Keep: The Wedding: Romanian Mob Chronicles (3 page)

It was Anton who finally broke it. “I believe Vasile asked you something, Markov.”

Markov looked at Anton and nodded tightly. “Cleanly. Discreetly. We’ll be shadows, in, out, and done. No trouble,” he said.

I had my doubts, but I’d considered this issue before, and Markov was the least of all evils. Relations with the Peruvians were nonexistent, and neither Anton nor I would handle the drug trade, and the other clans were too small to manage an operation of that size.

Which left the Russians. And Markov, who didn’t make a good first impression, had been running his own organization for nearly two decades, and that longevity said something by itself.

“Make sure, Markov. We won’t help you in this,” Anton said.

The man gave an icy smile. “This is easy. I won’t need your help. But why so generous? There’s money to be made. Why are you leaving it all to me?” he asked.

“Clan Constantin’s interests don’t lie in that aspect of the business,” Anton replied.

A bland answer that didn’t remotely touch the heart of the matter. Both Anton and I agreed that the drug trade was far more trouble than it was worth and had no problem leaving it to the Markovs of the world.

And Markov was more than happy with the deal. In fact, he probably thought he was getting one over on Anton and me.

I didn’t give a shit.

I was happy to fly under the radar. I got rich, my men got rich, and we all stayed out of jail. Let Markov have what he believed was easy money. Maybe he’d eventually come to realize there was no such thing. It’d be too late then. He’d be in custody, dead, or trying to hold together an organization that had been ripped apart. Clan Petran and Clan Constantin would be there to watch.

“We’re done?” I asked.

Anton nodded. “Yes.”

“You should stay. Let me entertain you, a small celebration of our new partnership,” Markov said.

Anton stood, as did Sorin and I. It would be rude to refuse his invitation, so as much as I wanted to get home, I couldn’t, not yet.

The next hours passed in a blur. I’d never been known for my social nature, but Sorin did well and managed to keep Markov entertained enough that Anton and I didn’t have to do too much.

After we’d stayed long enough not to offend, we finally left Markov with the whores and drugs and got the hell out of there.

“I’m pathetic,” Sorin said after we’d bid Anton good-bye.

“Yeah, what made you realize it?” I asked.

“I was surrounded by naked women and all I could think about was getting home to Esther and figuring out how I’m going to shut her up when she starts bitching about me smelling of smoke,” he said, laughing incredulously.

I did the same. “Sometimes life changes.”

“Yeah.” He hugged me quickly, got into his car, and then drove off.

I did the same, anxious to finally be home.

V
asile

“
W
hat are
you two doing still up?” I said as I walked into the house, relief at finally being back to the place I loved most filling me and chasing away thoughts of Markov, Anton, everything except the joy of being back with my family.

“Technically, only one of us has a bedtime, and only one of us is still up,” Fawn said as she smiled down at our daughter, who lay curled in her lap.

They were sitting on the living room floor, Maria sleeping deeply as Fawn watched her. Her hair was brushed back but loose, and her face was bare of makeup, and her skin had a dim glow of health and I hoped happiness. She wore long pajama pants and sat with her legs folded underneath her. Through the thin pants, I could see the smooth curve of her full thigh and hip, both of which I couldn’t wait to touch.

I scooped Maria up and hugged her tight and kissed her forehead. My little girl looked completely peaceful, happy, and I swore I would do anything and everything to keep her that way.

“She wanted to keep playing?” I asked Fawn as I turned and began to walk to Maria’s bedroom.

“Nope. She insisted on staying up to see her daddy,” Fawn said quietly as we went up the stairs.

My chest squeezed. Maria had stayed up just to see me, and I hadn’t been there for her. I was probably overreacting, knew I was overreacting, but I hated the idea of my woman, my baby, waiting for me and me disappointing them.

“Good night,
draga mea
,” I whispered as I laid her down and then patted her soft hair.

Fawn flipped off the light and turned on Maria’s nightlight as I lingered over her bed. She walked to stand next to me and then kissed Maria. After a moment, she laced her fingers with mine and then led me down the hall to our bedroom.

After she closed the door, she stood up on tiptoe and planted a soft kiss against my mouth, her warm, full lips moving over mine gently but with passion. When she lowered herself to the floor, she looked up at me, her eyes glittering with the desire I had felt in her kiss.

“I need to shower,” I said.

“Later,” she replied as she reached for my belt and began unbuckling it.

“Fawn…” I said, trying to put edge in my voice as the words came out more like a plea.

“Vasile,” she said, looking up at me again as she pulled my belt through the loop and then tossed it aside.

