Page 47 of Claimed in Sin
Before I even touch the second glass, I know I have to tell him everything. "Ro, someone broke into my home." My ears burn with shame. I brought this on myself, and he told me more thanonce if this goes sideways, it was on me. But I can't deal with this myself. I need his backup.
"Tonight? Did they take anything?" He leans forward as he downs his drink and sets the empty glass down. His eyes narrow and he glances between me and Marina, but he settles on me as I down my second shot and slam the glass onto his desk.
"I don’t know. They weren't there to steal anything." I can't even look him in the eye for this. If I had known she was pregnant, this whole thing would’ve gone differently. And it's my fault she never felt safe enough to tell me. I pressured her too, much too soon.
"They came for me," Marina says softly, hanging her head. "It was my father."
Ro sucks in a deep breath and blows it out loudly. He's upset, but he knows things happen. He has to know I'd never have let this happen if I had it in my control.
"And were you followed here?" he grumbles, but I know I lost them. I shake my head firmly.
"No, I lost them, I swear." I finally have the guts to look him in the eye, but he's looking at her now.
"So your father is tracing you? Does he have a reason to do that, Ms. Belova? Do I have a reason to fear your father coming to my home?" I want to jump up and lash out at him, but he's asking fair questions. I've lied to her, and she kept her pregnancy a secret, but I know she's not a liar. Besides, this is his home and he has a right to want to defend it.
"No, sir..." Marina's head still hangs, and she picks at her fingernails. "Mr. Radin, I?—"
"It's Kuzin," he says firmly, glowering at me. I'm such an idiot. She doesn’t even know my full name because I kept it hidden from her this whole time. She never asked me, likely because she felt this would all be just a fling. And look at the mess we're in.
Marina finally lifts her eyes and I see they're full of tears. "I'm pregnant and he wants me back home, sir. I think he followed me... If so, it means he probably has figured out that Stepan is the one I've been sleeping with." Her bottom lip quivers as she speaks, and I take her hand to offer her some courage. She glances down at where our hand is joined, causing a few tears to drip to my knuckles.
"And you're afraid of him?"
Roman knows everything that's happened on my end. He knows Orlov is dead at my hand, and though we've done that cleanly, with this new development of Marina being pregnant, he's smart enough to figure out that Belova may connect me to the whole thing. Especially if Orlov's buyers fight back against the accusation of murder.
"He wants me to kill my baby." Marina's voice is so small, it feels like someone stabbed me in the chest. I won't let them do that to her. I won't allow her to go home if that's what her father will do.
"Ro, we need your help." I'm not too prideful to ask for his help when I need it, and I need it. "I fucked up bad."
Roman pushes a button on his phone, perched on the corner of his desk, and less than ninety seconds later, Sorin appears, dressed in her night clothes with her hair under a cap. She nods and bows, then shuffles in, warily glancing at me and Marina. "Sir?"
"Sorin, can you please help Ms. Belova? We'll need a hot bath and some salts for her. If she's hungry, feed her, and help her into some night clothes and a guest bed for now."
My heart feels the weight of a thousand planets lift off it as my cousin gives his maid the orders.
"Of course, Mr. Kuzin. Ms. Belova? Come with me, please." Sorin holds out her hand, and Marina looks up at me nervously. Her bottom lip is worried between her teeth.
"It's okay," I tell her. "Remember, I promised you're safe here. I'll come be with you soon. Go relax."
She throws her arms around me and I hold her for a second. Roman turns his eyes, and Sorin drops her gaze to the floor, and when Yegor and Radimir waltz in like they were called, I get the point. "You gotta go, baby. Sorin will take good care of you, okay? I promise."
I push her back and kiss her forehead, and Sorin takes her hand and leads her out of the room. Then it’s just me and my cousin and his men.
Roman lowers himself into his chair and pours himself another vodka. He doesn't pour me one this time. He drinks it slowly, watching me over the rim while Yegor posts up by the door with his arms crossed and Radimir drops into the chair Marina was sitting in.
"So," he says. "Let me make sure I have the full picture. You killed Orlov ahead of my timeline. You got a woman pregnant. That woman is the daughter of Sergei Belova. And now Belova's sent armed men to your place and you've dragged her here, to my home, where I'm currently hosting a meeting with the Radin family—her father's biggest enemy." His eyebrows rise inskepticism as he purses his lips, and I feel the heavy weight of shame ready to crush me.
"Yeah," I grumble, eyeing that bottle of vodka. I want another shot. I need to let my chest loose or I'm gonna explode like a coiled viper.
"That's one hell of a mess, Stepan."
Yegor shifts but keeps his mouth shut. Radimir stares at the floor. Neither one of them is stupid enough to chime in. If they say a cross word, I'd slit their throats, and Roman isn't in a mood to fuck around.
"Call Timur," Roman says. "Get him on speaker."
I pull my backup phone out and dial. It rings a few times before Timur picks up, and I expect him to be sleepy, but he's wide awake and alert. He sounds on edge too, like he's wired to explode any second just like me.
"I was about to call you," Timur says.
