my arms, clearly tired, and I wished I could put him down for a nap.
“I know,” I said to him. “I know. It’s an exciting day.”
Vince frowned at me but didn’t say anything.
We walked through the halls, and I couldn’t help but marvel at everything around me. The place was enormous and covered in wealth. Expensive paintings, gold gilding, statues and plants and chandeliers. There were even stained glass windows in beautiful mosaics. The whole place looked like what you imagined an incredibly rich person’s house would look like, but even more so.
Vince didn’t say a word as we moved through the halls. Eventually he stopped outside a door and looked at me.
His eyes were intense, piercing, and I took a step back from him.
“Tell me now,” he said, his voice a slow growl. “Tell me the truth right now and we can just let you go. No harm done.”
“He’s your son,” I said quietly.
He stared at me for a second and then nodded once. “We’ll see.”
He pushed open the door and we went
into what looked exactly like a doctor’s office.
“Mister Mori, Miss Kozlov,” the pretty young girl sitting behind the receptionist window said. “Head right back.”
Vince nodded to her and I smiled. We went through another door and a nurse met us there, smiling. “Right this way.” We followed her down a short hallway and she put us into a small exam room. “Sit,” she said. “This will only take a second.”
I glanced at Vince. If he was nervous, he wasn’t showing it. I watched as the nurse opened up some sort of package, taking out a few different things. There were cups and a few sticks with cotton at the end.
She turned to Vince. “You first,” she said. “Open up.”
He opened his mouth. The nurse stuck the swab in and rubbed it against his cheek. When she was done, she placed it inside a plastic envelope, grabbed another swab, and looked at me.
“Now the little one.”
I nodded. The nurse came close. “Oh so cute,” she said. “Don’t worry, little guy, this won’t hurt a bit. Just a little swab in your mouth. That’s all.”
The nurse very gently pressed the swab into Alex’s mouth. He clearly didn’t enjoy it, but fortunately he didn’t start crying yet. Alex was a really good baby, surprisingly not fussy at all. The nurse moved the swab around very gently and then pulled it out, bagged it, and smiled at us.
“That’s it,” she said.
“Seriously?” I asked. “That’s all?
“When will we get the results back?” Vince asked.
“Three days,” the nurse said.
Vince nodded and stood. “Thanks.”
I stood and followed him out. We went into the hallway and he headed back toward his office.
“Hold on,” I said.
He looked at me. “Got something to say?”
I clenched my jaw. “I need to use the bathroom.”
He sighed. “Fine.” I followed him a bit farther and he stopped outside two doors, each marked as restrooms. “Go ahead.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Can you hold Alex for a second?”
He stared at me and then nodded slowly. “Yeah. Sure.”
“Here.” I helped him take Alex and showed him how to hold him. “There. Easy, right?”
He frowned down at Alex. “Sure.”
I smiled and went into the bathroom.