Bratva Boss’s Secret Triplets by Bella King

Chapter 14

April

Those footsteps are too heavy to belong to Dean. They rumble through the floor, vibrating up into my legs with urgency. Is it Rebel?

“April?” his voice calls from outside the bathroom.

I groan through the tape on my lips and slap my feet against the floor to get his attention. I heard gunshots outside, but I feared it wasn’t related to Rebel. I should’ve known, though, that he attracts trouble wherever he goes. Surprisingly, this time I’m thankful for it.

The door to the bathroom bursts open, and Rebel stands in the doorway, blood flowing down his arm like a waterfall. His face is pale and sweaty, but his expression is that of surprise. I guess he wasn’t expecting me to be tied up like this.

“What the hell is going on?” he growls, squatting down and yanking a knife from inside of his jacket. “And who the fuck is that lunatic outside?”

I make a noise through the tape and he rips it off.

I gasp for air, thankful that I can finally breathe normally again. My entire body aches from being tied up so long, but the worst part was the lack of air. My nose can only suck in so much, and after Dean tried to kill me by holding it closed, I’m grateful to take big gulps of air with an open mouth.

“Jesus,” I exclaim after I’m done panting. “What the hell happened to you?”

Rebel cuts the ropes that bind me as more blood drips onto the bathroom tiles. “I got mixed up with your freak boyfriend,” he grumbles.

“Dean? He’s not my boyfriend,” I reply.

“Well, he sure seemed to think you belonged to him, and he didn’t take too kindly to me paying you a visit.”

“He did this to you?” I ask, hardly believing that Dean could be capable of such a thing, even after he punched me in the gut and kept me prisoner all night. He was never that horrible of a person. I don’t know what happened to him.

“Are you surprised?” Rebel asks, cutting through the last of the ropes. “The man is a fucking psycho.”

“I mean, yes and no,” I say. “Yes, because he’s not normally like this, and no because of what he’s already done to me.”

Rebel stands up suddenly. “He hasn’t hurt, you has he?” His voice trembles he talks, but it’s not from fear or because he’s wounded. I recognize it as anger. He’s furious that someone has done this to me, but that makes two of us.

“Not really. I’m okay,” I say, stretching my legs out. The muscle in my right leg cramps, and I wince.

“I’m going to kill that fucker,” Rebel says, shaking his head in disgust.

I thought he might have already done that. If Dean is still out there, though, we’re not safe staying here. I’m sure Rebel realizes that.

“I’m going to patch myself up a bit and we’re heading to my office. I have a few questions to ask you,” he says, pulling open the medicine cabinet.

I stand up, testing my legs carefully as he yanks bandages and disinfectant from the mirror cabinet above the sink. “Where did Dean go?” I ask.

“He drove off because he thought I was a cop,” Rebel replies, tearing a strip of gauze with his teeth.

“I just don’t know what’s gotten into him,” I say, shaking my head.

“Drugs,” Rebel says quickly. “That’s what’s done him in. That shit from the Saint Gray Mafia.”

“Saint Gray?”

“Don’t play pretend,” he mutters. “I’m not convinced that you’re not in on this somehow.”

“What are you talking about?” I ask, growing more confused by the second. I’m not in on anything. I wouldn’t choose to be tangled up with shady business and even shadier men when I’m pregnant with triplets.

He scoffs as he wraps a bandage around his arm. “You want to tell me that you went to a OB-GYN clinic to visit this friend of yours, Maria, and that’s it?”

I nod, knowing it sounds ludicrous. He hasn’t suggested that I might be pregnant, but perhaps he doesn’t realize that it’s early and I’m not showing yet. Even though our evening dance in the sheets was a big event for me, it could be so far back in his head that he doesn’t make the connection.

I hope that he never does.

“Maria who?” Rebel asks, squinting at me. “Give me her last name.”

“Maria Addison,” I reply quickly, easily passing his test. Did he think I wouldn’t remember?

He nods, biting his lower lip as he finishes his bandage. “She’s pregnant or something?”

“Yes,” I reply. “She’s having triplets.” The words roll of my tongue so smoothly that I have to catch myself before I revel anything more. It sounds honest, but it’s still a little too close to home.

He chuckles. “Damn, three in one. I wonder if that’s easier than doing them one at a time.”

“I guess she’ll find out,” I say, wondering the same thing.

Rebel finishes with his arm and turns his full attention to me. His green eyes light up like laser pointers as he looks me up and down. “I’m surprised by this coincidence, but perhaps it’s just that small of a town. The Saint Gray Mafia are operating inside of that clinic you visited. They’re the same people who shot up your last apartment.”

“Really?” I ask, genuinely surprised. I trust that clinic, and Dr. Ryan. It seems bizarre that a mafia group would be involved in an OB-GYN clinic.

“They’re taking supplies to manufacture drugs,” he explains. “I’ve dealt with a user of the drug in question, and I know enough about it to say that Dean is probably on it as well. He’s tweaked out worse than a meth addict.”

“That would explain his erratic behavior,” I mutter.

A moment of silence falls over us before Rebel grabs my arm, suddenly jerking me toward him. I fall forward on my weak legs, my head bouncing against his muscular chest as he catches me. “What the hell are you doing?” I exclaim.

“Taking you with me,” he says, pulling me from the bathroom.

“Do you have to act like some kind of beast while doing it?” I ask as he practically drags me through my apartment living room toward the front door.

“Yes,” he replies bluntly. “We’re leaving.”

