Free The Jersey Vignettes by Bethany-Kris Page A

drive from Jersey to Brooklyn without crashing, Ana wasn’t sure.
    “I just need a couple of days,” Ana said, hoping her heart would calm. “Just to think and get away from that so I can go back and not be angry with him.”
    Anton nodded. “Okay.”
    “Please don’t be angry with me, Daddy.”
    “For what?” Anton asked. “Why on earth would I ever be angry with you, my dushka ?”
    “Because I’m not like Ma, and I can’t always be okay.”
    Viviana Avdonin was the strongest woman Ana knew. Her mother had seen and experienced more things because of the mafia than some of the men who worked for Ana’s father. Viviana rarely seemed to blink a lash at any of it. Ana tried to be that kind of person, the Bratva wife, unaffected.
    But she couldn’t always do that.
    She’d failed.
    People, angry with her husband, had come into their house and could have killed Ana and her children. How was she supposed to turn her cheek to that?
    “Oh, Ana,” Anton said, sighing heavily. “I’m not mad at you. You’re not your mother. You don’t have to be.”
    “Don’t I?” Ana asked.
    She was the wife of a Bratva boss, after all.
    “No, because you’re just perfect for him. Nobody else matters.”
     
    • • •
     
    Ana stepped out of the car, hugging her middle as she glanced up at the man sitting on the front steps of the large home. Koldan rested his arms over his knees and watched her like he was waiting for her to bolt.
    Ana’s heart broke.
    Maybe her father had been right.
    Maybe she had run.
    Ana let the boys out of their car and booster seat from the back of the Benz. Adrik and Daniil wasted no time getting out and running across the large driveway to their father’s waiting arms. Koldan laughed as the boys climbed into his lap. Ana smiled as her husband kissed her boys’ heads and hugged them tight.
    The police tape was gone.
    The broken windows were fixed.
    The glass that had sprinkled the driveway and Koldan’s shot up car had been removed.
    It was like the ambush and attack hadn’t even happened.
    Not physically, anyway.
    Ana could still feel the aftereffects lingering, especially in her heart.
    She grabbed Sasha’s car seat from the backseat, balanced the seat on her hip and crossed the driveway. Koldan stood to greet his wife, sadness playing in his gaze even though he smiled.
    “ Krasivyy ,” Koldan murmured. “The house doesn’t feel right when the boys aren’t tearing it apart.”
    Ana smiled. It was honest and true. She’d missed him over the last two weeks. Her unexpected trip to Brooklyn kept her there longer than she first meant to stay. “Oh?”
    “No.” Koldan took the car seat from Ana and set it to the step. Bending down, he played with little Sasha’s kicking feet. “Hello my princess. Papa missed you, baby girl.”
    Sasha cooed. “Pa, pa, pa.”
    Adrik and Daniil had already made their way into the house like nothing was amiss. They weren’t frightened or worried. Ana wished she could say the same.
    Standing straight, Koldan held out a hand for Ana. She took it without question. “And I missed you, Ana.”
    “Did you?”
    “Yes,” Koldan said. “So much.”
    “I’m sorry I took off.”
    Koldan shrugged. “I’m sorry you felt like you had to.”
    Ana let him tug her into his chest. She let herself be suffocated by that feeling of his warmth and love. It was a constant in their life. No matter what happened, that was always there. Koldan’s lips brushed over Ana’s cheekbone, seeking her mouth. She took his kiss, needing it.
    Their life certainly wasn’t perfect. Ana wasn’t perfect.
    “We’re okay,” Ana whispered.
    Koldan nodded and held her tighter. “As long as you’re here, everything is beautiful.”
    Because she was his.
    “Always.”

Acknowledgments
     
    First and foremost, I want to thank the main hero of this series. The Avdonin family was just a silly dream of mine. A Russian man who talked to me like my characters do sometimes, and one day I