Forced to Marry the Russian (Nikolai Bratva Brides #2)

Chapter 26 - Zia

Zia felt a light piercing through her eyelids. It was sharp and bright, drawing her back to life.

She heard the voices around her, and she recognized each of them. She felt rough hands wrap around hers.

There was a familiarity to that feeling. She knew this warmth. It had held her severally in cold and rain, and even in the darkness, it was holding her now.

Those hands were Lev’s. Her husband was holding her and comforting her. She had to wake up. She had to return to him.

Her eyes flickered gently until they were wide open.

The light she’d seen was shining brightly from the pen torch an unfamiliar face was beaming into her eyes.

“She’s awake,” the face said.

The warmth in her hands crept up to her shoulders, and she turned her face in its direction.

“Lev,” she called softly as he leaned in and kissed her, sniffling back tears.

“You’re awake,” he said, wiping under her eyes.

The memories came back to her like a flood, and she tried to sit up but sank back down when she felt an ache in her stomach.

“How is my baby?” she asked as the nurse cautioned her to stay still.

“He’s fine, Malyshka,” Lev replied in the gentlest way she had ever heard him speak. He took out a sonogram picture from his pocket. “It’s a boy, and he’s perfect,” he added, raising her hand to his mouth and kissing it softly.

“We’re going to have a son?” she asked, smiling amidst the tears that had gathered in her eyes.

“Yes, Malyshka. We’re going to have a son.” He grinned brightly. “We’ll both be parents to a cute little boy someday.”

“Welcome back, Mrs. Nikolai. It’s good to see you awake,” the nurse greeted, smiling at her. “We’re glad you came in earlier. It would have been risky for you and the baby otherwise.”

“But he’s fine now, isn’t he?”

The nurse smiled at her. “He is, but you’ll have to be on bed rest for the next couple of weeks and come in regularly for a checkup.”

“Thank you for all your hard work, nurse,” Lev said to the nurse. “Thank you for saving my wife and my baby.”

“It’s my job. If you’ll excuse me, I have to go check on other patients.” The nurse walked out of the room, leaving only two of them. Three, if Zia included the baby in her tummy.

With a smile stretching on his lips, Zia sat on the bed next to her and leaned over to plant a kiss on her forehead.

“Thank you for staying alive,” he said softly. “I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost you.”

She placed her hand on his. “I’m never going to leave you until we’re old, Lev. You’ve already made on promise to me, so I’ll make this to you; I’m not going to die on you, ever.”

“And when we get old, I hope I’m the first to leave,” he joked.

He looked exhausted, like he hadn’t slept in days, but he was still her Lev.

“How long was I… asleep?” she asked, sitting up.

He held her up with one hand and positioned a pillow for her with the other. “Two days. I was scared out of my mind because you weren’t waking up. I almost lost it.”

By losing it, she knew he meant he’d been pacing the hospital, threatening every doctor who walked into her room that they’d be out of jobs for life if she died. “Lev, did you threaten the doctors?”

He shrugged. “Only told them I needed my wife alive, or I wouldn’t know what I would do to them.”

She burst into a fit of laughter, raising her head as he nuzzled her neck to give her more space.

“I’d ask you two to get a room, but you’re already in one,” a familiar voice floated through the room, startling Zia but not Lev. Nothing startled him. The man had mastered his emotions and reactions like she mastered a brisket recipe.

Losing her and their baby was the only time he lost his shit.

Looking up in the direction of the voice, Zia sucked in a small breath as she saw Amy standing by the door with a mischievous smile.

“Amy,” Zia whispered as her friend scooted over to her and flung her arms around her.

“You’re awake,” Amy said, her voice muffled as she sniffed into Zia’s hair. “We were all so scared. We thought the worst.”

“You were here all the while?”

“She called as soon I brought you to the hospital, and I told her everything that was happening. She wasn’t even fully well, yet nearly broke a leg running here,” Lev narrated, nodding his disapproval.

“I’m glad you’re fine,” Amy said.

Zia reached for her friend. “Me too. I’m glad you’re fine.” She remembered they hadn’t had the time to fully catch up before the poisoning incident. “Right, where do you work now?”

Amy huffed out a sigh. “I don’t have a job now. I got one after the attack at the club, but the pay was low, and the boss was such a bully.”

Zia rolled her eyes. “Toxic work environment. I can totally relate.” She glanced at her husband. “Lev just opened up club Noelle, maybe there’s a role you can fill in there?”

“You could come to work with us, Amy. I’m also opening a new club in the downtown district soon. We’d need a new manager and…” Lev began.

“Yes!” Amy squealed in delight. “Yes, I’ll take it!” She hugged Zia. “Thank you, babes.”

Zia hugged her back. “You’re welcome.”

“So, when were you going to tell me you were pregnant?” Amy asked, pouting her lips.

“When things settled,” Zia answered honestly. “There was a war, and we couldn’t let Cillian find out.”

Amy waved. “It’s fine; you had every right not to share the news with me sooner. You guys picked out a name yet?” she asked.

“Alexander,” Lev blurted.

Zia narrowed her eyes on him. “Alexander?”

