Demyan & Ana (10 page)

Gia was safe, he reminded himself. She was in hiding like he left her that morning. No one knew where she was. They couldn’t touch her. No harm would come to her or his baby. Liam seemed so sure that Demyan couldn’t shake the awful feeling gnawing at his gut.

Demyan fumbled with his cell phone, his shoulders trembling and his back aching. He had to stop walking just so he was able to hold the phone steady and dial Gia’s number.

“Your nephew was a fucking sociopath,” Anton growled from somewhere behind Demyan. “You knew what he was, hid his transgressions, paid off his victims, and sent him away to hurt someone else. How dare you say the life of an unborn child—my grandchild—is worth the same as his?”

“Because, when blood is spilled, more must fall to answer for it,” Liam replied softly.

“Then why not me?” Anton asked, his shout filling the restaurant with his pain. “
Me
, Liam. He’s my son. I would have answered for it.”

The phone call rang and rang. Demyan pressed it harder to his ear, keeping his swaying body steady by leaning against the wall.

Pick up, Gia. Pick up.

“We all learn, eventually. Apparently, it’s Demyan’s time to be taught. Taking your life would have done little for my lesson if there’s only one person he loves with his entire being, after all.”

“This is not over,” Anton whispered viciously. “The score is not settled. I will ruin you, Liam. I don’t care if takes me thirty years.”

“I welcome your efforts, Anton.”

“Hello?”

Relief flowed from Demyan in a whoosh of air. “Gia, hey.”

“Hey. Everything going okay?” his sweet girl asked.

Demyan swallowed the rising lump clogging his throat. “Yeah. You’re still at the hotel, right?”

A beat of silence answered his question.

“Gia, please tell me you’re still at the hotel, babe,” Demyan managed to say though he didn’t know how.

“I got a call from the school about the substitute. You didn’t give me a chance to plan for this, Demyan, and the schedule for the next week is at home, so I grabbed a cab—”

“No.” Demyan pushed off the wall and slammed the restaurant door open, walking out into the blinding light and cold December air. “Gia,
no
.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Where are you right now?”

“Just unlocking the front door. I’ll be in and out quick, I promise. It wasn’t like I was driving one of our cars. I grabbed the sweater you left with the hoodie to keep my face hidden. Nobody would know it was me. It’ll be fine.”

None of those things mattered, Demyan knew. Chances were, Liam had men waiting for her at all their homes. Demyan’s heart fell from his chest to the ground. He could literally feel every piece of it break and shatter while his soul crumbled.

Demyan didn’t want to frighten her by telling her. He didn’t want her to feel as though it was her fault. It wasn’t. He did this.

It might be easier if she never had to see it coming.

“I love you, Gia,” Demyan said softly. “I love you so, so much, babe.”

“I know. I love you, too.”

Demyan walked down the street, ignoring the people passing him along the way. He stared at the cloudless sky, thinking of earlier times. “Remember when I said I would always follow you?”

Gia laughed. The tinkling sound wrapped and suffocated Demyan in her love and life. Just like it always had. “Yeah, we were so young.”

“You had that yellow dress on.”

“My favorite one.”

Demyan chuckled. “And you were so pissed off because you stained it with mud.”

“Funny, we knew even then how we were going to end up. Would you still follow me, Demyan?”

“I always will, Gia.”

Streaks of wetness made roads down his cheeks. Demyan came to a stop beside his vehicle.

“Find what you needed?” Demyan asked.

“Yeah, it was—” Gia cut off with a sharp gasp.

His heart broke further.

“I love you,” he told her. Just so she would know and those could be the last words she heard. When the gunshot popped on the other end of the call, Demyan said it one more time. “I love you, Gia.”

Chapter Ten

Ana

Resting on the couch with her mother’s arm wrapped protectively around her, Ana felt like a little girl all over again. Viviana’s fingers stroked soothingly through Ana’s dark hair as they watched a chick flick.

“This reminds me of when you were younger,” Viviana said.

Ana leaned back and grinned at her mother. “I was just thinking that. Demyan says I was a brat, though.”

“You were difficult as a child—spoiled, demanding, and you had way too much attitude for your own good. Don’t get me wrong, you’ve turned into someone amazing, but back then I wondered if you ever would. You got all that defiance from your father, too. I swear Anton encouraged you to be this little hellcat from the moment you were born.

“Like he wanted you to break balls and take names later
. If she doesn’t want to share, she doesn’t have to share, Vine, it’s her shit and nobody needs to take it from her
, he’d say. He might as well have been shouting at the universe to let you have your cake because you were his daughter and he said so.”

Ana laughed. “Really?”

“Yeah, and he’s so proud of you, Ana. I get to be his moon, stars, and sun, but you kids are his world. The thing keeping him living and breathing.”

“I know.”

“Little kids, little problems; big kids, big problems,” Viviana said, sighing.

“What’s that?”

