A surge of hormones had her eyes tearing.

"Why would you do something like that?"

She wanted to cry, because it felt like she lost Maksim some more. They had been shaky throughout her pregnancy, but he was still the soft brute who refused to eat crusts on sandwiches, held her hand when she was nervous, and refused to sleep unless she was in his arms.

Maksim was a criminal, but he was no child or woman beater. At least he hadn't been.

Now? She didn't know, and it was all because of their lack of communication. Over time, the silence poked holes into them to the point that they could barely recognize each other. Through the holes oozed their love.

A fat tear fell down her cheek when Maksim replied. "I don't want to talk about it."

He fed the silence.

"Of course you don't," she sniffled. He told her the same thing two months ago; refusing to tell her what would happen to them or the babies once she gave birth.

"It was mystery that made me run away the first time. Why haven't we learned our lesson? Why don't we just talk?"

His grip on her thigh remained heavy, and his eyes scanned the window. His body said so much, but his lips? They were a pursed; a flatline that was killing them.

They got home and rode up the elevator. The tension was suffocating in the small space, and she could tell their usually calm men were unnerved.

Raelynn tried to call Tiffany, but received no answer. It was Friday afternoon, so she figured she would be home. Desperate for a friend, she texted Tiffany.

"I'm going to Tiffany's," Raelynn announced.

"Why?"

"Because I want to to talk to someone."

Instead of saying, "you can talk to me," he turned his back on her.

"Take the car."

Tears surged again, and she rushed out the penthouse. Two of his men followed her. In the car, she fiddled with her thumbs.

"Mrs. Kuznetsov. Are you unwell? Should we go back?"

"I'm calling the boss," the other guard said.

"No! It's fine. Thank you."

They relaxed, and the rest of the ride went smoother. When they arrived, they helped her off the car and up the stairs.

"Raelynn?" Tiffany greeted, looking confused by her presence.

"Hey!" Raelynn tossed her arms around her. "I haven't seen you in months. What the hell have you been up to?"

Tiffany's sullen eyes scanned her body, locking on her stomach. "Come in," she welcomed.

Raelynn walked inside and followed Tiffany to her bedroom. "I had another fight with Maksim. Well, it's not really a fight. Not many words were exchanged."

Tiffany fussed with her phone. "Really?"

"Yeah. I can't believe we've come this far and still keep secrets. I feel like a fucking bitch for keeping the truth from him, but he's keeping things from me too. I don't know if he doesn't want to talk because he's planning to do the worst. This whole thing is killing me."

Tiffany only sighed as Raelynn shared her feelings. Eventually, she stood up and began to pace.

Finally, she blurted, "Why do you act like the world revolves around you?"

Raelynn stiffened.

"You have Maksim– a rich, hot guy. Now you have Daniel, too? Why am I in the background? Why don't I get anything? I liked Daniel first, and then you just... you took him. Why? You already had Maksim. It makes no sense for Daniel to choose you either. You have so much baggage, and I'm– damn it, I'm the better choice."

It took Raelynn a second to register that her bubbly best friend was now raging with jealousy and insecurity. "Is that why you haven't been talking to me? You think I've been hitting on Daniel to take him from you? Oh god, Tiffany."

"I know you did! When I asked him out, he said he liked someone else."

"That doesn't fucking mean it's me!" Raelynn stood from the bed, wobbling a bit. "Jesus, we're friends. I wouldn't do that, especially since I'm in such a complicated place with Maksim"

"Exactly. We were friends." Her eyes contained hellfire. Silence poked too many holes into her, and their friendship oozed out of it. "I took you in for months when you had no one. I supported you financially and emotionally. I was there when you went shopping for the babies, and hold your hair when the morning sickness was bad, and encourage you when you needed it. It took me a while to realize that you're just a leach who takes and takes. It's not fair that I get nothing after being kind. You know I was crushed when my ex cheated, and... and I was finally moving on by approaching Daniel. Why did you take him? You already won your millionaire!"

Raelynn glanced at the door through her blurry eyes. "You need to calm down," she told Tiffany as she inched toward the exit. She didn't feel welcome anymore; didn't feel safe.

"It's not fair," Tiffany repeated. "I was good to you. I helped you, but you only want more. Even in high school you always out-performed me in everything– the sports, and dance club. I am so tired of being in the background!" Her fidgeting fingers tapped her phone, and Raelynn took the chance to fill her lungs to cry for help.

Seeing this, Tiffany dropped her phone and lashed out. Her hand clamped on Raelynn's mouth, who kicked and clawed with her dull nails.

Raelynn quickly became a panting mess. She wasn't getting much oxygen, and her pregnancy weighed her down significantly.

The window to Tiffany's bedroom cracked open, and two men slipped inside.

Raelynn looked at her closest friend with terror, hoping to find a link of humanity among the madness. Tiffany looked nervous– guilty, even, but her hold remained brutal.

"This her? Are you sure she's really high on the mafia ladder?" one of the masked guys asked.

Raelynn's eyes widened. How did Tiffany make that connection? Did she overhear a conversation, or read something on her phone?

"Yes! Take her. Hit me in the face hard enough to make me black out. I need to get my alibi."

Raelynn doubled her efforts when a man replaced Tiffany and began dragging her out the window.

"We're going to hit it big, bro," one of the men whispered as they worked to drag her down the shaky, bird-poop speared, rusty fire escape.

"Shh. Let's get her in the car."

In her panic, she noticed that the men had no accents. Since they worked with Tiffany and one didn't bother to cover an identifiable tattoo, she figured they were amateurs. At best, they were rogue thugs looking to make easy money.

"Bitch is fucking heavy," one of them grunted as they dragged her down the alley. Her bare feet were bleeding from how hard she dragged them on the concrete, but nothing was slowing them down.

Where would she end up? A dumpster? A foreign land where she slaved away?

"Who is that?"

Raelynn looked to the left, where two more men in black appeared. They were taller, fuller, armed.

A gun was raised. "Give me the girl."

The man that spoke wore no mask. His tanned olive skin and Italian accent made her heart drop.

"Alright, dude! Take her!"

One of the Italians snatched her from her first set of kidnappers. He covered her mouth and pulled her into a car. She yelled for help, beat the glass, yanked at the door handle, but got nowhere.

Rapid Italian flickered between the driver and man in the passenger seat. A barrier separated Raelynn from them. She pat her pocket for her phone, but it had been left in her purse.

"Please let me go!" she yelled over their conversation. "You– you have the wrong person."

"No, we don't. We have been watching you for a long time, but Maksim keeps you on a tight leash."

"I have nothing to do with this world," she tried to reason. "I'm not in– in–"

The man turned. He was handsome and terrifying all at once.

"In the mafia? Hard to believe that when you are the woman of the Russian underworld king. You're important to Maksim. You're where it hurts."

You're a pawn.