Keep: The Wedding: Romanian Mob Chronicles (6 page)

V
asile

“
C
an you believe this shit
?” Sorin said.

“What?” I asked, looking at Maria and Baby Sorin as they buzzed from one corner of the room to the other, seeming propelled by unlimited energy.

He gestured toward the kids and then between us. “You and me like this, babysitting, for God’s sake.”

“We’re not babysitting. They’re our children,” I replied.

“My point exactly. We’re here, watching kids,
our
kids, tear the place apart. And it’s…fun,” he said unbelievingly.

I looked at my brother, his easy smile reflecting the joy I felt.

“Yeah,” I said. “So you like this, being a father?”

He nodded. And I broached the other topic.

“And being a husband? How’s Esther?” I said.

“A pain in my ass,” he said. He turned his eyes toward me, expression a mix of shock and disgust. “She said she wanted to get a job! A job! Can you fucking believe it?”

“Esther is very independent, headstrong, so yes, I can,” I said.

“You make that sound like a good thing. Don’t encourage her,” he said.

“My encouragement should mean nothing if you told her no,” I said.

“I did tell her no, but you know how she is,” he said.

“Sorin, are you not in charge of your home?” I asked, managing to stifle the laugh that threatened to come forth.

“I’m number three, just like you,” he replied.

We both laughed, and then quieted, the babbling and squeals of our children filling the room.

He was right. It was nearly impossible to believe that this was real. Nothing in my life or Sorin’s had prepared either of us for this. Even when we were young, carefree, we had never been as young and carefree as our children were now.

There was always duty, our responsibility to our clan. So even if our father hadn’t been a tyrant, our mother not broken beyond repair, it wouldn’t have been like this. A home filled with love, a family filled with love.

I wasn’t naive enough to believe this would last. Things would change whether I wanted them to or not, and trying to deny that would be as futile as trying to stop the rising sun. So I would protect them and enjoy the happiness in my life for as long as it lasted.

I looked at my brother and knew he felt the same.

Not more than a minute passed between that realization and the urgent knock that came at the door.

“Vasile.”

I looked up at the sound of my name and saw the men who watched the house enter.

They never entered the home, so this was something urgent. I looked to Sorin, who nodded faintly, and then I stood and walked out of the room, softly sliding the double doors closed. When I turned, I saw Ioan.

I didn’t see Fawn.

My heart started to race, but I kept a tight hold on the reins of control, grasping for calm as desperately as I grasped for a reasonable explanation for what was happening. I stepped closer to Ioan, meeting his gaze.

“Where is Fawn?”

My voice was low, icy, and Ioan’s expression twisted with concern. I tried to treat my men well, pay them fairly, and as long as they were obedient and faithful, I rarely interfered in their lives.

But I liked Ioan, trusted him to the extent that I could. He’d shown promise, and had the potential to do well. But if anything had happened to Fawn, he would suffer greatly and then die, and the expression on his face told me he understood that.

“H-he took her,” Ioan stammered.

I got closer, my hands clenched tight into fists at my side, my lungs squeezing even tighter, my heart still in my chest.

“Tell me what happened. Quickly!” I said, switching to our native language.

He did the same and began speaking as fast as I had ever heard him. “The police...they stopped her, took her away in cuffs,” he said.

“When? Where?” I said, my mind swirling but my body almost numb.

“Less than thirty minutes ago. Her car is still there. I came back as quickly as I could,” Ioan said.

“Why didn’t you intervene?”

“I was going to, but she…she told me not to,” he said.

“And you listened! Let them take her?”

My voice was so low, it was almost inaudible, but the room nearly vibrated with my rage. I had my hand around his neck now, could feel his heart beating against my palm, the almost overwhelming urge to crush the bones there threatening to overtake me.

“Papa!”

I hadn’t heard the doors open, but my daughter’s sweet, innocent voice penetrated the haze of rage and worry. I let Ioan go, heard his sigh of relief, one that was cut short when I glared at him. Then, I turned.

Maria toddled toward me, her arms lifted, her face bright with a smile. She was dressed in light blue like her favorite princess, and my sweet girl looked so happy to see me.

