by Taki James
Nenad jerked the slightest bit, showing his surprise. “That sounds so dirty coming out of your mouth. You trying to take over the organization from the boss?”
Josie laughed before pushing forward the notebook she kept at her side. “Nah, I just want to be a mystery writer.”
He pulled the pad close to him, reading through it. Josie left him looking over her notes as she heard the sound of little feet through the monitor, letting her know that Josif was probably in the baby’s room, getting ready to wake her up. She caught her son just as he reached a hand through one of the slats.
“Stop right there, little boy.” She pulled him by the back of his shirt and marched him down the stairs and into the kitchen where she’d left Nenad. Josif pulled away from her, running fast to hug around the young man’s leg.
“Hey, buddy,” Nenad told him. “What have you been up to?”
“I took a nap,” Josif replied, his face serious.
Josie allowed them to have their conversation while she pulled together something quick for her son’s lunch. She’d already premade what she planned to feed baby Juljiana today and just needed to make sure she got the journal ready to record her little girl’s reactions. So far, she seemed to have a lot of success in getting the baby to try new things. She didn’t seem to like peas, but Josie didn’t exactly blame her for that. She herself hated them.
“You’re so organized.”
Josie glanced up from her preparations. “I’m a busy mom. If I don’t have a system together than I would lose my mind.” She had a whole detailed calendar in her office, complete with sticky notes and everything. “Now that the girls are starting outside activities, I have to be even more detailed.”
She got Josif set up at the island and took her writing notepad back from Nenad. She needed to get dinner started and didn’t need the distraction of her writing, even though it was prone to get somewhat in her way. Nenad did his job of keeping the little boy entertained and learning Serbian as Žarko desired. Josie tuned it all out, getting into the flow of cooking for her family and making sure that everyone remained healthy.
Žarko opened the document he received from his men, with pictures and a voice recording of Josie’s ex-husband in discussion with the judge of their case. He’d been delaying listening, simply because he still wasn’t concerned. He knew that Josie had kept all of her documentation from the divorce and he knew her to be honest enough to tell him if she had tricked her husband into signing away his parental rights. Gary didn’t know a damn thing about dishonest people, other than himself and he was really too stupid to get away with most of what he had gotten away with in his life.
His left hand used the mouse to scroll down the page, finding other information that he had requested. He’d wanted to know everything about this Gary. From what time he took a shit, to when he masturbated. With every image, Žarko had to say, the man was disgusting.
“He likes the prostitutes,” Srecko said needlessly of what Žarko had in front of him. “And not the high class ones a man of his pay grade should use.”
“I see. Josie is lucky that she had never had an STD from this man, what with the women he visited.”
“Maybe he waited until after the divorce?”
Doubtful, Žarko thought with a sneer. Now he would have to talk to Josie about her medical history. He’d gotten himself tested when he knew that he would marry her, and had even gotten tested once after, just to make sure that they were clean. “I imagine they would have used protection for most of their marriage because of his lack of desire for children. Whatever the case, it is a blessing for her that she is no longer with him.”
Srecko nodded. Žarko started printing out documents so that he could have a physical file in addition to his electronic one. He had plans for the information that he’d found. The police were going to have a field day when he gave up evidence of Gary’s embezzling scam at his job.
“You should just put a bullet through his brain and be done with it.”
Žarko quirked his lip in amusement. “I would love to, but I promised Josie to leave the worm be unless absolutely necessary. So I’m thinking of setting a trap for him. Feed him information that will lead him to do something foolish and will give me an excuse to kill him.”
“Self-defense?” Srecko made a satisfied sound at the back of his throat. “I like that. Commit crime under the nose of the police and still get your point across. The wife will not like that.”
“That is why we are not speaking English. She will not have to know about the plan so that she could be honest with the police about what she knows. Josie makes a terrible liar.”
“She may surprise you.”
Žarko nodded, even as he silently disagreed. Josie made a good mystery writer, from what he’d been able to pick up from her notepad, but writing a good mystery story did not make one a natural liar or someone that could even be an expert at it.
He took the papers from the printer and stuck them in an envelope. “I want Marko and Jovan to keep close watch on the ex. Find out everything he is up to. Make note of it and send it me. Then, I want pieces of information to be left for him, anonymously. Give him clues as to my address and my schedule. Make it known that sometimes, Josie is alone in the house. It’ll probably be best to wait after we have replaced the judge in the court case, when he’ll be very angry.”
Screcko stood to his feet. “Understood. Anything else you need me to do?”
Žarko scraped at the scruff growing on his cheek. “The due date for Pavele’s loan is approaching. Put someone on him to make sure he doesn’t try to skip town on vacation. I am getting sick of these people thinking that they can play me for a fool.” People would have to learn that marriage wouldn’t make him soft. “Start taking out loved ones if you have to.”
Screcko nodded. “Will do. Stevan has been a pain my ass looking for a job. I’ll put him on it.”
“No. He is too much of a loose cannon. If he needs a job he can be my sparring partner in the gym. Maybe that way I can beat some sense into him. Put Lazar on it. He actually can do as he’s told.”
