By the time we got to the hospital, they said the baby was crowning or some shit. I sent a text to Stavros on my way to get Harlyn. He was pissed that he wasn’t allowed to be there for his son’s birth. I told him to man the fuck up and just show up, but I never saw him. Instead my ass was the one who had to hold his girl’s hand while she pushed that baby out of her vagina.
Let’s just say I have a new respect for women. Harlyn did great, or so the doctor said. I thought she was going to cause me to lose all feeling in my hand. Plus, I never knew that bitch could scream that fuckin’ loud. Once that shit was done, I was out the door and ready to fucking climb the walls.
This fuckin’ place isn’t somewhere I want to be. I’m not that kid’s father and I shouldn’t be the one by Harlyn’s side through it all. My idiot brother should be. When all the doctors and nurse’ left the room, I finally made my way back inside to see how she was doing.
“Hey,” she says quietly.
“Hey.” I don’t really know what else to say to her. I can see the tear slip down her cheek as she stares down at the baby in her arms.
“I picked out a name for him. You want to hear it?” she asks. Her eyes are watery and happy, yet kind of sad. Almost like she wished he was here too. Fuck, I wish he were in this damn room so I didn’t have to be. Harlyn and Stavros should be experiencing this shit together, loving on that little guy together.
“Yeah, babe. What is his name?” I take a seat in the chair next to her bed and I stare at the little guy in her arms.
“Ruslan Aleksandar Levin.” I feel my heart stop at her words. How the fuck does she know our father’s name? When I try to get the words out, I can’t. Instead I end up looking like a fish out of water. “He told me about your father once. That he died when you both were young.” I can’t answer her; instead I just nod my head.
“You named him after our father.” I finally push the words past my lips. When I look over at her, she nods her head, a small smile on her lips. She must know how much it is going to mean to Stavros that she named this little guy after our father. The one man we both looked up to as kids.
“I know you both share the same middle name, and now Ruslan will too.” A tear slides down her face and I have to swallow around the lump that’s forming in my throat. “Do you want to hold him?” she asks quietly. I don’t even notice that I’m nodding my head until she hands him over to me carefully.
I stare into his small chubby face and I swear it’s like looking at my brother. His twin. Wrapped up in a tiny blue blanket. I set my phone on the bed next to Harlyn and I continue to stare at the little life in my arms.
I hear the snap of the camera on my phone and when I look up; I see her huge watery smile. “He looks just like your brother.” She clears her throat and then looks back down to the little man in my arms.
I hand him back to her and I in turn take a picture of her holding him. I sit with her until visiting hours are over and they take him into the nursery. Placing a kiss on her forehead, I say my goodbyes. “I’ll come by in the morning. Call if you need anything.” She smiles up at me and nods her head.
“Thank you.” I go to brush her thank you off, but she grabs my hand and forces me to stay where I am. “No, Nikolai. I mean it. Thank you. You’ve done so much for me and Ruslan already. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”
“I don’t need you to. If this shit were the other way around, he’d do the same for me.” With that, I walk out of her room.
In the hallway on my way out, I notice Stavros standing there almost like he was waiting for me. Checking my watch, I see that it’s almost two a.m. and I want to go see Ivellisse.
“How is she?” His voice is low and his eyes are casted towards the ground. To be honest, I’ve never seen my brother like this. He’s older, stronger, and meaner – but right now, he looks almost like the kid I remember him to be. The kid I used to follow around wishing I were more like him.
“She’s good. The doc said she did great and you are the father of a little boy.” I grab my phone out of my pocket and hit the photo button. I select the photo of her and Ruslan and hand the phone over to him.
I watch the way he stares at the photo. He’s in awe and still doesn’t know how to process this shit between them. I hate being the fucker in the middle because I see how much it’s affecting him.
“Can you send this to me?” he finally asks.
“Yeah, brother,” I state quietly. I don’t know what else to say to him. He knows I’m not going to keep his son from him, but there is nothing I can do to change Harlyn’s mind right now. “They brought him to the nursery so Harlyn could get some sleep. You want to meet him real quick?” He nods his head quickly and I put my hand on his shoulder.
We walk in silence to the nursery. Once we get to the room, a nurse stops us and asks what we are doing down here. She’s cute in a girl-next-door type of way, so I play up my charm to get my brother some time with his newborn son.
“Hey there, darlin’. My brother here is a brand new father. His ol’ lady gave birth earlier and he didn’t get a chance to make it. Is there anyway that you’ll let him get a few minutes with him?” The nurse looks over at my brother who has his face in the window.
“I need to make sure that the mother is okay with this first,” she finally says.
“Yeah, but darlin’ he’s dying to meet his son. Is there any way we can just let him meet his son. I’ll talk with my sister-in -aw.” I run my hand across her cheek and she practically melts into me. I hold her body up and she finally nods her head.
“Okay but please be quick.” I whistle to Stavros and he looks over to me. I nod my head towards the door and he quickly walks in and goes to Ruslan’s crib. Turning my attention back to the nurse, I turn my charm back on.
“Thank you, darlin’. You don’t know what this means to us.” She starts to giggle and her hand goes to my bicep.
“Gosh, your arms are huge.” Her eyes turn lusty and if I were a good man, I’d ignore it, but I’m not. I lay on the charm even more and pretty soon she has her hands on my stomach, feeling her way along my abs and sides.
Footsteps bring my attention from the nurse and when I look behind me, I see someone coming towards us. “That’s my boss. He needs to leave,” she whispers urgently. I nod my head and release her. Knocking on the window gently, I motion for him to leave the room and he does without question.