“I need to shower,” I repeated.

“Later,” she whispered, and as she spoke, she began lifting my shirt up.

She went slow, though, letting her fingers touch me as she went, pausing momentarily to brush her small fingers against my nipples before she again stood on tiptoe and pulled the shirt up as far as she could. I pulled it off the rest of the way and Fawn took it out of my hands and tossed it aside. Then, moving quickly, she closed her lips around my nipple, stroking it with her tongue as she continued to hold my eyes with hers.

Of their own volition, my hands lifted and anchored on her hips. I’d intended to pull her away, but instead I was holding her tighter, bringing her closer. I preferred to shower before I came to our bed, but Fawn seemed to have other ideas, and who was I to deny her? Did I even have the ability?

No, I didn’t.

I squeezed her hips for just a moment and then pulled her away. She frowned, but before she could speak, I leaned down and covered her lips with mine and kissed her hard. I pressed my tongue between her lips and then lifted her. She took my cue and wrapped her legs around my waist, settling her scorching sex over the burgeoning ridge of my erection.

I rocked my hips once, twice, the muted touch of her hot pussy sending waves of pleasure through me. It was only a taste of what was to come.

Fawn held me and then threaded her fingers through my hair, kissing me back with the same passion I had felt earlier. With one arm anchored around her waist, I used the other to reach between our bodies and cupped her sex in my hand. She wasn’t wearing panties, so I could feel the hot moisture that flowed from her. I laid my hand flat against her and then rubbed, using the palm of my hand to press her clit, a surge of satisfaction shooting through me when she squirmed and then exhaled, her warm breath tickling my neck.

She pushed against my chest and I loosened my hold and let her slip down until her feet were on the floor. When she stood, she grabbed my pants and then turned us until my back faced the bed.

“Sit, please,” she said, a little smile on her lips.

“What are you planning, Fawn?” I asked, though I sat as commanded.

She knelt and then began removing my shoes, first one and then the other. “I think you can figure it out, Vasile,” she said.

Then she moved her hands up my legs and opened my pants and took them back down with her. She lifted heavy-lidded eyes to mine and then smiled. “Does that give you a hint?” she asked.

I lay back and rested on my elbows and stared down at her.

“Still not sure?” she asked. “Let me give you another hint.”

Legs still under her, Fawn leaned to her left and placed a soft kiss on my knees and then began working her way up my thigh, leaving wet, heated kisses against my skin. I gripped the bedcovers tight to hold still, content, at least for the moment, to let Fawn have her way. When she placed a kiss at the base of my cock, I tightened my grip, my own eyes getting heavy as Fawn worked, her warm breath tickling my shaft, the heat from her mouth tantalizing. I wanted to bury myself in that heat, but I stayed unmoving despite how much I wanted to.

Fawn’s slow, lazy kisses could have convinced me she didn’t feel any of the urgency I did, but I saw the way her chest shuddered out ragged breaths, could see the way she clenched her fingers tight around the bedclothes as I did.

Still, I was happy to let her explore, but when she reached her tongue out to circle the head of my cock, that was enough.

“Come here,” I said, my voice rough, ragged with need.

I pulled Fawn to her feet and quickly shoved her pants down. Letting my fingers trail across the soft skin of her full thigh, I moved toward her sex and then touched her mound, lingering there for a moment until I delved my fingers between her thighs and began to stroke her slick lips.

“Take off your shirt,” I said, moving my fingers back and forth, my gaze glued to the apex of her thighs, watching as she faintly trembled.

I heard her remove her shirt and when she dropped her arms, I raised my hand up her soft stomach to cup her full tit. I loved the bounty of Fawn’s body, her full, round form perfectly filled my arms. I would never tire of touching her.

She lifted her hands to my chest and curled her fingers against it, her touch, the tension in her hands telling me of her need much like the honeyed nectar that coated my fingers did.

My cock throbbed insistently, and only more so when Fawn lowered her hand and wrapped it around me, fisting my shaft and then moving up and down, spreading the precum that flowed from me up and down my skin.

“Enough,” I said.

I quickly pulled my hand away and lifted her until she straddled me. As she hovered above me, she gripped the base of my cock and then teased herself with it, stroking me against her wet lips. Then she stopped and met my eyes, and as we stared at each other, she lowered herself down, taking more and more of my cock as she went.

Fawn’s pussy gripped me tight, the pleasure of being with her both familiar and novel, the mix of comfort and excitement that being with her always brought. I rocked my hips up and chuckled at the low moan that burst from her. I leaned forward and captured one of her nipples between my lips.