“Whatever you say.” Žarko ignored the other man’s smile.
Žarko was happy about something that did not involve Josie and having sex, so naturally, it scared the crap out of her. She kept her peace over dinner, not exactly hiding the fact that she was worried and watchful over her husband. She got the little ones dressed and ready for bed. Then, came the nightly bedtime stories with all the kids before the smallest ones were put down for sleep. Desa kept her distracted with helping her with some of her homework problems right before her own bedtime. Once she got Desa to bed and Ljiljiana went to her own room to get some sleep, Josie decided that it was time to confront her husband about this sudden change in mood. She found him in the office, looking over some paperwork that he was quick to cover up as soon as he saw her.
She had to lift an eyebrow at that. “What’s going on with you?”
He sat back in his chair, watching her. “What do you mean?”
She didn’t know why she felt the need to, but she tiptoed her way into the room cautiously. Treating her husband as if he were some kind of wild animal. “You aren’t sneering and unless you’ve been cheating on me, I doubt you’ve been laid.” And if he did ever cheat on her, she planned to gut him like a fish, because she refused to deal with that kind of man.
He actually had the nerve to laugh at her. “Josie. I have hellcat in my bed. Why would I seek other female to share my body with?”
She shrugged. “Most men don’t give it a thought.”
“Like ex-husband?”
She curled her lip like she smelled something nasty. “Why would you ask about him? Is that the reason you’re smiling?” Like it never existed, the smile disappeared from his face.
He held up a glossy photo of her ex-husband soliciting a hooker off the street. “This is not why I smile. This is why I’m angry.” She approached the desk, feeling as if her husband were drawing
her in to him. He held out his hand for her and pulled her onto his lap. “Were you aware that he was sleeping with nasty women?”
Josie shook her head automatically. “No. I mean, I’d had a feeling toward the end that he was probably cheating, but I had no idea that he was paying for sex.” Oh God, that was just nasty. “I feel so dirty.”
Žarko pulled her back against him, distracting her briefly with a kiss on the back of her neck. “I did not say this to make you upset. We are both clean, so you are lucky and now safe. I just wondered when this nasty sex would have started.”
She shrugged. “Who knows? I never took him for the kind that liked grimy girls.” She had a sneer on her face from the thought that she should have been taking STD tests during her first marriage. Then there the acknowledgement that she had been so stupid. What the hell, Gary.
Her husband grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. “You are safe. I tested before and after marriage. If you had anything I would have caught it and we would have known.”
She wrapped her hands around her stomach and thought about her two little ones sleeping upstairs, who could have been in danger because of her ex-husband’s actions. “I just couldn’t forgive myself if something happened to the baby.” What if she had given something to Žarko unknowingly? She sighed. “I think I would feel better being tested, just so I can have my own results. Can we go together? I feel like I also need a really hot shower.”
Žarko hugged her tight to him, kissing her gently on the lips. “This is why you are perfect woman for me. I will do this thing, if it will give you peace.”
She nodded. This is why she loved her husband. “You make me really happy,” she told him.
“I know. You’ve told me.” She had to kiss him just so she wouldn’t be tempted to slap him for always ruining a romantic moment.
Chapter 22
They got tested. It didn’t matter that the doctor raised an eyebrow at Josie’s insanity, she knew that she had to have her own proof at being disease free. She just didn’t want to find out that something crept up later and could have been avoided, especially as it could have a negative effect on her baby. Then, just because they were in the hospital building, Žarko managed to get Josie an appointment to get a sonogram done to both confirm and allow them to see their baby.
The experience for Josie was one of total bliss. With her two previous pregnancies, she hadn’t had a husband to hold her hand. Gary had been so resentful that he’d thrown her out of the house, and her mother hadn’t been exactly happy that she chose to let go of her figure for a couple of babies if it meant losing her husband, and so had refused to go to doctor appointments with her.
It was no surprise then that she got lost in her emotions. As she lay on the table, Žarko at her side, the tears began to flow. “What is wrong?” her husband asked her.
She wiped away the moisture beneath her eyes with her free hand. “I’m just happy that you’re here. I didn’t have this with Josif and Juljiana.”
He brushed some of her curls out of her face, his lips turned down in a heavy frown. “You had someone, though, to sit with you, da?”
She shook her head. “Not even when I gave birth. It’s partly why I’m so terrified of doing all this. There’s this part of me that’s afraid that you’ll abandon me in the middle of all this. Like I’m doomed to be a single mother of three kids.”
“Five,” he said absently.
She had to laugh a bit that that. “You would let me take Ljiljiana and Desa with me if I left?”
He gave a slight grunt. “As long as you understand I will go after you.”
It would defeat the purpose, but she understood what he meant. “As long as you go with me,” she agreed.
The doctor and technician interrupted the moment. “Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Knežević. I hear we’re here to get a look at a little bun in the oven.”