The nurse grabs a pen and writes her number on my palm before we make our way out of the hospital. No words are exchanged between us and I know that there is some shit running through his head right now. He deserves to know his son, just like his son deserves to know him. Do I agree with Harlyn? No, but I also know that my brother’s lifestyle isn’t one that a child should be raised in.
He and his brothers are ruthless motherfuckers. They don’t give a damn about who they hurt, just like me and my men. We do what we have to in order to take care of business. We are sinners and there isn’t anything that will stop us from getting what we want. “You going to let her raise your son alone?” I finally ask when we get out the hospital doors.
“I’m finally giving her the option.” His voice is low and lethal. I know this shit is killing him inside, so I don’t know why he’s giving her the option now. He didn’t give a shit what she wanted before. Harlyn told me the shit that went down when they were together and how he dragged her ass back, putting her on a tight leash.
She told me everything even though I didn’t want to know their shit. I feel like I know more about their relationship than I’ve known about my brother since he turned eighteen and left me behind. Not once did he come back to see how I was doing. I was bitter to say the least, but when he called I knew I couldn’t turn him down.
He loves her even if he doesn’t know how to show it. She is one of the only things that keep him calm in times of chaos. Her take no shit attitude is the only thing that can match his shitty attitude. I’m impressed that she gives just as much as she takes.
We don’t say anything else to each other as he walks over to his bike. I watch him get on the Harley and crank the engine. He nods his head to me before he takes off into the early morning hours. The roar of his bike is thunderous against the silent morning air.
Getting into my car, I make the long drive over to Ivelisse’s house. When I get to her street, I see Stas leaning against his car. When I pull up behind him, I see his stance change. Before I can put my car in park, my phone starts to ring.
Grabbing it out of my jacket pocket, I see Ilias’ name on the screen. He only calls when he needs something or to tell me a kill is done. Answering the call, I put the phone to my ear. “Nikolai,” he greets coldly. I don’t take it personally because it’s just the type of man he is. He’s a cold bastard and a cold-blooded killer. It makes me glad he’s on my side and not an enemy.
“Ilias,” I say, shutting off my car. The door opens and I see Stas standing there waiting for me to step out.
“It’s done. Confirmation sent,” he mutters into the phone. I close my eyes for a second before I even move. I’m about to start war in my own family.
“You got out clean? Any that can trace back to us and can put us in the red?” My question is nothing new. He knows the score. This job isn’t sanctioned and will come back to bite me in the ass if my uncle finds out about it.
“Have I ever let you down boss?” I can hear the humor in his voice. Not once has he let me down, and it better not happen now.
“No. Let’s keep it that way,” I state.
His laughter rings out in the phone and I want to punch something. He may be the best, but he can be a dick. “You know I won’t fuck this shit up.”
“Yeah,” I state before I hang up the phone. I don’t need this shit coming back on me any more than I need a bullet to the head.
Stas shuts my door as I get out and I look up to Ivelisse’s small house. It’s cute, but nothing like I’m used to. My house is a mansion compared to this little place. “Anything happen?” I ask, not looking at him.
“No, the bar was pretty quiet after the drunk was taken care of. She tried to get me to tell her what happened to him.” I sigh.
“You didn’t tell her anything did you?” I ask.
“No, of course not,” he states quickly. “I didn’t tell her anything, just that he wouldn’t bother her again.”
I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose. “You can go. I’ll keep an eye on her now. Thanks, Stas.”
He nods his head and walks back over to his car silently. One thing I’ve taught my men is to keep quiet in all aspects of their lives. They don’t talk about the shit I have them do and they can sneak up on anyone without being detected.
Making my way up the steps of her modest home, I grab the lock pick set out of my pocket and work on her locks. I get them both open in no time. Slipping inside, I shut the door behind me and reengage the locks. Scoping out the first room I come to, I see the living room. Next to that, I find the small kitchen. My eyes barely scan over everything as I make my way down the small hallway towards the bedrooms. The first one is an office and the second door is the bathroom.
Her tastes are simple, yet clean. The place is light, yet warm at the same time. I get why she decorated it the way she did. It’s cozy and safe feeling. Little does she know that it’s not actually safe. If anything it’s the total opposite of safe. It won’t take much for someone to break through those locks on her front door like I just did and I can’t imagine any of her other doors have any more protection than that one.
When I come to the last door, I silently push it open. I see her lying in her bed, covers pulled up close to her chin. The slight light filtering in through the open curtains blankets her soft features. This right here might be my new favorite view.
She may think I’m a fucking creeper by the time she wakes up, but right now I don’t give a shit. Kicking off my shoes, I pull my jacket off and lay it on the dresser. I do the same with my dress shirt and my pants. Walking slowly over to the bed, I watch her move around a little before she gets comfortable. I pull the sheet and comforter back and slide under them. Reaching my arm around her stomach, I pull her back into my body.
Her whole body tenses up as I whisper in her ear, “It’s just me.” She relaxes into my body but turns to face me.
“Your girlfriend done with you for the night already?” Her voice is laced with anger and jealousy. She has no idea how much it turns me on.
“I was with my sister-in-law while she gave birth.” That shuts her up. Her eyes soften and then her warm hand finds my chest.
“What did she have?” Her question is soft and cute in a way. A minute ago she was ready to scratch my eyes out and now she wants to know the sex of the baby.
“She had a little boy that looks just like my brother.” I don’t really want to talk about them, so I pull her closer and tuck my chin into her neck, kissing her softly there.