Red. (Den of Mercenaries #1)(81)

“Only after I find out I’m pregnant.”

Whatever shuffling he had been doing before silenced as her words sunk in. She smiled to herself, glad that she had done it this way instead of making a big production out of it.

Something to share just between the two of them, she couldn’t deny the small thrill that shot through her at his surprise.

Turning to face him, she didn’t know what to expect—happiness, anger, confusion—but the expression on his face was far better than she could have hoped.

Wonderment.

He looked excited, fearful even, but the sight of his face so open made her smile, even as she waited for him to respond.

“You’re pregnant,” he said evenly, his voice not shaking in the slightest, but the words were whispered like he was too afraid to really say them any louder.

Reagan nodded, her hand going to her stomach even though she wasn’t close to showing. “Eight weeks tomorrow.”

She had only found out a mere week ago when she had gone to the doctor after feeling like she didn’t want to eat anything for fear of throwing up. But ever since she had found out that warning, she had wondered how best to tell Niklaus.

It wasn’t like they had ever talked about having children, and while Niklaus doted on Sacha, that still didn’t mean he was ready to be a father.

But with one look at him now, she didn’t know why she had waited this long.

“There’s no point in moving this shit in,” Niklaus said looking around. “We’re going to need a bigger place.”

“Niklaus—”

“We can stay in Hell’s Kitchen if you want, or we can leave the city. Like I said, whatever you want.”

“Niklaus!” Reagan said his name again on a laugh, finally grabbing his attention. “You’re not upset then?”

He tugged her into his arms, kissing her forehead a second before he gave her a kiss that took her breath away. “Of course not,” he murmured against her lips. “Why would I be upset?”

“Because it may be too soon and—”

“Nothing could have made me happier than you telling me you loved me, but this…this tops that.”

“So you’re happy?” Reagan asked once more, smiling as she thought of what he would say next.

“Thrilled.”

“So you’ll still be happy even when I tell you there are two?”

It was only a moment of suspended time before his lips were splitting into the biggest of grins and he laughed that loud, glorious laugh of his.

It was a happy sound.

And Reagan was glad she could make him happy.





CODA





Episode 1




“Red has arrived, sir,” Dominic Mantolo said, the sharpness of his accent making his words shorter and crisper. Always the professional, he didn’t linger after he delivered his message, drifting back into the shadows where he could hear, but not be seen.

If there was one man who knew Uilleam’s secrets, it was Dominic.

However, unlike others whose loyalty to Uilleam had been bought, Dominic’s had come after years together. The man had seen him at his lowest point, and now was seeing him at the precipice of something much greater. No, he wasn’t at his highest, not yet.

There was still too much work to be done.

Uilleam gave no outward reaction to the man’s words, continuing to stare over the balcony at the men and women that stood front and center on the stage, their voices carrying in the empty theater. For a long time, he had never understood the allure of the Opera, even with his privileged background. Hearing people sing at the top of their lungs had never appealed to him, but some time ago, his interest had shifted. Now, he had learned to appreciate it for the art it was.

…He had her to thank for that.

Red, a mercenary that was one of many in his arsenal, could be heard before he was seen. Though he had a talent of moving within the shadows, the mercenary made it habit to blatantly announce his arrival whenever he was in Uilleam’s presence, like he was purposely trying to get under his skin.

But Uilleam didn’t take it as an act of disrespect. Quite the opposite. He was rather amused by him more than anything. He knew Red’s history, had actually known him long before he and the Volkov boy ever crossed paths. That was just the world they lived in.

Information.

If he wanted to be powerful—and that was arguably one of the most important things to him—he had to know more than his competitors did, and more, he had to know as much as possible about any and every one that traveled in the same circles.

Mikhail Volkov had once been a friend—or an associate as it were—and watching his slow and steady descent from the top had been quite fascinating to watch. Now, Mishca reigned in his stead, a boy who, in Uilleam’s eyes, still had a lot of learning to do in business. But what he didn’t know, Uilleam didn’t care to supply him…at least not until he was paid to offer such information.

Red, or Niklaus as was his name, was quite different from the father that birthed him and the brother that shared his DNA. The pair lacked a sort of…viciousness that Red possessed.

Of course, Uilleam couldn’t have known this when he had intercepted the deal between Mikhail and the Albanian mobster by the name of Jetmir Besnik. They had merely wanted to get rid of Mishca for reasons Uilleam had never cared to find out.