The Life (2 page)

Viviana’s beautiful face lit up with bliss. “I bet if he’d have been a girl, it would have been Daddy all the way.”

Maybe. There was something about his first child being a boy that had him twisted into a million and one little knots. Especially when one of his guys asked how the little prince was doing and Anton realized for the first time, they weren’t asking about him. Oh, he’d been beyond ecstatic to find out they were having a boy. There weren’t enough words for him to use to explain his excitement. Pride and love were the closest, though.

“Ouch!” Viviana made a miserable noise, her hand coming to press under her lower rib. Anton moved his hand accordingly. “Damn it, that one hurt.”

“He doesn’t mean it,” he repeated, practically cooing the words. “He’s just strong and impatient, like me.”

“I know.” Viviana’s hand found his as the baby kicked again. “But he still has a couple of more months to go, so he can simmer Papa’s attitude right down.”

If only some of Anton’s men could see him now. They probably wouldn’t know what to think. Anton was known for being a hard-ass, cutthroat boss. One with a mighty fucking temper and little patience for nonsense. His behavior with Viviana was the complete opposite.

With Viviana’s hand pressing to Anton’s chest, she leaned closer into his embrace.

“Missed you today. No problems, right?”

Viviana shook her head.
“Nope.”

“Good.”

“Did you see Daniil this morning?” she asked.

Anton flinched inwardly, fighting off the immediate rush of sadness that flushed his veins like poison. “Yeah, but he didn’t talk much.
Slept through most of my visit.”

His father’s sickness had progressed to its very final stages. At the most, the doctors gave him a couple of short months, which was better than what they had predicted before.
Daniil was a fighter, and he wasn’t about to miss his first grandchild’s birth. Even if Daniil wouldn’t admit it, Anton knew that was what his father was waiting for.

“And Sasha?”

“Tired.”

Viviana didn’t seem to have a reply, so he settled for holding her close as the warm April evening descended down. The gentle stillness settling between the couple had Anton sighing. This was his happiest time, the moments he waited and worked for every damned day. Between feds that tailed him and guys that constantly called, the only thing on his mind was his wife.

Seemingly sensing Anton’s lingering sadness, Viviana fisted his shirt and pulled him down to meet her for a kiss. Her front pressed to his as their mouths connected with a slow building passion. Anton relished in the way her fingers curled tighter, the taste and heat of her parting lips that moved in sync with his. Allowing his hands to wander, he trailed his grip up her sides, feeling his wife shiver under his touch.

Slowly, Anton pulled away, letting her gentle pecks dot down to the line of his jaw. “Did you want to go out for supper?”

“Nope.” Viviana smiled. “I was craving pizza something awful, so we ordered in. It should be here anytime.”

Ah, well that explained the lack of food when he arrived home.

“Craving, huh? Nothing weird, I hope.”

Anton was only half teasing. After the soup mess the week before, well, Viviana could have ordered something nasty to be put on the pizza. Of course, that was nothing compared to the vanilla ice-cream and ketchup topping concoction she had him making a month ago.

While it all led to funny situations, it was also disgusting.

He was more than happy to appease her strange desires, though.

“Pepperoni and cheese,” Viviana said, bringing him from his musings.

“That sounds good.” Actually, it sounded great. Anton barely ate a thing all day and his insides were now trying to feed on themselves. “So—”

A slight movement over Viviana’s shoulder caught his eye. Just beyond the stone fence that surrounded their backyard, an unmarked, grey car sat on the back road. The window was rolled down. Anton could see the lens of the camera sticking out the window. There was no doubt in his mind it was a federal car, and his anger swelled at the sight.

What in the hell gave them the right to be taking pictures of him and his wife in their backyard? It wasn’t like Anton was in the middle of a business meeting or brandishing a gun for the neighbourhood to see. Being the head of his family, a family that dealt heavily in the world of organized crime, it wasn’t unusual for the feds
to be around. That didn’t mean he liked it.

Instinctively, Anton’s hand covered Viviana’s stomach, wanting to somehow shield his pregnant wife from the photographs. He knew it was useless, but he still b
ared his teeth and openly glared at the camera.

Fuck them.

He hadn’t been doing anything to warrant the feds following him, never mind picture taking. If they wanted to play that game anywhere else, Anton didn’t care, but not as his house. Usually there was always a car parked near their home. Some idiots attempting to catch a bit of Russian mob action, but this was different.

It even
felt
different to Anton.

After Tatiana’s appearance earlier in the day, and her father blowing Anton off later, the boss was two seconds away from losing his patience.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

Viviana’s worried voice resounded above the rushing rage pulsing blood in Anton’s ears. He hid the anger on his face with a tender smile. The deflection didn’t work. It shouldn’t have been a surprise; Viviana knew him better than anyone. His wife was already trying to turn around to look in the direction of where his gaze had travelled. Anton diverted her attention with another kiss.

“Come on, let’s go inside and get Rocco out of this heat,” he murmured, his hand finding the small of her back.

The dog in question perked up at his name. With a low bark, it was
all the animal offered. Anton assumed he must have been given his pain medication for the day. The German shepherd hadn’t even gotten up to greet his master like he usually did. The meds always made the pup sleepy and weak.

“But—”

“No buts,” Anton interrupted, glancing back at the car with its camera still trained on them. He didn’t want whoever that was taking more pictures of them than they already had. God knew how long they’d been out there as it was before he returned home. “In the house, Vine.”

“Okay.”

Following his lead, Viviana chancing a glance behind them. Sure enough, her gaze narrowed and a slight pink reddened her cheeks.

“Anton, why are they photographing us?”

“I don’t know,” he said gruffly.

