Russian Killer's Baby Read Online Free Page B

snatched the pan off the stove, shoving it into the sink where it smoked and hissed. “Do you ever think of anyone but yourself?”
    “I just wanted to see you today, you know?” Vadir’s attitude turned supercilious.
    “Why?”
    He put his hand on the doorknob, preparing to leave. “The syndicate is gunning for me, princess. I’m almost sure they’ve sent an assassin.”
    “And you came here ? You didn’t think you might be putting me in danger?”
    Something in his expression suggested a sense of regret. “I just wanted to see you, princess.”
    “You’ve seen me. Now go.”
    Annika watched him leave. It worried her a little that he seemed so certain the syndicate was coming for him. Yet at the moment her thoughts were consumed with her own impending drama. If her father’s musings were correct, she needed to pick up a few things at the drugstore and hope she didn’t make a discovery that would change her life forever.

Chapter Four
    Annika awkwardly peed on the little white stick. She closed the plastic cap and set it on the bathroom counter. Then she got up and started pacing. She went into the main room of her little studio apartment and began making circuits of the futon. Every few seconds she glanced up at the clock to see how much time had passed. About the time the second hand had passed the twelve for the fifth time, someone knocked on her door.
    “Seriously?” she muttered darkly. Then she realized that Wren must have come by. “I told you not to come over. I’m a little busy at the moment!”
    Feeling irritated with her friend and not sure exactly what to say about the predicament she was in, Annika turned the knob expecting to see Wren’s familiar face. Instead the door exploded inward. Annika was thrown off her feet. She flung her arms out to try and catch her balance, cartwheeling backwards until she hit the futon.
    Heavy bootsteps came through the entry, and then the door slammed shut. Scrambling to get off the futon and back on her feet, Annika couldn’t even see who it was. Her heart was hammering in her chest, and the sound of blood rushing through her ears was almost drowned out by the uneven rasp of her breath.
    She rolled off the far side of the mattress and hit the floor. Every instinct in her body was screaming to run, but there was nowhere to go. What was she supposed to do? Try and make it to the fire escape?
    Peeking around the edge of the futon’s thick wood frame, Annika craned her neck to see her attacker. “You!” Her heart nearly stopped, and she jumped reflexively to her feet. “What are you doing ?”
    Feliks didn’t even smile when he met her gaze. “I’m sorry, Annika.”
    “Wait.” She edged toward the bathroom, the only place that might afford some sort of safety. “You’re here to kidnap me?”
    His low chuckle made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. “I wish it were only that.”
    “Murder me then?” She was starting to get more than a little pissed off. “Was that why you hit on me at the bar? You actually intended to kill me, but decided to fuck me instead?” Her tone grew harsh with outrage.
    “No. What happened between us was pure coincidence.” An expression of remorse touched his face so briefly that she would have thought she imagined it had not one tiny sliver of warmth remained in the way he held his lips. His eyes were colder than the arctic. Then he shrugged with careless nonchalance. “I didn’t know who you were that night.”
    Instinct told her he was lying. “And who am I? Why are you doing this?”
    “Your father has pissed off the syndicate with his disrespectful behavior,” Feliks said blandly. “We cannot just look the other way when he ignores our rules. One of our council members was killed because of your father’s boldness.”
    “So I’m going to die because my father is an imbecile?” Annika couldn’t begin to explain how ironic that was. “How is that fair?”
    “It really isn’t,” he murmured. “But