Nothing could be better than this, my woman above me, me inside her. Together, locked tight, we moved, the moment growing heavy and sweet with the tension of climax hanging in the edge of our periphery. Fawn held me, her hands gripping my shoulders.

“I love you, Vasile,” she whispered.

Those words were always a trigger and when she said them again, I came, my climax propelling my cum out of me in a rush that was so intense, it was almost painful. As I came, Fawn’s pussy tightened around me and she cried out her own climax, our breaths entwining as we both panted our completion.

I laid my face against her breasts, her skin damp with sweat and smelling so sweet. My Fawn. I stayed like that until she began to move, and I reluctantly loosened my hold and then turned and laid her down on her back.

She stared up at me, her eyes still soft, gentle with her climax. She stroked her thumb across my brow, her eyes boring into mine.

“Are you okay?” she asked, looking at me as if she could see the things I thought I could hide. I sometimes forgot that Fawn was one of the few people who ever really saw me. But any troubles I had, any worries that might have dogged me were gone. Here, with her, nothing else mattered.

“I’ve never been better,” I said.

Then I kissed her again.

F
awn

T
he next morning
, Vasile was up and getting dressed by the time I woke up, and after a quick kiss, he was gone. So, like most mornings, it was Maria and I, left to do whatever we wished with the day.

I’d fed and dressed her and even managed to get myself dressed, and I wasn’t sure what to do. The phone rang and I picked it up.

“Park. Stat,” Esther said before I could even utter a hello.

I laughed. “Any reason in particular?” I said.

“My baby is bouncing off the walls. He’s got to burn some of this energy off, so you and Maria come meet us, okay?” she asked.

“Okay. See you in an hour?” I said.

“Yeah. Assuming Baby Sorin hasn’t blasted off into outer space by then,” Esther said.

I laughed. “I’m going to be optimistic and assume that’s not going to happen. See you in a little bit. Bye.”

“Bye,” she said, and then she hung up.

I looked at Maria, who was eying the room, clearly looking for something to get into.

“Maria, you want to go to the park?” I asked.

“Yes!” she yelled in her high toddler voice.

“Then let’s get ready,” I said, and then I helped her put her shoes and jacket on.

Within minutes, we were packed and headed to the car.

“Good morning, Ioan,” I called as I got closer to the car.

Ioan, who had been leaning against the car, stood up straight and then faced me, his expression flat. Ioan was one of the men who accompanied me wherever I went. It was still strange to me, almost unbelievable, that things were such that I needed twenty-four-hour protection.

It shouldn’t have been. I’d been watched before, escorted everywhere, but not out of the love and desire to protect that drove Vasile. David, the monster who had made my life a living hell, was gone now. Vasile had never said exactly what happened to him, but I knew David would never harm me, or my child, again.

Once I was free of David, the fear that had been a constant part of my life was gone, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t any risk. Though Vasile had never said so, he worried about other enemies, so much so he insisted I never travel alone. I’d made my peace with it and didn’t try to force the issue.

Not that I would have gotten anywhere with it. Vasile was relentless, maniacal about our safety, and though he would never deny me anything, I knew he wouldn’t compromise on that.

“I drive today?” Ioan asked as he opened the door.

“Yes,” I said. “We’re going to the park.”

He nodded and then stepped aside to let me pass. I stopped in front of the car and lifted Maria and strapped her into her car seat. Then I circled the car and sat beside her, and Ioan got behind the wheel to drive.

“How’s Bunica?” I asked Ioan.

Ioan’s grandmother had babysat Maria and Baby Sorin on a couple of occasions, but she’d been sick with pneumonia for the last several weeks. I’d taken Maria to visit as she’d recovered at home, but I hadn’t seen her in about a week.

Ioan glanced at me in the rearview mirror and smiled.

“Much better. Thank you,” he said.

He smiled again, looking almost bashful, a little blush sprouting on his cheeks.

“What?” I asked, wondering what could get such a reaction out of stoic Ioan.

“My grandmother, she says I need to settle down, give her little ones like Maria and Baby Sorin,” he said.

I laughed. “Maybe you should listen to her,” I said.

He blanched and shrugged, and I smiled, amused by this entire thing. It seemed that even men like Ioan weren’t protected from meddling grandmothers.

It wasn’t surprising altogether, though. Ioan was quiet and rarely spoke to me unless I spoke to him, but he had always been kind, almost gentle, and he struck me as the type of man who cared what his grandmother thought. Still, I couldn’t imagine this was what he’d dreamed of for his career.