Lev nodded. “Don’t like it?”

“I love it,” Zia said. “It has a nice ring to it.”

“Knock, Knock.”

They turned their attention to the door.

Adrian, Ivan, and Konstantin sauntered in.

“Hey, lady,” Konstantin said. He smiled at Zia. “How are you feeling now?”

“Well enough,” she answered. “How are you?”

He rubbed his head. “All healed. I told you, didn’t I? An injury like that can’t kill me.”

Zia chuckled. She loved this playful side of Konstantin. “I’m glad that you’re okay, Kostya.”

“Me too.”

Ivan yawned, feigning boredom. “We have to teach you some fighting skills, sister-in-law. You can take down a man like Cillian all on your own, you know?”

“How about you train me after I’m discharged?” Zia asked with glee.

“Remember what the doctor said. You can’t do anything stressful until they say otherwise,” Lev reminded her.

“Um… after I’m cleared?” Zia asked.

Ivan winked at her. “Deal.”

“Congratulations on being pregnant,” Adrian said, speaking for the first time since he entered the room. He narrowed his eyes at his older brother. “I thought you hated being a father.”

“Raising you and Ivan did that to me. You two were a nightmare,” Lev retorted playfully. “But my son will be a gentleman.”

“It’s a boy?” Ivan chuckled. “I’m going to teach him how to fight and shoot. Don’t worry, I’ll pay you back by being a great uncle.”

“The boy could use a skill or two on hacking. I’ll take care of that, too,” Adrian added.

Zia and Lev looked at each other. Zia’s chest warmed. “Looks like we have an entire village to raise our kid.”

Lev leaned in and kissed her lips lightly. “We’ll have more time for ourselves.”

Ivan’s face scrunched. “You two are gross.”

Says the one who fucks a new girl every other night,” Adrian said, taunting Ivan.

Ivan threw his hands up. “Come on, Man. You don’t have to come at me like that.”

Everyone in the room laughed.

“The Pakhan will be back from his break soon. What do you plan to do then?” Konstantin asked.

Lev thought for a moment. “I’ll take a break once the kid is born. I need to spend some time with my family.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” Adrian said. "You’ve both been through so much lately.”

Amy cleared her throat. “You’re right. They’ve been through so much lately. Which is why we need to leave the love bird alone.” She turned to the guys, smiling at them without an iota of fear. “We’re all leaving, you two rest.”

Ivan frowned. “But we only just came.”

“No one cares. Leave.” Amy was basically pushing them out the door. Once everyone was out, she winked at Zia. “You two have fun. I’ll call you later.”

Zia nodded and smiled at her friend.

It was just Lev and Zia now.

“Thank you, Zia,” he voiced out, sitting at the head of the bed so Zia could lean on him.

Lev gave her a confused look. “For what?”

“For coming to save me. It was hard that night, but I held on because I trusted you would come.” She fiddled her blanked between her fingers. “Thank you for loving me too.

“I think that’s my line,” Lev said, his eyes lighting up.” “I never exactly thought I’d get married one day, much less have a kid,” Lev sighed. “But even when I saw Mikhail get stressed and tired when his twins were born, I always thought he looked so happy and fulfilled.”

“I always wanted to be a mother,” Zia confessed. “I was all alone and wanted to make a family of my own, but I knew I wanted it with the right person. I loved Owen, but I just knew he wasn’t the one for me.”

“How about me?”

“You’re more than perfect for me, husband.” She rested her head on his shoulder. I can’t wait to tell our kids how we met.”

“Am I going to be a hero or a villain in that story?”

She raised her head and looked at him. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is that we love each other fiercely. And you fell in love with me at first sight.”

A deep laugh rumbled from Lev’s throat. “I did. I want you to know, Zia, that if I had to go back to that moment, I would choose you over and over again.”

Zia looked up at him, a bright smile on her face.

“You’ve given me a gift that transcends all gifts ever received. You’ve shown me that my heart is capable of more, and it’s beautiful to see. I know ours wasn’t the most conventional wedding and I bet there are lots of things you’d like to change about that, but in the middle of all that, just know that one thing will never change. I’ll always be smitten by you every day, the way I was when I saw you in that club for the first time. I love you, Zia Nikolai.”

“I love you too, Lev. More than you know.” Zia cupped Lev’s face. It was still so hard to believe that this man who would torture and kill for her was her man. He was her husband and the father of her unborn child. “It’s true that our love story wasn’t conventional, but I love my life with you more than anything I’ve ever had, and, dare I say, I couldn’t have had it any other way. You’ll always mean the world to me.”

“You mean more than the world to me, my love,” Lev promised.

And with that, he leaned down and claimed her lips in his, cradling her softly so he wouldn’t hurt her if she moved too much. She kissed him back, as fiercely and as passionately. as he was kissing her, neither of them wanting to break it.

When finally, they broke the kiss and came up for air, they held onto each other, panting softly.

This was going to be their new normal and oh, did they look forward to it a whole lot already.

At that moment, she swore with her life that she would love him fiercely and protect the family they were building, just like she knew he would do for her.

Nothing would ever come between them. Nothing.