Six Months Later
I lug my big-ass body up the steps and pause at the top to catch my breath. “No, I’m fine, don’t worry. I’m just a beached whale rumbling around on the floor.”
“You won’t get any sympathy from me. I told you to use the elevator, but you insisted.” Sona leans against the wall, arms crossed as she waits for me to straighten up.
I grunt, one hand on my back, knuckling the knot that won’t seem to loosen up no matter what I do. It’s been like that all freaking day, plus some mild cramping. It’s not a big deal. I had hoped a little minor exercise might help. That’s what Mom said might work, anyway. Ever since she went into remission four months back, she’s been extremely into my pregnancy, which is a mixed blessing. Like, a little bit too involved, if I’m being honest, but I’ll gladly let her obsess and bug me all the time if that means she’s still around when the baby’s born.
The baby’s kicking more than usual today.
He’s due in two weeks.
Which means I’m basically about to burst.
Unfortunately, nothing’s making me feel any better right now.
“Trust me, I know,” I grumble as I waddle after her. We head past a perky secretary toward one of the conference rooms.
“Arsen was enormous, you know. It’s a Sarkissian trait. Big, hairy skulls. That baby’s going to blast your cervix open and it won’t ever be the same.”
I grimace, one hand on my belly. “Can you not?”
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t know you were so soft you couldn’t handle the truth.” Sona’s smiling slightly now. I know she’s only teasing me. The woman comes off like a vicious snake—and that’s exactly what she is.
But she’s also loyal, caring, and occasionally funny.
Mostly a snake, though.
Still, over the last few months, we’ve gotten close. Much closer than I thought was possible when Arsen first suggested I start working with her.
“How much were you briefed on this?” I ask her as we approach the meeting.
“All I know is we’re seeing Vartan and Haik to discuss new territory alignment.”
“Their sons and several of their soldiers are here too. Arsen says they’ve been pretty unhappy since the realignment started.”
“Since when did we use business jargon?” Sona murmurs. We stop outside of the conference room.
I raise my eyebrows at her. “Look at us.” I gesture at our smart pant suits. “We look like a couple corporate bitches.”
“In the old days, business was handled in smoky restaurants.”
“Right, and you walked twenty miles each way, and also played Russian roulette for fun.”
She smiles fondly and sighs. “Those were better days.”
“Life’s different in the new Brotherhood.” I shove a dossier of papers at her. “Those are the proposed plans. The cartel product can be rearranged slightly, but it’ll take convincing. You need to make Haik feel important.”
“What about Vartan?”
“Arsen’s probably going to—” I gesture across my throat and make a choking sound. “So, you know.”
“Understood.” Sona straightens herself and turns toward the door. “These men hate us, Lena. They think because they’ve got dicks that they matter.”
“Also, I’m Russian, and that makes me, you know, less than human.”
“That too. We’ll make them see reason.” Her eyes narrow. “Speaking of less than human, your brother has been making trouble again.”
I want to scream. Vadim was given a comfortable job at a family-owned club, but he’s done nothing but be a pain in the ass. “What is it now?”
“He wants to be a gangster.” She says it totally deadpan. “You know, work a corner, that sort of thing.” I resist the urge to groan and kick a hole in the wall.
“I’ll talk sense into him. I promise. He just needs to figure out how things are now.” I hope, anyway.
“Good, because I like you, but I am less fond of your sibling.” She turns to the door and lifts her chin. “Now, speaking of annoying men, let’s go handle this.”
Sona’s entire demeanor changes as she shoves her way into the meeting room. Despite the eight or so large and violent men arrayed around the table, she instantly dominates the space. Any sense of friendliness fades away and there’s only the ruthless ice queen in her place.
I remain on the edges of the meeting. She negotiates new positions for Haik and largely ignores Vartan’s protests and complaints. He’s as good as dead anyway. I stay quiet, but I’ve been cramping all day, and a big one hits me a few minutes into the discussion. I have to grip the edge of the table to keep myself from crying out. Sona doesn’t like it when I interrupt her.
I’ve learned a lot working with her. At first, my curiosity was hard to control, but Arsen’s been helping me figure out how to channel it into something productive.