I’d once asked Vasile if Ioan resented this job or herding Maria and me to play dates and the park. Vasile had assured me the task was a great honor, one Ioan was proud to have, and one he was more than able to handle.

That last part had simultaneously scared and comforted me. Ioan was nice, but I would never make the mistake of thinking he was soft, capable of anything less than Vasile. I prayed every day it would never come to that, but if it did, I knew Ioan would kill and die if necessary to protect both of us.

Maria babbled quietly and soon we reached the park. When we arrived, Esther and Baby Sorin were waiting for us. I got out of the car and then got Maria.

“We’ll be over here,” I said to Ioan, who stood next to the car, looking almost relaxed. His casualness was entirely a facade. I knew he watched avidly and took note of everyone who was in the park and everything that was happening in it. Esther’s version of Ioan walked over and the men began to converse in Romanian, though I knew they still watched.

I let Maria down and she raced to the sandbox, where Baby Sorin was busily playing. There were three or four other kids, and I walked to the benches where Esther and the other mothers gathered.

“Hello,” I said, nodding at the other women.

They murmured greetings, but the conversation didn’t go beyond that. I recognized them from the park, but we’d never exchanged names. In fact, few of the other mothers spoke with us, and within minutes, Maria and Baby Sorin were alone in the sandbox.

“God, we need some new blood around here!” Esther said.

I glanced at her and smiled. “What do you mean?”

“I’m just sayin’, some new faces would be nice,” she replied.

“What? I’m not enough for you?” I asked, pretending to be hurt.

Esther scoffed. “Yeah, right. You know what I mean,” she said.

I laughed again. “I do. Not the friendliest crowd, huh?”

“Understatement of the century. These park moms are terrified of us, though I can’t imagine why,” she said sarcastically.

I glanced over at the two dark town cars and the bulky, tattooed men who stood next to them. “Well, our entourage is rather…intimidating. Probably not something they encounter every day,” I said.

“Oh, them?” Esther said, waving toward the cars. “I thought everyone had a tattooed Romanian with her twenty-four-seven.”

“No, I think we’re on the cutting edge,” I said.

We both laughed and then Esther turned to me, a mischievous grin on her face. “Picture it, Fawn. Me and you at a playgroup, all the other moms gathered around. We’ve gotten past the chitchatty bullshit and are heading to the meat. ‘My husband’s in finance. Yours?’” Her expression dropped, the perfect imitation of what we would confront in that very unlikely scenario. “‘Oh…I see…’” She trailed off and then shivered in mock disgust.

I nodded, knowing she spoke the truth.

“But on the other hand,” she continued, “I’m not sure if I would fit in with the others. I mean, what could we possibly have to talk about?”

“You know, mom stuff, the latest in juice-box innovation and that kind of thing,” I said.

Esther laughed. “Yeah, as the other moms would be about to piss themselves.”

“Probably,” I said.

She was right. Even though we didn’t discuss our men, who they were was always a part of our lives. Both of us loved our men, but their world—our world—was isolating. It wasn’t completely bleak, though. I brightened and smacked Esther’s arm, excited.

“Too bad you missed the dinner with Anton Constantin and his new wife,” I said.

“I was pissed about that, but Baby Sorin was up to his eyeballs in puke, so I couldn’t be there. Then again, maybe it’s good that I missed it. How was it?
Godfather
to the max, right?” she said.

“Come on, Esther,” I said, laughing.

“What? Tell me I’m wrong. I can imagine the posturing and chest-puffing now. And I’m getting hives just thinking about it. I bet I’d have put my big foot in my mouth and set off World War III or something,” she said.

“It’s not that serious, Esther,” I said.

She rolled her eyes again. “Come on, Fawn, you don’t even believe that.”

I shrugged. “Well, no, but this was different, very low-key,” I said.

“That’s good, but you know as well as I do, I’m not cut out to be a mob first lady. Good thing you’re around to handle all that crap,” she said.

I hadn’t ever quite thought about it that way, but Esther, as she always did, gave me a new perspective. I supposed she was right. Vasile rarely accepted invitations or extended them, but when he did, I was happy to help him however I could. Dressing up and being inoffensive was one of my greatest, and only, talents. More importantly, at Vasile’s side, I never felt fear, worry, or anything but being completely safe.

After a moment, I glanced back at Esther and waved her off.

“Um, thanks, I guess,” I said. “Now, back to the topic at hand. You want some new blood. Well, Lily is married to one of Vasile’s…” I trailed off, trying to come up with the right word. “Associates,” I finally settled on. “She’s really nice. Maybe we should get together with her?”