“An old proverb. No parent really understands it until their babies aren’t babies anymore and something bad comes along that we can’t protect you from. I think that’s the hardest part about watching you and Demyan grow up. The bigger you got, the less we could help. It’s like we had to shove you both into the world and hope for the best.”

Ana glanced down at her fidgeting hands, remembering her father’s words to her mother a few nights ago in his office. “Do you feel like you failed me, Ma?”

“I don’t know how to feel anything else, Ana. We’ve always been so careful about knowing who we were letting into our home. We had to be and he went right by us. So yeah, we failed and I’m sorry.”

“Someday, we have to walk on our own, too. You can’t be responsible for things out of our control.”

Viviana blew out a huff of air. “The day that happens will be when they put me six feet underground, Ana. It might feel like you’re walking alone sometimes, but all you have to do is look behind you. We’re not too far away, we’re just letting you learn the ropes.”

Ana was never more grateful for her mother than she was now. Viviana was the kind of woman Ana wanted to be. Quietly strong, relentless, and loving.

“Adrik called your father yesterday to chat.”

Ana stilled at her mother’s admission. “Why is Koldan’s father calling Papa?”

“Well, they talk a lot, you know. About things on the business side of life.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“No, I suppose it doesn’t. He wanted to know if he should ask Koldan to come back to Jersey for a while. He thought maybe you would need some breathing room after everything. I guess Koldan downright refuses to leave unless you ask him to.”

Ana blinked, surprised. Her words lodged in her throat as she sat up from her mother’s embrace and turned on the couch so her feet were on the floor. “How does Adrik know?”

Had Koldan told him?

“With the meeting happening today, there were a lot of questions asked about why. Things like what Demyan did can’t happen just because he wants to. There has to be a reason. Your father explained to a few people the circumstance.”

“And word traveled fast,” Ana finished for her mother.

“Yes, I’m sorry.”

“Everybody will know.”

It was exactly what she didn’t want.

“No one will think it’s your fault, Ana.”

“But they’re still going to know, Ma. Every time someone looks at me, they won’t see me. They’ll see what he did to me.”

“No, they’ll see you’re still breathing,” Viviana said sharply. “They’ll see you’re walking, smiling, and alive. Strength, that’s what they’ll see.”

“Oh.”

The cell phone on the table rang a familiar tune. The one Ana knew her mother had designated to her father’s number. Instantly, Viviana’s gaze snapped to the clock on the hotel room’s wall.

“It’s too early,” she said faintly. “He shouldn’t be calling now.”

Viviana sat upright, snatching the ringing device up and answering the call. “Anton?”

Ana watched in frightened silence as her mother’s face fell, tears glistened, and pain followed every breath.

“Which hospital?” Viviana asked. “Yeah, we’re coming. Get him calm, even if they have to sedate him to do it.”

The phone was placed back to the table, forgotten. Viviana stared out the large window overlooking the city. They were right in the heart of it. Somewhere her father said they would be safest, or as close as they could be with all the people and cameras watching. Who would try to hurt them here?

“Ma?” Ana asked.

Viviana made an indescribable noise. “Gia was shot.”

Ana’s heart stopped. “No, she’s two floors up, Ma.”

“I guess she left. She was at their apartment …” Viviana stood, turning fast to grab her purse and coat from the recliner. “Come on, we have to get to the hospital.”

“Is she okay?”

“Come on, Ana, hurry.”

Ana grabbed her mother’s wrist and yanked, stopping her. She needed to know. There were so many things running wild in her mind. Her brother. How much she adored his fiancée. Gia was pregnant, too. With her niece. Far enough along for the baby to survive if born now, but still. What if?

“Ma, is she okay?”

“A neighbor heard the shot, found her, and performed CPR while they called nine-one-one. Ivan was notified when they got Gia to the hospital. They’re having a difficult time calming Demyan down and he’s causing issues at the hospital. We have to go, Ana. That’s all I know. I have to be with Demyan.”

Ana gathered her own things, sending out a quick message to Koldan before she pulled on her shoes. As they were leaving the hotel, she asked her mother, “Where was she shot?”

Viviana struggled for words before blurting, “In the side of the head.”

• • •

Ana swayed on her feet, turning a wide circle in the Emergency waiting room. She didn’t know where her mother had gone. They wouldn’t allow Ana to go back through the doors to find her family. The only reason Viviana was allowed through was for the sake of her son.

No one would tell Ana anything about Gia, her brother or the state of her unborn niece. Some nurses gave her a pitiful, remorseful smile when she asked—demanded—answers, but it got her nowhere. She was pretty sure she caught a glimpse of her father and Ivan when Gia’s sisters pushed through the entrance doors an hour earlier, but who knew, really.

This was chaos.

Loud voices getting louder. Constant movement.

People were watching her, but she didn’t know who they were. Some faces she had met before, some were friends of her mother’s and father’s, but most she couldn’t place. None made any attempt to talk to her.

Ana knew she was crying, but numbness settled in deep. It burrowed throughout, turning everything slow and holding her panic at bay.

