Mafia King's Contract Breeder

Lara POV

Twenty minutes later.

I stared at the result of the pregnancy test in front of me, feeling suddenly that I couldn’t understand English.

My palm found my stomach without my permission. Still flat. Still just mine.

Except it wasn’t, not anymore.

"Congratulations," Dr Larinson said cheerfully. "Your test is positive. What did I say? I don’t even need machines...my eyes and ears are enough to make a diagnosis."

"Can this be wrong?" I asked. "Maybe it’s not accurate."

"99% accuracy," Dr Larinson said. "Based on the timing of your last period, you are approximately 4 weeks pregnant."

That must mean that I had gotten pregnant practically the first time we had sex without protection. Was creating life so easy?

Emmanuel let out a low, delighted laugh.

Before I could brace for it, he had me off the floor, spinning me once in the small space, careless of his own stitches. His eyes were shining as I had never seen them before, ice blue melting into something clear and warm as summer.

"I am not alone anymore..." A whisper flew by so quietly that I was not certain I heard him right.

The look in his eyes had me spellbound for a moment. Just a moment, then I yelped.

"Put me down!"

"Mind my stitches!" Dr Larinson cried out.

"I only need one arm to lift you," Emmanuel said, but he set me down on the floor again as carefully as though I was made of glass.

Dr Larinson stared at Emmanuel from behind his desk, open-mouthed. He quickly put his jaw back into place when Emmanuel turned to him again.

"Check her health more thoroughly. She was in the middle of a gunfight." This he said to the doctor, as a command, but then his expression shifted into something darker when he repeated, "She was in the middle of a gunfight..."

"Any injuries?" Dr Larinson asked me rapidly. "Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere? Stomach pains?"

"Uh..." I shook my head quickly. "I’m fine. Just tired."

"Take her words with a pinch of salt, Carl," Emmanuel said. "She’s quite the little liar."

I glared at him. "I’m not a liar!"

He lifted his eyebrows at me pointedly. "You are just terrible at knowing what’s good for yourself."

"I am not—"

"This way, this way," Dr Larinson interrupted. He opened a curtain and gestured towards an examination table. "Let me get a good look at you. Nurse! Come and help."

Paper crinkled as I climbed onto the table to be poked and prodded.

Dr Larinson closed the curtain. A few seconds later, Emmanuel flipped back the curtain and stepped inside, looming over the doctor’s shoulder. Dr Larinson glanced at him, sighed, and carried on the examination.

"Nothing serious," he said after he finished, peeling off latex gloves with a snap. "A few bruises and muscle strain, normal when getting started with exercise. You’ll need to be more careful with avoiding impact to the abdomen area."

"Muscle strain?" Emmanuel echoed. "What have you been doing while I was away, Lara?"

"Your wonderful guard Vienna has been training me in combat," I replied sarcastically. "And tonight was my—what, graduation, I guess?"

I threw up my hands as I hopped off the table.

"You saw what happened. Do you think I passed?"

Emmanuel’s eyes flashed. It did not bode well for Vienna and whatever awaited her down in B2.

Dr Larinson circled around to his desk, grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled on it in a doctor’s scrawl.

"Malnutrition’s cleared up nicely. I’ll write up some vitamins. Tell me if anything unusual comes up." He glanced up at Emmanuel. "And maybe keep her out of any more gunfights."

"There will be no more gunfights," Emmanuel said flatly.

"Can I go now?" I suppressed a yawn, shuffling towards the door.

My head felt stuffy. Later, maybe later I would have the emotional range to feel something other than numb about all this.

"Just one moment." Emmanuel pulled me protectively against his hip. "Is there anything else I need to do?"

"Uh, well. Your part is pretty much done, Boss," Dr Larinson said dryly.

"What. Must I do. To keep the child safe."

His voice was fervent, far from his usual cool composure, but my attention snagged on his words.

The child. Not me. Obviously not. I was just a breeder.

What else would I expect?

"Avoid putting Lara under too much stress. A good mood is important in pregnancy. And...don’t get too adventurous in bed," Dr Larinson added.

"Adventurous?" Emmanuel said slowly, as though tasting the word, uncertain what it meant.

My cheeks felt warm. I pulled away from him and reached for the doorknob.

"Wait," he said.

"Adventurous probably means don’t leave me tied up in your bed for hours," I hissed at Emmanuel under my breath, hoping that the doctor was too far to hear it.

Dr Larinson’s lip twitched.

He looked as though he might make some kind of joke, but reigned himself back into his professional persona at the last moment.

Emmanuel did not look amused. He was all too serious as he said, "Understood. I will take good care of you...come now."

The layers of guards peeled away and disappeared as we left the clinic and rose up the levels, towards the sky, towards the penthouse.

Alone in the elevator, Emmanuel’s arms wrapped around my waist as though he could not keep his hands off me anymore, hands folding over my abdomen.

I stared at our reflection, folded together. There were still flecks of blood and dirt over Emmanuel’s skin, streaking his dark hair, but his eyes shone like stars.

It was too soft. Too gentle. And not for me.

I could not stand it. I pushed him away.

He let me go, but he kept staring at me with that terrifying intensity.

When the elevator arrived, Emmanuel walked me to my room, nodding at Mr Ricci who appeared to welcome him home and then trail after us awkwardly.

"Rest now," he said to me. "Take care of Lara. Make sure she has everything she needs."

Mr Ricci nodded at once.

He did not sound as though he was going to rest himself. In fact, he was holding himself like he was going into battle again.

"Where are you going?" I couldn’t resist asking.

"Business," he said, already on his way back to the elevator.

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