“What’s going on?” I ask. “Did I say something wrong?”

He doesn’t answer. He pulls me from the apartment and charges down the stairs to the parking lot with his hand gripped so tightly around my arm that it turns white all the way down to my fingers. I don’t know why he’s so intense all of the sudden.

“Get in the car,” he growls, tossing me into the passenger’s seat.

I fall against the warm leather, the muscles in my body threatening to cramp up again from the long period of time they spent confined.

Rebel throws the driver’s side door open and jumps into the seat, but I stop him before he’s able to start the engine.

“Hey, we left my suitcase in the apartment,” I say.

“So what?”

“So, it has my stuff in it.”

“Really, April? It can’t be all that valuable,” he says, but he’s already moving his hand away from the ignition. “Fine, I’ll get it. Stay in the car.”

“Thank you,” I say, but he’s already gone, flying up the stairs and disappearing inside of my apartment.

By the time I’ve gathered myself and stretched out my sore muscles, Rebel is already back in the driver’s seat, pulling the car out onto the road. His face is drawn together in a scowl, and his hands grip the steering wheel so tightly that I could swear that he’s trying to break it.

My suitcase is in the back seat, bouncing around as he drives like there aren’t any other cars on the road. The engine roars so loudly as he drives that I can barely hear myself think. I lean toward him, having to scream the words out for him to hear. “What’s wrong?”

He glances at me, slowing the car down just enough for me to hear his reply. “Dean,” he replies. “He’s connected with the Saint Gray Mafia.”

“Dean?” I ask, utterly bewildered.

“Yes, your weirdo boyfriend is getting drugs from them, but I’ve never seen anyone on the street act like that. Nobody else is getting that stuff yet, which means he’s probably connected to them and they’re using him as a guineapig. He’s a walking test subject, and he’s extremely dangerous.”

How would Dean get mixed up in a criminal organization like this? It can’t be true. He’s relatively introverted, and he was always nothing more than a little unkempt and odd. Other than stalking me, he always followed the law.

“I know it’s hard for you to believe, but he’s not the only one who has fallen into their scheme,” Rebel assures me. “They have him hooked on that shit, probably. We had one just like him escape from a holding cell at the office just yesterday. He killed a guard with his bare hands and got away without a problem.”

“You’re saying they’re using it to control him?” I ask, opting for the explanation that paints Dean as a victim instead of a natural raving lunatic.

“They don’t need drugs to control people. Chances are, your Dean was looking for power, and the Saint Gray Mafia was doing a bit of recruiting. They give him drugs, and I’m sure he does something for them in return. Since I spooked him, he’s probably going to be calling them for reinforcements. In other words, he’ll be back with enough hired guns to wipe out the entire apartment complex.”

“All he was doing was holding me prisoner,” I say, shaking my head. “This seems too crazy to be true.

“Why was he holding you prisoner?” Rebel asks, suspicion growing in his voice again.

“Because he’s obsessed with me. He’s been stalking me since forever.”

“Any other reason?”

I look toward him, but then look away quickly. “I don’t know.”

He shakes his head. “April, you’d better not be hiding anything from me. I’m going to find out.”

“I’m not,” I insist. “Dean fucking snapped on me, but he’s always been showing up at my apartment. That’s nothing new.”

“You should keep better tabs on your boyfriend,” Rebel mumbles.

“Jesus Christ, Rebel, he’s not my boyfriend. I think I already told you that,” I say, heat flooding my cheeks as I yell over the sound of the engine.

“No?”

“No,” I say, crossing my arms. “He used to be. That’s all.”

“So, I take it you’re still single then,” he says with a smirk.

“That’s none of your business,” I snap.

“It was a couple of months ago, if you recall,” he says, doing nothing to hide the smugness in his voice. He probably feels jealous about Dean and that’s why he’s bringing this up. Imagine that, two crazy people fighting over me, but only one has managed to knock me up.

“Yes, I remember,” I say through gritted teeth. “It wasn’t that long ago.”

Rebel shrugs. “It’s still fresh in my mind, but I don’t fraternize with the enemy. If I find out you’re tied up with the Saint Gray Mafia, I’m going to put you in concrete shoes and drop you in the river.”

My mouth falls open, but I don’t say anything. Rebel, the man who is supposed to save me, is already threatening my life. It seems that I don’t have a single ally in these streets anymore. I’m on my own.

“You shouldn’t threaten innocent women, Rebel. Is that something you do often?” I scold.

He shrugs. “You’re my first, darling.”

Darling. Jesus, he has the guts to call me that even after what he’s done. He’s literally ruined my life, and it doesn’t seem to bother him in the least.

Well, it bothers me, and I’m going to let him know that.

“You know that you’ve destroyed my life, right? I mean, after this shit, I’m never going to be able to go back to normal. I already have enough to deal with,” I inform him as he drives.

“Join the club,” he mutters.

“Really?”

“Stop asking that, April. Yes, really. What the fuck do you think was going to happen when you got yourself wrapped up with a man like me?” he asks, swerving the car angrily.

“You got wrapped up in me, actually. I had very little to do with it.”

He chuckles bitterly. “Sure, sweetheart. Believe what you want.”

“I will,” I reply, crossing my arms and falling silent. I’m not going to be able to get through to him that easily, especially not when he’s so distracted. It honestly sounds like he’s trying to shut me up and deal with my issues later.

I suppose I’ll just have to try again to get through to him later.