“Ana!”

Through the crowd of people, one finally stood out. Koldan’s embrace came swift and hard, swallowing her whole and making her disappear from the room for just a brief moment. But it was long enough. She shook and cried, burying her face in his unzipped leather jacket, fisting her hands into his shirt, and her knees buckled. Koldan didn’t let her fall. His arm wrapped her lower back, holding her close to his form while his other hand tangled in her hair.

“Hey, calm down,” he whispered.

“They won’t tell me anything!”

“They probably don’t know, or can’t tell you, Ana.”

“But the baby is my niece, so that makes me family, right?”

“I don’t know how hospital policy works and as far as I know, Gia’s in surgery.”

Ana’s hands clenched harder. “But—”

“The very best neurosurgeons in the city work here, Ana. This was the best place to bring someone with severe brain trauma. It’ll be okay.”

All the worry and anguish suddenly came out like a tidal wave intent on destroying what bit of composure she had left. Koldan held strong and waited her through it. When she finally felt calm enough to think clearly, anger burst through her sadness.

“Where were you?” Ana demanded, smacking him in the chest. “I called you two hours ago!”

Koldan snagged her hand in his to keep her from hitting him again. “Stop it, Ana. I was there.”

Ana froze. “With Gia?”

“No, at the sit-down. I was outside in a car. When Demyan came outside, he looked blitzed, so I followed him down the street. I had to take his phone from him, but I listened before I hung it up. I could hear the person trying to help Gia.” Koldan grimaced, blowing out a shaky breath of air. “I had a job to do. I was in the group that needed to make sure Liam and his fools departed the city like they were supposed to after the meeting.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, but I’m sorry I couldn’t come right away.”

Ana nodded, feeling awful for being contrite. “Did they leave?”

“They caught a private jet thirty minutes ago,” he confirmed.

“Was the meeting bad?”

Koldan shrugged. “I’m not sure,
krasivyy
. I wasn’t inside the restaurant, but I know the aftermath was … insane. I guess Liam made the decision on Gia because of what Demyan did. There wasn’t much time to talk. Everyone wanted to get out of there as fast as possible, especially once Ivan got the call from the hospital.”

Ana glanced around, sensing people looking at her and Koldan. Sure enough, people were staring. “Who are these men?”

“Bratva,” Koldan answered.

“My father’s?”

“Yeah.”

“Why do they keep looking at us like we’re a fucking circus show?”

“Because, I’m the son of Adrik Vasin,” Koldan said, barely audible.

“And I’m the daughter of Anton Avdonin.”

“You got it, Ana.”

Well, then
. 

Ana refused to pay the gawkers any more attention.

“Ma said Gia was shot in the head,” Ana said, feeling distant.

“I heard.”

“How do you survive a gunshot to the head, Koldan?”

“I …”

He couldn’t finish the sentence.

Ana didn’t need him to.

• • •

“Wake up,
krasivyy
. Time for some news.”

The soothing, dark tenor of Koldan wrapped Ana in security. Ana blinked awake, an ache in her back throbbing as she sat up straight in the uncomfortable hospital chair. She wiped the sleep from her eyes, trying to get some focus into her brain. Where was she again? The antiseptic smell and quiet shuffle of feet reminded her.

The hospital. Gia. The baby.

Oh, God
.

“Ana?”

Her mother’s voice woke Ana up completely. She shook the rest of her sleepiness off, but the heavy emotions still weighed her down. “Hey, Ma.”

Viviana tried to smile as she sat down beside Ana. Tried being the key word, because it looked anything but true. “I’m sorry I couldn’t come find you earlier. They’re not going to let anyone in the room with Gia until morning and no one can be in the NICU except for immediate family to the child. Apparently, they don’t consider an aunt immediate family. They’re letting your father and me in, though.”

The NICU?

The NICU
.

“The baby is okay?” Ana asked

“It was touch and go for a while,” Viviana replied. “She was in distress so they made the choice to take her. She’s beautiful. A little small. Looks just like Gia with Demyan’s dark hair.”

“What about Gia?”

Viviana looked down at her hands. Ana followed the stare to see tremors were rocking her mother’s fists. Only then did Ana notice her mother’s eyes were red-rimmed and puffy. Like she spent the whole day crying. “The neighbor who called nine-one-one, they did the best they could until the ambulance arrived. Gia had a heartbeat, but it was weak and her breathing was very shallow. She was unresponsive and getting worse. She didn’t make it to the hospital before they lost her heartbeat.”

“But, they brought her back, right?”

“For a short while,” Viviana murmured. “They lost it once more in surgery, and then brought it back again.”

“What aren’t you telling me, Ma?”

“Gia’s in a coma, Ana. She’s still unresponsive. They said she lost her brain function in surgery. There’s no activity on the monitors. Right now, she’s on life support. It’s breathing for her and making her heart pump blood like it needs to. But when they take her off …”