Page 51 of Depraved Royals
So that’s who it was. No great loss. A Sicilian mafia elder known for being a rapist and an all-around scumbag. Presumably, he was scraped off the sidewalk without much fuss, and that was that.
“I will rip your tongue out for talking that way about my fiancée, Simeon. Where is she? I swear I’ll…”
I look up to see Dani walking around the corner, and I hang up.
19
Dani
The last few weeks have been a whirlwind, but it feels right.
Kal was a feared and hated enemy, yet now he’s a new member of my family. It happened naturally and seamlessly, with no drama, and I can’t believe my luck. My husband-to-be is Bratva, but he’s also utterly devoted to me, and we’re marrying for love. Unheard of in our world.
I didn’t realize my pill had failed. It stops my periods completely, so I never thought about it until a few days ago when I started with the nausea. It was Pip who urged me to take a test, and there it was, plain as day. Two little blue lines that meant my life was about to change yet again.
If only I could nix this rolling sickness in my belly. I belch and wince as I turn onto my street.
Kal is right there, getting out of his car. He looks furious.
“Hey,” I say. “You okay? Did something happen?”
“What thefuck, Dani?” Kal asks. He bangs his fist on the hood of the car, and I jump. “You can’t just do whatever you want. Pippa said you went to the art shop, so I called. You didn’t fucking pick up.”
I dump my bag on the ground.
Thisis what I was afraid of. The controlling bullshit is starting already.
“I was busy buying paint, genius!” I tap my temple with my fingertip. “Think about it, Kal. I’m an artist. I’m working hard to rebuild my collection so I can have a comeback exhibition and get on with the life I hadbefore I fucking met you. So funnily enough, I didn’t make answering your call a priority!”
Kal frowns. “The exhibition is gonna have to be put on hold. I’m not happy about you putting yourself out there again after what happened last time.”
“You mean when all my art, my work that meant so much to me, went up in fucking flames?” I laugh. “And at what arbitrary point in the future will you, oh Master, decide it is safe?”
“That’s not the fucking point!”
I raise my hand above my eyes and squint, looking past Kal and all around. He throws his hands in the air in exasperation.
“What are you looking for?” he says.
“I’m searching for a fuck to give.”
I turn away and walk into the house, Kal hot on my heels. Pippa is in the lounge, but when she sees the look on my face, she scurries away to her bedroom, closing the door behind her.
“You don’t understand,” Kal is saying. “I have concerns about your safety.”
“Like what?”
Kal looks at his feet for a second before meeting my eyes. “Just thoughts. You’re a Bratva princess and my fiancée. You’re pregnant. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
He didn’t say ‘anything bad.’ He said ‘anything,’ and there’s a fucking difference.
“So that’s it? Iwasme, Danica Pushkin, but now I’m just Mrs. Antonov, mother to your baby and your personal fuck-toy? Because you’d better believe me when I say I’m not falling for this.”
Kal’s face closes down, his features freezing as though he’s turning into a waxwork before my eyes. He stares at me impassively as he speaks.
“I have no time to sit around here arguing. You will be safe at your parent's house. I have things to do.”
I try to ignore the sting as my eyes fill with tears.