All Chapters of Pregnant & Desired By The Mob Boss: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

NadezhdaDominic actually fired me.The son of a bitch fired me just because his asshole nephew asked him to. Years of good service and loyalty tossed aside in one decision. I wouldn't be quite as angry if I hadn't expected more of Dominic. My mother had warned me to be more professional, but I'd assumed my relationship with Dominic was stronger than that of any regular employer and employee. I'd grown up on his estate and worked for him for four years. Apparently, I'd been wrong.And now, it had cost me everything."You should never have yelled at Mr. Paplov," my mother says, wringing her hands in her apron while she stands in our small kitchen. Pots are steaming behind her on the stove. It is the first meal she has cooked for me since she found out I was pregnant. It is unfortunate that it took me getting fired for her to talk to me."There are so many 'Mr. Paplovs' that I can't keep them straight," I sigh, leaning forward to rest my head on my folded hands. "You're talking about Ar

ArtyomLukyan is dead.My mother tries to grab the phone, and I push her away. Hard enough that her back hits the other wall of the hallway. I am too disoriented to apologize or care.Lukyan is dead. That is what the detective told me. Officers found his body in a crack house early that morning."You can't know it was an overdose until you do an autopsy," I say. "It could be foul play."She is kind but firm. "He still had the needle in his arm."Telling my mother is easier than I expect, which is good because I wouldn't have been able to handle it if she'd broken down. I am barely keeping myself together as it is."I knew this would happen one day," she says, squeezing her eyes closed. "The longer he went without getting clean, the more I prepared myself for it."I'm not prepared. Not at all. I pull out my phone and call Lukyan's personal bodyguard. I talked to him a few days before, but Lukyan hadn't been returning any of his calls or messages, either."Is it true?" I ask as soon as

ArtyomThere isn't time to mourn. Like always, I'm too busy picking up the pieces Lukyan left behind.Because Moscow police found his body, word of his death is spreading faster than any of us would have liked. Rumblings of it are already beginning to make their way through local news channels and within a day or two, everyone will know. Vlad Paplov's Son Dead of Overdose. Lukyan's death will be used to write opinion pieces on the state of crime in the city and my father's connections to all of it. Though they have no solid proof to connect any of the dots, they will say that our family got what we deserved. That a life of crime doesn't pay. It will bring the police closer to our operation than we want them, though we've been there before. We can handle it.I just wish I didn't have to.I'm halfway back to Dominic' estate when my phone rings. It's Dominic. Part of me doesn't want to answer it, if only because I don't want to hear any more bad news. Not for a few hours, at least. But m

NadezhdaI'm exhausted.The job at the diner is just as much work as being a maid, if not more. I'm on my feet for eight hours straight with a fifteen-minute break in the middle to eat. My first day wouldn't have been so bad if I'd packed something to eat. Since I was working at a diner, I assumed there would be plenty of food around, but the boss is a lot stingier than he seemed during my interview. I get one free drink per shift, but the food is full-price, and since I didn't have any money on me, I just went without.I knew if I'd mentioned that I was pregnant, the boss probably would have taken pity on me and given me some food, but I couldn't drop that bombshell on Day One. Not yet. If Mr. Savin realized I'd accepted the job without disclosing my pregnancy, he'd be upset, and I didn't know enough about him yet to know what he'd do when he was upset.Though, I thought I knew Dominic Paplov, but clearly, I'd been wrong. He had fired me for my first-ever offense without even talking

ArtyomWith Nadezhda in my arms, I pause for a moment on the sidewalk. I could carry her into her apartment—her key slipped from her hand when she passed out—and try to wake her, but one look up at her apartment building tells me all I need to know.The façade has deep cracks running up the brick with haphazard patch jobs trying to hide the decay. Half of the windows are cracked and boarded over and trash overflows from the trashcans along the curb. It isn't a nice place, and Nadezhda shouldn't be there in her current condition. Or any condition.Plus, it isn't safe for her here.For whatever reason, our rivals are targeting her. Perhaps they know about her child with Lukyan? Maybe that is why she has a target on her back. Though, I don't know how anyone would know yet. I just found out a few days ago.Either way, they know where she lives, and they won't stay away. I can't protect her here long-term. Nadezhda is lucky I showed up when I did. God knows what they would have done to her