Which is how I ended up Sona’s research assistant. She’s taken on the business side of the family and she’s always looking for new, legitimate investments. That’s where she steers me. Sona likes to shove me down rabbit holes. I can spend hours or sometimes days researching different business proposals for her. I’m obsessive and tenacious, and we’ve come up with more than a few good investments together, all while keeping control over the unruly Brotherhood.
It’s not crawling through moldy basements, but it’s pretty satisfying.
The transition hasn’t been smooth though. Arsen’s constantly putting out fires. The old guard is pissed that new men are being raised above them, but Arsen refuses to compromise. Only the most skilled and most talented will rise in the ranks, regardless of blood.
I’m proud of him, but it’s all kind of a pain in the ass.
You’d think grown men wouldn’t whine so much all the time.
Another cramp hits me. This time, it’s brutal. I groan, leaning forward. I bite my lip to shut myself up, but everyone turns to stare. I’m in too much pain to feel awkward though.
“Is she okay?” Haik asks, sounding genuinely concerned.
“I didn’t know you fucking cared,” Sona snaps at him, but she leans over and puts a hand on my arm. “Lena, dear. Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” I say, breathing hard as the discomfort passes. “More embarrassed than anything. I’m just cramping.”
Haik’s frown deepens. He’s a big, hairy man, and I flinch when he leans toward me and gestures. “Did you, perhaps, ah… have an accident?”
“What the hell?” I snap, glaring at him, but then I look down.
Ah, shit.
My pants are soaked. It looks like I peed all over myself. My cheeks turn bright red as I look around the room.
Everyone’s staring at me.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry, this has never happened before,” I say quickly, stumbling over the words. “This is so fucking embarrassing. I swear, I don’t normally pee myself.”
“Lena,” Sona says gently. I try to stand, but she keeps me in my chair.
“It’s just I’m so pregnant and it’s hard to control my bladder. I didn’t even realize I had to go. It must be these stupid cramps—”
“Lena,” Sona says, forcefully this time. “Those aren’t cramps. They’re contractions. And that’s not urine.”
The room stares at me. Eight big, hulking, violent gangsters.
“Oh, no,” I whisper as reality hits me. This can’t be happening right now. This isn’t part of the plan. Arsen’s supposed to be here—not some questionably loyal gangsters.
“Holy fuck!” Haik yells, leaping to his feet. “The patron’s wife is going into labor!”
The room explodes into motion. Haik shouts at his soldiers to clear the way. Vartan runs around like he doesn’t know what to do. Everyone’s screaming at each other, making phone calls, sending texts, basically freaking out. It’s total chaos and I’m sitting in the middle of it with wet pants and the deep, looming terror of going into labor without my husband.
“We’ll get you to the hospital,” Haik says, helping me to my feet. “Joshua! Give me your fucking shirt! You can wrap it around your waist, my queen.”
I’ve never, ever heard Haik talk to me this way. Normally, he’s standoffish and kind of a prick. But the guy does have like nine kids. Maybe all it takes is a little early labor to make him act like a human.
“Arsen,” I grit out through my teeth as another contraction hits me. The guard named Joshua gives me his shirt and I tie it around my hips to cover the wet stain.
Sona guides me to the door. “We’re already calling.”
“Call my mom too. She needs to know.”
“I’ll handle it.”
“My car is downstairs and waiting,” Haik says, keeping pace as we hustle to the elevators. “We’ll break every fucking law to reach the hospital on time.”
“Thank you, Haik, but let’s just get there without getting pulled over.”
“Whatever you want, my queen.” He roars at some people milling around the lobby downstairs. “Out of the way! Move, you fucking peasants! This woman is in labor!”
“Oh my god,” I murmur at Sona, who’s grinning like a maniac.
“He’s going overboard, but you have to hand it to him.”
Haik and his guards clear a path. They hustle me to the door and into the back of a waiting sedan. The driver’s another Armenian Brotherhood member, a young guy I vaguely recognize.
“Drive, you fucking cocksucker!” Haik roars at him.
Sona sits in the back with me as the young driver speeds through traffic.
“Contractions are still relatively far apart,” Sona says as we barely make it through a yellow light and swerve around an old lady trying to cross the street. “There’s time. You’ll be okay.”
