Page 85 of Savage Little Secret

“Sometimes, you have to cut out the rot,” I tell him as I glance in the rearview mirror where the building I just came from looms in the background.

The men on the Bratva Council have been around since I was a kid. They made the rules that they hold the rest of us to, and they punish anyone who steps out of line. The only reason they’ve been dragging their feet to do anything to me is because they know that I’m supported.

I have money and allies. I have men who are more loyal to me than them. And they know that I’ll stick to my word and rain down hell on them if they try anything.

My phone buzzes with a new message from Isaak.

Everything is quiet here. All good.

I quietly exhale, releasing some of the tension weighing down my shoulders. As long as Cara stays safe, I can focus on what’s ahead.

If I have to wage war in order to track down and kill every single person who hurt her, I will. According to Cara, it could be dozens. She doesn’t even know the exact number of people who questioned her and tortured her.

The rot is deep.

And I’m done pretending it won’t spread unless someone starts cutting.

31

Cara

I try not to pace a groove into Dmitri’s wooden floors while I wait for my father to show up.

Today is the day he brings the pregnancy test, hopefully without Dmitri finding out.

Why else would he insist on coming by for a quick check-in? Luckily, whatever he said to Dmitri over the phone was convincing enough for Dmitri to let him stop by.

“Are you okay?”

My eyes snap to Dmitri as I pull myself out of my head, my heart rate spiking. Am I that obvious? “Yeah, why?”

Dmitri stops near the kitchen island as I stand in front of the fridge, always a buffer between us lately. “You’ve opened and closed the refrigerator door three times now without getting anything out of it.”

I force myself to breathe and smile. “I’m hungry, but I can’t decide what to eat.”

“Your father said he was bringing you something homemade,” Dmitri replies.

That’s new.

“I’ll wait for him then. When is he supposed to arrive?” I ask, trying to sound as casual as possible. I don’t know if it’s actually working or not.

I’m nervous about taking the pregnancy test, but now I also have to worry about making sure Dmitri doesn’t find out about it. Plus, it’s just weird being around my father again, especially under these circumstances.

Everything has changed, and I just can’t seem to find my footing yet.

“In a couple of minutes,” Dmitri says as he checks the time on his watch. He then walks around the island, moving closer to me, his eyes scanning my face. When he lifts his hand to press the back of it against my forehead, I tense up. “Are you sure you’re feeling okay? You look pale.”

“I might be a little under the weather,” I admit. I haven’t really been feeling well lately.

The nausea comes in waves. My bones ache. I’m exhausted but can’t sleep.

Dmitri frowns and brushes a few strands of hair out of my face that had slipped out of my loose braid. “I can tell your father to come another time. Maybe you should lay down and rest.”

I shake my head a little quickly. “No, it’s fine.”

Dmitri’s brow furrows.

I’ve made him suspicious. I’m going to get myself caught before Sean even makes it here!