The Jersey Vignettes
Read The Jersey Vignettes Online
Authors: Bethany-Kris
Tags: #Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, #Thrillers & Suspense, #Crime, #Organized Crime, #Romance, #Contemporary, #Crime Fiction
For the fans of this series. I know you didn’t want it to end, and that you wanted to see this family continue on forever. I did, too. I will forever miss this family, but thank for loving them like you did.
“Ana …”
“Mmm, yes?”
“Look at me,” Koldan demanded.
“Nope.”
Ana rolled over in the bed, burying her face into the pillow. It smelled like Koldan’s woodsy scent and Ana’s sugared lotions. She thought that mixing the two scents together had to be one of the very best things she’d ever smelled in her life.
Then again, she was biased.
“
Ana
.”
“It should be illegal for you to wake me up this early,” Ana grumbled.
“But it isn’t, so look at me,” Koldan murmured.
Ana sighed, feeling the strong hands of her lover ghost over her naked skin under the soft sheets. His touches were relentless in their intent, determined to wake her up for whatever nonsense he had planned. Ana was beginning to think she might like his nonsense if he kept touching her like he was.
“I’m up,” Ana said as Koldan kissed her shoulder blade.
“Are you?”
“Very.”
“Good.” Koldan’s hand caught Ana’s under the blanket. “We have things to do today and I want to get an early start.”
“Like what?” Ana asked.
“Things,” he repeated.
“Koldan.”
“But I think we’ll start with this.”
Ana felt something slide down her finger under the blanket. The weight of the jewelry surprised her. Slowly, Ana pulled her hand out from under the sheet to see the pearl and diamond engagement ring adorning her hand. It sparkled under the early morning light filtering into the bedroom window of her apartment.
“Oh, my God,” Ana whispered.
“We can start from there,” Koldan said, chuckling.
“That’s … beautiful.”
“I thought so.”
“I love pearls,” Ana said.
Koldan grinned, nodding. “So your father informed me.”
Well, that was a little surprising. Sometimes Koldan and her father didn’t see eye to eye where Ana was concerned.
“You talked to Anton?”
“Yes, and he threatened to kill me along with a few other …
things
.”
Ana laughed, feeling high spun. “I don’t know what to say.”
“I thought of a million and one different ways to ask you. Nothing really worked for you or I. Flashier ways, bigger ways—”
“Don’t,” Ana interjected firmly, giving Koldan a look that shut him up.
“Okay.”
“This is perfect.”
“Is it?” he asked softly.
“Us, quiet love, early morning sunlight, and a bed. What’s not to love?”
“Perfect,” he echoed.
Ana pulled him closer to her. “My answer is yes.”
Koldan smirked. “I thought it would be.”
Two years later …
“Ana, I’m dying here,” Koldan said quietly.
Ana Avdonin hid her grin from her fiancé, knowing if he saw, Koldan would find the truth in her teasing. There was no denying the fact that Ana could be a little difficult. She was particular, sometimes hard to please, and she didn’t deny any of it for a second. Koldan Vasin was the second man in her life who managed to make Ana happy.
The first was her father.
Anton Avdonin, Bratva mob boss and arms trafficker, had raised Ana with the belief that if—not when—she ever found a man to stand by her side in life, that man should be worthy of the position. Because to Anton, Ana was his little Queen.
That meant only a proper King was fit for her.
“Ana,” Koldan said again.
She could hear him shift on his feet behind her like he was uncomfortable.
“Yes?”
“
Krasivyy
, we’ve walked through the whole damn house.”
His pet name made her smile grow. He’d always called her beautiful even at her ugliest; even in her worst moments, she was goddamn beautiful to him.
Koldan was worthy.
Ana loved him all the more for it.
“The colors turned out great,” Ana said, reaching out to let her fingers trail over the painted walls.
“I hoped you would say that,” Koldan replied, his relief loud and clear.
Ana finally turned to face him, allowing him to see her grin. “I know I was difficult about the house sometimes.”
“Difficult, Ana?”
“What would you call it?” Ana asked.
Koldan opened his mouth to say something, but shut it just as fast. “Perfect, babe. You were great. And it looks great.”
“It does.”