“Has that been happening a lot?” she asked as they started up the steps.

The Bratva boss sighed heavily. Bending down, he gathered the dog in his arms, being mindful of the sensitive areas that hurt Rocco when they were touched. He didn’t know what to say to Viviana, honestly. Yes, they’d been following him a little more recently, but no one understood why.

“Yeah,” he finally answered. “But don’t worry about it, baby.”

Her brown eyes met his as her bottom lip disappeared under her white teeth. “How can I not?”

How, indeed.

It was the ways and rules of their life, and no one played fair.

*

Anton rested between Viviana’s legs, his hands acting as a pillow on her stomach while he watched her read. The textbook in her hands barely received any attention at all. Whenever her husband was around, her mind wandered more than usual.

Tonight was no exception.

“Quit watching me,” she whined behind the book.

“I can’t.” Anton offered nothing else as an explanation. Shifting his form a little, he moved up Viviana’s rounded midsection. Pushing her maternity tank away from her flesh, he kissed and spoke in a language she still hadn’t bothered to learn. Finally, his words turned to English again. “For God’s sake, would you pick a name for this boy of mine already?”

The textbook was tossed to the sheets, forgotten. “Is that what you’re muttering about down there? That he doesn’t have a name yet?”

Anton shrugged his broad shoulders. “No.”

“What do you say, then?”

“Things.”

Viviana knew her lover wasn’t one to be shy, so his change in demeanor had her curiosity perking. With another movement, Anton allowed her to sit up.

“Did you get anything out of that lecture this morning?” Anton asked.

Viviana didn’t miss the deflection tactic for a second. “No, it was a waste of my time as usual. Did something happen that I didn’t hear about on the news? Are you in trouble?”

Anton’s eyes widened at her brazen question. “I’d tell you if there were.”

“Would you? There are feds photographing me behind our home. At least I assume it’s federal. Erik and Ivan are missing lately. If something is about to go down, I would appreciate getting a heads up about it. What’s going on?”

“I really don’t know,” Anton said almost gently. The heated blue of his gaze bore into hers with an openness that told Viviana he was telling the truth the best he could. She knew sometimes Anton held things back from her, not because he wanted to, but because he knew she wouldn’t want to hear it. “I swear to God if I did, I would tell you.”

Nodding, Viviana reached for her textbook and whispered, “Okay.”

“The moment we hear anything, you’ll know. I wouldn’t keep it from you if it was something terribly important or imminent.”

“We?”

“Erik is doing his job, so is Ivan.
We
are all working on figuring it out. Maybe the guys haven’t been around because we’re trying not to bring any more attention here than what’s already been around, Vine. I know it’s tough, but …”

Viviana didn’t tune him out, but she didn’t need to hear the same speech again, either. There was a certain level of faith she had to put into her husband. If he thought she had to worry, Viviana had to find trust that he would let her know. Because of his boss status in his crime family, the feds were always trying to take down the king pin before hacking away at the rest. Why only harm the outer shell when you can take out the jugular and go straight for the kill?

“You’re going to be here, right? You say you don’t know what’s going on, and I’ll take that for what it’s worth as your word because it’s you, Anton. But I need to know you’re going to be here for this.”

“What?” Anton turned back to her, his eyes sharp and his mouth set down into a frown.
“For what, baby?”

“Him,” Viviana said, pointing to her stomach. The baby always fell asleep whenever she was resting in their bed. She hoped he was as good about sleeping outside of the womb as he was inside. “I can’t do all of this by myself.”

Anton blinked back at her, emotions crossing his handsome features one after another, never settling down on one thing. He appeared torn, saddened, confused, and hurt all at once. Viviana didn’t purposely set out of make him feel that way. Rarely did she bring up the prospects of his profession and their life, but she still knew there were things that had to be said.

“I just
can’t
, Anton. We’ve only got a couple of months left before he’s here.”

When he didn’t give her a response, Viviana sighed and opened her textbook again. Minutes passed by as she read. Silence covered the bedroom but for the rhythmic sounds of the couple’s breathing. Fully engrossed in the study of biology, she nearly missed Anton’s deep voice that turned uncharacteristically soft.

“I tell him his mother is pretty damned amazing. That she’s beautiful and intelligent, but stubborn as hell.” Viviana’s breath caught as Anton’s thumbs rolled around her navel, and he continued speaking. “I tell him there’s a whole world of people just waiting to see his face, but no one more eager for his arrival than you and me. I say that I hope he’s nothing like me in a lot of ways, but just the same in so many others. I tell him hopes and fears … I have lots of those, Viviana.”

The textbook dropped from her hands, resting to her chest. Viviana listened to her husband hum a sweet tune and trace loopy pathways over her exposed midsection with his fingers. To her, there was nothing better than seeing Anton at an honorably vulnerable place.

When doors closed, she still got him just the way she liked.

“But most of all …” Anton said with a tender smile, “I tell him that I love him.”

Viviana cleared her throat, forcing back the emotions and tears threatening to rise. “It has to be Russian? The name, I mean.” Anton nodded silently. “I picked up a few books, but nothing caught my eye. It’s just lists. Nothing seems to fit.”

“I thought you’d go right for the namesake,” he replied, chuckling.

“Anton did cross my mind for a second, but more for the middle.” Viviana scrunched up her nose. “Is that what you want?”

“No. He has to have his own to make his way. You understand?”

“Yeah, I guess. Maybe Daniil?” Viviana suggested the name as she reached down to brush away the black wisps of his hair that had fallen over the eyes she wanted to see. “Your mom would really appreciate that.”

“Again, making his own way,” Anton said, lifting his shoulder dismissively.