Josie noticed that Žarko perked up. “Yes,” she said, feeling her own excitement grow. “We aren’t sure how far along we are yet, but I know that I’ve been feeling weird for about three weeks.” At the doctor’s slight frown she explained. “I’m not exactly a fan of coming to the doctor’s.” In fact, after everything, she downright hated it.
She glanced at her husband, who scratched at his prickly chin. “Is probably four, maybe five months in. Perhaps very close to amount of time we have been married I am thinking,” he said glancing in her direction. “We are not deeply concerned with birth control from very beginning.”
The doctor seemed to take in both wedding rings, making Josie begin to feel uncomfortable with how long he assessed them. “Is there a problem, Dr. Tanner?” she asked, after looking at the name on the man’s lab coat. Dr. Tanner, perhaps understanding exactly what her point was, tried to cough the problem away.
“No. There’s no problem. I just have to get a history on my patients, you know.”
“And make sure the pregnant black chick isn’t another welfare case, you mean.” She fought to sit up. “Žarko, I don’t want to do my exam at this office. I think we need to choose a better doctor.” Her husband said nothing, but helped her off of the table and hid her as she changed into her regular clothes. She didn’t allow the stuttering apologies of the doctor and his technician sway her decision to leave. She refused to be disrespected when all she wanted was a healthy baby.
They walked out of the office and straight to the elevator. As soon as the doors closed, Josie released a deep breath. “What an asshole,” she said.
“If he is insulting you, then he’s worse than an asshole. He’s dead.”
Josie patted his arm. “It wouldn’t be worth it. We’ll just go to Loyola Hospital. That’s where I had Juljiana.”
“Whatever you want.”
She suddenly pouted. “I really wanted to see the baby.” She shuffled forward toward the exit. “It also would have been nice if we could have heard the heartbeat. I love that little whooshing sound.”
He hugged her to his side, a slight smile tugging on his lips. “I will buy machine and we will work together to hear the heartbeat. Maybe we can share the moment with all the children.”
She wrapped her arms around her husband until the doors of the elevator reopened and they were allowed to leave this particular clinic. “I think that’s a great idea.” Josie made a mental note to tweet, Facebook post, and Instagram information about Dr. Tanner. She would make sure that no one that she knew would ever choose him to be their doctor. “Let’s go get some food. I’m starving.” Žarko didn’t have much to say about that.
“Tell me about the court case?” Josie asked her husband over lunch at a Mexican restaurant.
He dipped a tortilla chip into the small bowl of salsa between them. She had more of an affinity for the fresh made guacamole that the woman had made right in front of them and probably wouldn’t have shared it even if he tried to dip his inside of it. “What is there to discuss? We go to court, tell our side of story and let silly ex tell his, and we go home with babies being ours.”
Josie sighed, even as she pointed her chip at him. “That’s not what I meant and you know it. He’s suing me more than he is suing you. I just need to know that you have everything covered. I’m scared for the children, because we both know that he’s not doing this out of honest love for them.”
Her husband glanced around the restaurant, making her nervous that something was wrong. “What happened? What aren’t you telling me?”
He was silent for a moment, before turning his dark eyes firmly upon her. “Your ex is getting help from your mother. She is looking to be his witness that you have tricked him into walking away from the little ones.”
Josie collapsed back into her seat. “What? My mother is helping that snake?” She knocked over her glass in her frustration. “What the hell is wrong with her?” Why would she risk their relationship to lie about something like this? She couldn’t even look to her husband for answers, because how could he knew any better than her.
He shrugged, even as he cleaned up her mess. “Mother is not concern because we know she is lying for personal gain. Harrison is ready to deal with her if testimony comes up. You will have chance to say your story, and knowing that you gave birth twice alone will help neutralize mother’s words. You will just have to take care of new beba and let me worry about everything else.”
They were interrupted by the waitress bringing both of their meals. The savory smell of Mexican spices caused her mouth water and her mind to become distracted by the anticipated taste of authentic tacos. She loved it already, just by smell alone.
Žarko watched her tearing into her meal, and it didn’t bother her. Good food made the baby happy. And a happy baby made a happy mom. A happy mom wouldn’t go and strangle her mother because of her stupidity. She didn’t even plan to leave anything extra on her plate. She wanted it all in her tummy, Žarko’s food, too since he didn’t seem to stop her fork from dipping into his plate occasionally.
“We are really hungry today,” he made note.
She nodded. “It’s got to be the baby. This whole pregnancy has been weird, though, so it can be anything.”
She watched him wipe his mouth with a napkin. “What do you mean?”
She shrugged. “I haven’t been sick like I was in the last two pregnancies. I feel like I’m also always starving, something I wasn’t when I carried Juljiana. I’m not worried, because my body feels okay, but I think it’s strange that this pregnancy is so different from my last two.”
A slight frown tugged at his lips. “Now I am really upset at doctor that did not let us ask our questions. If he were not jerk, we would have answers.”
She reached across the table to lay her hand over his. “It is what it is. I can also do some internet research and see what others say about their pregnancies. I’m pretty sure that all of this is normal because every baby is different. It could also be because I’m not as stressed this time.”