The house Koldan had built for them was amazing. Three floors plus a basement. It was a six bedroom, five-and-a-half bath paradise. From the color schemes to the Italian marble in the kitchen and the tiles in their master bath ordered in from India, Ana had her hand in a little bit of everything. Koldan stepped back, gave her the check book, and let her do what she wanted.
Our house
, he’d said.
Make it ours
.
“I wanted everything to be perfect,” Ana said, shrugging.
“It is,” Koldan said. Then, he eyed her curiously. “It is, right?”
“I’m glad all the furniture came in before the wedding,” Ana replied instead.
Koldan sighed. “What’s wrong with the house, Ana?”
Ana grinned widely. “Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Nada.”
Koldan shook his head, laughing under his breath. “You put me through hell for the last hour and a half while I wondered what was going on in your head and all this time, you loved it?”
“Yep.”
“Nasty girl,” her fiancé muttered.
Ana winked. “I have to get my kicks somehow, Koldan. You’re an easy target.”
“Only to you.”
“Exactly.” Ana waved at the room they stood in. The bedroom was directly across from their master bedroom. The walls were white instead of a pale cream like she’d asked for. “Is this the only thing that’s left to be finished?”
Koldan smiled. “No. It is finished.”
Ana raised a single brow. “No, it isn’t. I know what color these walls were supposed to be.”
It was also the only room in the house missing its furniture, if Ana considered it.
“And where is the bedroom set and the leather seating for here?” Ana asked.
Koldan cleared his throat. “I canceled the orders for this room.”
Ana’s confusion jumped sky high. “Why?”
“Because you designed this room over two years ago before the house even had foundation poured, Ana.”
“So? Designing is what I do, Koldan. That’s why I went to school, remember?” Ana tried not to be angry, but she kind of was. “If you didn’t like what I was going to do in here, why didn’t you just say something to me about it?”
“I did like it,” Koldan replied, unfazed.
“Then why—”
“I think this room might serve a better purpose than being designed and readied for a guest, Ana.”
“Like what?” she asked, frustrated.
“Like … a nursery.”
Ana froze in place. “Oh.”
“It’s in the best spot, right across from us. It’s big enough. And—”
“Stop,” Ana said.
Koldan did, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I wanted to surprise you.”
“And apparently you want to have a baby,” Ana said.
Koldan chuckled. “Eventually. I just don’t see the point in doing this room up for us to only rip it apart and start over someday. Who knows when that day is going to come?”
“The walls could still be painted with a cream color of some sort,” Ana mused, her mind taking in the space all over again with new eyes. “Especially if we ever had a girl. I am not doing those ugly pastel colors.”
Koldan laughed darky. “So, you’re not really all that mad, right?”
No, she wasn’t.
Koldan was right, in a way. Ana had designed their home through eyes that had been considering the then and there. She hadn’t considered five or even ten years down the road when they had a family of their own because at the time, starting a family of her own had not been the most important thing on her list. Hell, it probably hadn’t been in the top ten.
“Why didn’t you tell me you’ve been thinking about having children?” Ana asked quietly.
Koldan tipped his head down, hiding his gaze. “I’ve thought about children with you from the first time I realized I loved you,
krasivyy
.”
Oh.
Well, then …
“I can do something else in here,” Ana said, willing away the emotion in her tone. “Something nursery themed, I suppose.”
Koldan nodded. “Let’s do that.”
Little Vera Avdonin had a way about her. There was just something about Ana’s niece that drew people in like a moth to the flame. Maybe it was Vera’s innocent nature or her bright, open gaze that always seemed to look straight through a person to see what was really on the inside. Ana didn’t know for sure what it was about her little niece that put people at ease, but she loved it.
Vera was so different from her father in that way. Demyan, older than Ana by four years, had gone through so much in his life. Sure, Ana suffered through her own things—her sexual assault, the murder of a friend, and the backlash her family received from it all, but Demyan … He was left to raise a little girl all on his own with no one to stand by his side.
Ana never wondered why her brother was so cold, anymore.
“Look,” Anton murmured, nodding at Vera.
Vera’s hand snuck out and grabbed her father’s. A ghost of a smile curved Demyan’s mouth as he held his daughter’s tiny hand and directed her into line with the other wedding party. He didn’t once let her go, not even when the event planner asked him to so that Vera could stand alone in line like she was supposed to.