“I just want Arsen.” I’m so scared I can barely think. Now that we’re out of the building and the chaos of my water breaking is over, I’m starting to come to grips with what’s happening.
The baby’s coming, and he’s coming right now.
“He hasn’t answered his phone yet, but we’re trying.” Sona sounds so calm. She snaps directions at the driver and Haik shouts at him to go faster. Everyone’s on edge, and I can barely think.
“I’m not ready,” I say quietly, hands shaking. Another contraction hits and I grunt through the pain.
“Nobody’s ever ready, but you’ll make it through.”
“Oh my god. The Sarkissian head. My cervix. Sona, it’s going to rip me in half.”
She stares at me grimly. “You’ll survive. You’re strong, Lena. You can do this.”
“I didn’t read the books.” I gasp and squeeze Sona’s hand. “Oh my god. I never read them. Arsen told me I should and I promised that I would, but I never did. I’m the worst mother in the world. I’m going to screw this up so badly. Oh, shit, I can’t do this!”
“Lena, stop it.” She leans in close and touches my cheek. It’s the most intimate we’ve been since we started working together. “You are going to be a wonderful mother. You know what I was worried about when Arsen was coming? I kept thinking my figure was about to be ruined. But you care about this baby. Arsen cares about both of you. Things are going to be alright, I promise.”
The car lurches to a halt. “We’re here,” Haik shouts and throws open the door. “You there! Orderly with the ugly shoes! I need a wheelchair for my pregnant queen. What the fuck do you mean, you don’t work here?” He storms off into the building, yelling like a madman.
“You can do this,” Sona says, pushing open our door.
“I just want Arsen,” I say, struggling to keep myself from crying.
I thought I had more time. Two whole weeks! We planned on being together twenty-four-seven starting soon so there’d be no way I could go into labor without him, and look at what’s happening. It’s all falling apart.
If only I had read the books, maybe I’d feel like I can handle this.
A wheelchair arrives. Haik’s marshaling orderlies and nurses like he owns the place. I’m pretty sure he’s going to get kicked out soon. They push me back and Sona comes along when I tell them she’s my aunt. I give them the name of my OB and they send her a page. They time my contractions and another doctor comes to visit, and all the while I’m sitting in a bed in a private room in Baltimore’s best hospital, but everything’s all wrong.
Arsen won’t pick up his phone.
“I know it’s early, but we’re following the birth plan,” Dr. Balian says. She’s the calmest person I’ve ever met, but even she can’t make me feel like I’m not falling to pieces. “It’s not too late to change your mind about pain medication.”
“I’m doing this natural,” I say, breathing fast through another contraction. “But please, doctor—”
“You’re pretty far along,” she says with some surprise after taking a look at me. “Further than I thought, actually.”
“Arsen’s not here. I can’t do this.”
“That baby’s coming. Keep calling him.” The doctor leaves but promises to come back soon.
The contractions get worse. I feel like I’m breaking to pieces. Only Sona’s with me, and she’s doing her best to keep me grounded, but I’m freaking out.
All wrong. All freaking wrong.
“You can do this,” she says as the doctor comes back followed by a bunch of nurses. They’re wearing scrubs and operating gear like they’re about to rip me open. “Trust me, Lena, you can handle it.”
“Arsen,” I whimper as another contraction rips through my body.
“Time to push,” Dr. Balian says. “Okay, Lena, you can do this. When I say—”
The door rips open. And it’s like I can breathe again.
“Baby,” Arsen says, running to my side. He looks like he ran a marathon to get here. “Fuck, I’m so sorry. When I heard, I got here as fast as I could.”
“Great timing, Dad,” Dr. Balian says. “We were just about to get pushing. Are you with me, Lena?”
Arsen wraps his hand around mine. I blink away tears. He nods at me, squeezing gently. “Go ahead, baby. You got this.”
I hold his hand. My big, perfect husband. Suddenly all my fears wash away. All my worry evaporates. Who gives a shit about the stupid books?
Arsen read them all, and I’ve got him.
Sona watches from over near the window.
Dr. Balian peers between my legs.
“Push!”
