Bratva Boss’s Secret Triplets by Bella King

Chapter 10

April

Ishouldn’t bother cleaning the carpet before leaving, but the spill is going to be a sticky mess that’ll be impossible to scrub out if I don’t get it now. I slap a bucket of soapy water down beside it and dip my oversized yellow sponge into it before getting to work.

I should be relaxing, but Rebel has me strung up so tight that my shoulders are nearly touching my earlobes. I need to leave this apartment before he comes back. I don’t care that he didn’t hurt me this time. The information I gave him was a bold-faced lie, and when he finds that out, I fear what he will do to me.

He said that he’d be back tomorrow, but who am I to know if that’s true. It could be as soon as tonight when he searches my mother’s name and finds an obituary for her. He’ll know, and then he’ll come right back here to straighten it out.

I don’t want to be home when he arrives.

I scrub the carpet like I’m trying to tear the fibers right out of the floor, finishing it off with fresh water and rolling an old towel over the wet spot. I manage to get it finished in under a minute, springing to my feet and wasting no time on my trip to the closet to grab a suitcase.

I pile in everything I can possibly think of bringing with me. I have a receipt for my mother’s ring from the pawn shop that I include, but I know the ring isn’t there anymore.

They said it was bought by some collector, and they scribbled the address on the back of the receipt for me. It’s nearly faded off completely now, but I’ve had it memorized since the day I found out. I’m going there to get it as soon as I have the money.

I tuck the receipt into the front of my suitcase, cringing at the low price printed on the front that I sold the ring for. It was just a few hundred dollars, but they flipped it for thousands because it was fitted with a rare gemstone. I hate myself for not doing research before I sold the damn thing, but desperation makes you impatient. I wanted cash more than anything at the time.

The hard shell lid of my suitcase creaks as I smash it down on my belongings. I have to sit on it for it to close, rotating the zipper around me until everything is secured.

God, I hope I have everything. I don’t know how long I’m going to be gone, or even where I’m going to go.

Anywhere is better than here. Rebel will return. He shouldn’t, but he will.

I rush back to the living room, tugging my suitcase behind me. Maybe I’d be able to save more money if I canceled my lease and lived in my car, but how long could that go on for? A few months? I wouldn’t be able to do it once my pregnancy came in full swing. Triplets need room to grow, and my car would have us all packed up like sardines.

For now, it’s a solution. I’ve come to rely on temporary things like that to keep me going. If it gets me to tomorrow, I’ll be okay. Anything past that can be dealt with when it comes. I’m taking life one day at a time because that’s all I can handle at the moment.

I tug my suitcase to the door, but then freeze when I feel the rumble of an engine outside.

Rebel can’t already be back. He just left.

I dash to the window, fingering the blinds open at just the right time to reveal my face to the driver stepping out of his car in front of the building.

It isn’t Rebel, but it’s not someone I’m happy to see.

It’s Dean, my annoying ex who has a knack for showing up at the worst possible times and not taking no for an answer.

I groan. Why now? I already have enough difficult men to deal with.

But it’s too late for me to stop him from interrupting my escape. He’s seen me, and after just a few seconds, I hear a knock on my front door. I have to face Dean again, and this time, I’ve decided I’m not going to be nice anymore.

The games are finished. He desperately needs a cold slap of reality, and I’m going to give it to him.

I swing the door open after he knocks again. “What the fuck are you doing here?” I ask, planting my hands onto my hips and glaring at him.

He gives me a surprised look, but that’s just to manipulate me into thinking that I’m overreacting to his sudden appearance. I never gave him my address. Jesus, where is everyone finding this stuff?

“I just wanted to check on you,” Dean says, his words soft as though he actually cares.

He doesn’t.

“I don’t need to be checked on, Dean. I don’t want to see you here again,” I snap.

“But you’re happy seeing someone else?” he asks, narrowing his eyes.

“What are you talking about?”

“That guy who came by… The big one,” he says.

Fuck. He must have been watching my apartment when Rebel arrived. I don’t want him to know about him. He shouldn’t know about anything.

“Dean, please, I really don’t have time for this,” I plead.

He frowns, looking behind me at my suitcase. “Where are you going?”

“On vacation,” I lie, drenching my words in sarcasm. “To the Bahamas to shake my ass in a bikini in front of men I don’t know.”

“April, don’t,” he says, looking hurt. “You’re not really going there, are you?”

“Can you please just mind your own business?” I ask, disgust rising in my chest at his reaction. He’s not a man like Rebel is. He’s something else, and I don’t like it one bit.

Dean remains planted in front of me, not allowing me to leave. He’s not nearly as large as Rebel, but he’d be difficult to get past if he didn’t want me to leave. I’d have to use force, and even then, I could be kicking the hornet’s nest. I need to be careful.

“I’m just taking some time off work,” I say. “Nothing crazy.”

“Why?”

“Why?” I parrot back to him, annoyed by the stupidity of his questions. He always has to know everything, even if it has nothing to do with him. It’s totally irrelevant why I’m leaving, or even that I’m leaving at all. We’re finished.

“I’m not talking to you anymore, Dean. Honestly, it’s creepy that you even came here,” I say, pulling my suitcase closer behind me. “I’d appreciate it if you stepped out of my way.”

He frowns, his eyes darting back and forth between me and my suitcase. “Why would you say that?”

“Say what?”

“That I’m creepy. I’m not creepy,” he says, his voice rising in anger.

“Don’t you think coming down here is a little weird?” I ask, trying to soften my tone. He hasn’t moved an inch, and I suspect that making him angry isn’t going to convince him to let me leave.

“I’m not weird. That freak with the muscles is weird. Why was he at your apartment?” Dean asks, coming right back to Rebel at the first chance he gets.

I sense jealousy. If only he knew about Rebel’s babies in my womb.

“Who I have over isn’t your business,” I say, pulling my shoulders back. “If you don’t leave, I’m going to call the police.”

“The police?” he asks with a laugh.

I nod, but my confidence is smothered by the wicked smile that spreads across his lips. “What makes you think I’m going to let you call the police?”

“Because you’d go to jail if you didn’t,” I say, trying to reason with him.

He leans forward, and I can smell the faint scent of beer on his breath. He never drank when we dated, but things have changed. He’s different, and not in a good way. “Let’s go inside,” he says.

“I’d rather not,” I reply, my body stiffening as his smile grows.

“Oh no, April, that wasn’t a suggestion. It was an order,” he says.

I’m ready to fight him if I need to, but I don’t want to. If he has finally snapped, I’m not going to be able to defeat him if it comes to blows. He’s bigger than me, even if he’s small for a man.

Dean doesn’t give me time to think about my options. He charges toward me, knocking me back and using his foot to close the door behind him. I let out a scream, but he quickly stifles it with his hand, wrapping it over my face so tightly that my jaw aches. For a few seconds, I’m positive that he’s going to choke me until I pass out. When he doesn’t, I'm as confused as I am relieved.

“Don’t make a peep,” he whispers into my ear as he grabs both my hands. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if you make me.”

I squirm in his grip, throwing my legs up into his groin. I intend to hit him hard and fast, but I’m the one who receives the blow. He punches me in the stomach, knocking the breath out of me and sending a sharp pain through my torso.

“God, you motherfucking bitch!” he shouts as the pain from my kick electrifies him. He grabs me by the roots of my hair and slams me into the wall nearby, grabbing my wrists and locking them behind me. My vision has greyed out, and all I can hear is a loud ringing in my ears despite the fact that I know Dean is screaming obscenities at me.

All I can think about is the triplets. I can’t fight him if he’s going to hurt them. I have to comply. I have no other choice.