“He won’t let her go until she’s ready for him to,” Anton said, the hint of amusement playing in his tone. “They remind me a lot of us when you were little, but in a more private way. You made it very clear to anyone who would listen to you that I was your daddy and no one else mattered.”
Ana laughed. “You spoiled me.”
“Rotten,” Anton agreed. “But they are like us. Demyan and Vera, I mean.”
Ana never noticed that before, but if she thought back on it hard enough, she knew it was true. Maybe little Vera and Demyan shared the same kind of father and daughter closeness that Ana shared with Anton. With her brother, it was sometimes hard to tell because his walls were so high, no one had the first clue of how to climb over them.
Well, all but two people.
“Claire showed up today,” Anton said.
“Did she?” Ana asked.
Anton nodded, smiling. “She’s good for them. Demyan is stubborn; Claire is relentless. They’re an interesting pair.”
“I like her.”
“Me, too.” Anton chuckled and added, “I give them five months, six at the most.”
“Claire and Demyan?”
“Yes.”
“Before what?” Ana asked.
“Before I find out we’ll be having a second grandbaby to add to the mix.”
“Daddy!” Ana scolded. “That’s not your business and you know it.”
Anton just shrugged like he hadn’t said a thing. “Passionate people make waves, Ana. They can’t control it. Demyan never was any good at denying things he wanted. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. It’s nice to see him woken up again after everything. He deserves someone to make him happy again and for different reasons than why his daughter makes him happy. He should have someone to love.”
“It is nice,” Ana agreed.
“And I want more grandchildren.”
Ana huffed, blowing a curl out of her eye. “Still not your business.”
Anton smirked but stayed silent. Ana should have known better. Everything was Anton’s business if he wanted it to be, especially where their family was concerned. It was one of the ways he kept them safe from outsiders. Being a Bratva born family and thoroughly immersed in the world of the Russian Mafia, always put a spotlight on them. Anton worked goddamn hard to keep it from shining too brightly.
“And you, too,” Anton added like it was an afterthought.
“What about me?” Ana asked.
“I would like some grandchildren from you,
dushka
.”
Ana smacked her father’s arm, ignoring the curious gazes and laughter that followed from the waiting wedding party. Even Demyan turned to glance over his shoulder at his sister and father with amusement burning behind his usually cold gaze. No one could hear their quiet talk, but still.
“And that’s not your business, either,” Ana said firmly.
“I’m still annoyed that you’re getting married,” Anton murmured. “I’m a lot like Demyan in the way I just want to keep holding your hand until you tell me you’re ready to let me go. I know you’re ready to let go, Ana, but I’m not and that’s the hardest thing for me.”
“But?”
“But Koldan is a good man, and good men make for good fathers.”
Ana smiled, glancing away from her father. “I had a pretty good one, I suppose.”
“Damn right,
dushka
.”
In her coral colored dress, Vera looked absolutely precious. Demyan, with his usual stony features and stoic stance, screamed at the people near them to stay the hell away. Ana wasn’t sure if her brother knew how to be approachable anymore.
Ana felt her father’s hand cover hers that was tucked around his arm as they stood side by side behind the wedding party. Her bridesmaids, the maid of honor, and her little flower girl—Vera—waited patiently in line for the progression to start.
Anton patted Ana’s hand without saying a word, but she didn’t need him to speak. Ana could feel his sadness practically wafting from him. The tender smile didn’t leave his face for a second, but Ana knew. Her father was struggling.
It was hard for Ana to see it. The heart attack he’d suffered a couple of months earlier had been enough to scare Ana to the point where she seriously questioned if she could leave New York and her parents behind after the wedding. She didn’t want to think about waking up one day to a call that her father had suffered another cardiac arrest.
But, they got through it. Ana’s panic lessened and New Jersey was her first stop after her honeymoon to Paris.
“No more tears,” Ana told her father.
Anton laughed under his breath and brought her closer to his side. She leaned her head against his broad shoulder, comforted by the position alone. She couldn’t count the amount of times in her life where her father had been the only person able to give her a sense of security, total support and unconditional love.
And then Koldan came along, and she added a second person.
Of course, Ana’s mother Viviana had been another marking cornerstone in her life, but there had always been a different relationship between Ana and Anton.
“No tears,” Anton said quietly. “I love you, Ana.”
“I love you, too, Papa.”