Esther huffed and then went to grab a crying Baby Sorin. She patted the baby and soothed him and then put him back down.

“What did you say, Esther? About meeting Lily?” I asked when she came and sat next to me again.

“Hmm,” she said, murmuring noncommittally.

I frowned at her, confused, and Esther didn’t look at me, a sure sign that something was amiss.

“I thought you wanted new blood?” I said.

“Of course, but…” She trailed off.

I narrowed my eyes and then watched her. Then I smiled, suspicion dawning.

“Am I hearing what I think I’m hearing?” I said.

“What do you think you’re hearing? I haven’t really said anything,” Esther said.

Then she went to Baby Sorin again and began straightening his shirt.

“Leave the baby alone and talk to me, Esther. Or I’m gonna say you’re a ’fraidy cat,” I said.

That got her attention, and she turned sharp eyes on me. “‘’Fraidy cat’? Are you in third grade?” she said on a huff as she brushed the baby’s hair.

Bingo. A nervous, fussy Esther was a scared one, and if she was brushing her baby’s hair in the park, she was extra nervous. I smiled, watching my best friend as she did everything but look at me.

“Aren’t you? I can’t think of any other reason you’d be afraid to meet someone. I thought you were fearless, Esther Petran,” I said.

I still smiled, but I had stuttered over the last word, and Esther finally stopped fussing with the baby and looked at me, her expression soft.

“That’s weird, right? I never thought I’d be anything besides Esther Jordan.”

“It fits,” I said as calmly as I could manage.

It did fit, as did the look of contentment on Esther’s face when she looked at Sorin when she thought no one was looking. She belonged to the name and had had time to grow accustomed to it.

Not that it meant anything, really. Sorin loved Esther, just as Vasile loved me. A name didn’t change that. No, not at all.

Fawn Petran.

I tried the name on for size in my mind and as the sound rang in my head, I made a face. It was awkward, sounded strained, and not pretty, not right.

“Why are you frowning like that?” Esther said, scrutinizing me with her intense gaze.

“Sorry, just thinking,” I said.

“Did you hear anything I said?” she asked.

I looked at her through lowered eyes and she huffed. “We’ll pick that up momentarily, but I said, ‘So sue me for being nervous.’ You know what happened the last time you introduced me to a new friend.”

She didn’t mean anything by it, but I felt a stab of guilt. I never would have guessed that Natasha had intended Esther harm, but I was, even in a roundabout way, responsible for what had almost happened to her, and for that I would be forever sorry. Natasha had been in love with Esther’s husband Sorin and had conspired to have Esther killed. Fortunately, Natasha’s plan had failed, but it had been a close thing.

“I wonder what happened to her,” Esther said a moment later.

“Don’t,” I replied vehemently, looking at Esther with sharp eyes. She was treading on dangerous ground. That train of thought could undo her, and I would do my best to make sure that didn’t happen.

Esther frowned at the sharpness in my tone, but I didn’t relent. “I’m serious, Esther. Don’t think about her. Don’t wonder. It will drive you crazy. Or ruin your life.”

“I don’t that often, just sometimes…” she started and then trailed off yet again, something that was uncommon for my usually confident friend.

I understood what she meant, and I knew that Esther still struggled. She wasn’t as acclimated to this lifestyle as I, and as happy and crazy as Sorin made her, I knew she still hadn’t quite wrapped her head around what being with a man like him meant, the sacrifices she’d have to make, the seemingly normal things that were off-limits to us now.

“Meeting Lily will be good for you,” I said, changing the subject. “We’re great together, but we need to meet new people. You said it yourself.”

“Yeah, yeah, okay, so I’ll meet your new friend, but you have to sit in between us, and I’m bringing my Taser,” Esther said. She came back over to me and then sat next to me, patting Baby Sorin’s head as he began to nod off. “Now that that’s settled, what’s got you down?” she asked.

I glanced at Maria as she busily dug in the sandbox, happily chattering to herself. Then I looked at my best friend, the one who had been lost to me for so many years but who had come back into my life like a whirlwind, one that was so welcome. The relief I felt at having her back was only more acute as I thought of how I’d missed her in the years we had been apart.

I felt on the verge of tears, but I choked them back.

“I feel stupid for even thinking this,” I said, my voice thickening from the tears that threatened. “I mean, really, crying because of something so stupid,” I said.

“Can you clue me in?” Esther replied, stern but still sympathetic.

“It’s not important. We’ve talked about it before and there’s no solution, so I just need to shut up and stop whining like a two-year-old.”

Esther frowned. “Don’t do that, Fawn,” she said.