Sorin swooped her up before she reached me and swung her around. She screamed, and he laughed, but when he looked at me, I saw the question in his eye. If nothing else, the interruption had helped me regain the quickly escalating loss of control.

I walked to them and took Maria and kissed her. “What are you doing out here? You left Baby Sorin all alone,” I said as I took her back into the family room.

Once she was settled and again happily playing, I went back outside and looked at Sorin, who had taken my place in front of Ioan.

“Esther?” I asked.

“She was with Fawn and the Constantin lady. But she left on foot,” Ioan said.

Sorin swore and then looked at me, his own expression darkening.

Neither of us carried cell phones. They were far too easy to track, and collected far too much information, a risk I felt was too great even for the sake of convenience. We had forbidden Esther and Fawn from owning cell phones for those same reasons, so we were completely out of contact.

Sorin wouldn’t be content to wait here while I rushed into potential danger, and I didn’t dare leave our children with anyone else. Besides, he’d worry something might have happened to Esther as well. As much as I wanted to rage through the city to find her, I’d have to stay.

“Go now. Find Esther and bring her back here,” I said to Sorin.

He was gone in the next breath, not wasting a single second.

“Go see Anton, tell him to meet me,” I said to one of the others.

Then I was alone with Ioan, who was still tense with worry. I ignored him, not certain that I wouldn’t lash out and kill him where he stood. He deserved that, worse, but my little girl was here, and Fawn wouldn’t want something like that to happen in her home.

What if she doesn’t come back?

That thought stopped me in my tracks, and I couldn’t move against the horror of it.

F
awn

T
he unreality
of the situation got worse with each moment that passed.

The officer sat behind the wheel, humming a pop song under his breath as he drove. It seemed that nothing about this was out of the ordinary for him.

I envied his cool.

Outwardly, I knew I gave no indication of what I felt. I’d become too practiced at hiding my emotions, and that skill had not left me. But inside…inside, I thought I might explode from the fear, uncertainty, pain, and anger that threatened to overtake me.

Had something happened to Maria, to Vasile? And Esther, she’d left on foot. What if she had been ambushed? What if taking me had only been a part of some larger plot against my family?

The officer had gotten back onto the highway and driven for forty-two minutes if the clock on the dashboard was to be believed. We’d gone south, and now he exited, headed for one of the suburbs I never went to. It occurred to me then he was making no effort to hide anything, his face, where we were going, the time, nothing.

My stomach dropped.

He didn’t need to hide if he didn’t plan to let me go.

When he turned into a parking lot and got out of the car, I sent up a silent, fervent prayer, but by the time he opened the back passenger door, I had again calmed. Nothing would be gained by letting him see my fear, so I’d do what I always had, stay quiet, comply, and pray it would be over soon.

I hated that, wished that I was stronger, braver, more like Vasile, but I wasn’t, and I wouldn’t risk the chance to see my family again trying to prove I was something I wasn’t.

The officer threw a jacket over my hands and led me down the covered walkway toward a door at the end of the small shopping center. I looked down at my hands and wondered why he had bothered. Without the jacket, I might have looked normal, but with it, I looked like someone who was handcuffed. Dressed in her best for a socialite’s lunch, but handcuffed nonetheless.

This was so fucked,
I
was so fucked, and when the officer pulled open the door and led me inside of a small storefront, that feeling intensified. It was empty, but appeared to have been an office of some kind before. There were dusty desks, a few ancient computer monitors, and a file cabinet in one corner.

The officer—I really needed to stop thinking of him as that. I didn’t even know if he was a cop, and if he was, none of this was protocol—led me down a hall. I slowed, digging my heels in almost on instinct. At least in the vehicle and in the main area, there was some semblance of protection, but my apprehension spiked at the thought of going into a back room with him, uncertain about what might await me.

“None of that, now,” he said, voice neither gruff nor friendly.

He tugged my arm and I reluctantly began to move. When we reached the back office, he pushed me down into a chair and then stood above me, looming. I met his gaze, not willing to cower. He gave me an easy smile.

“Don’t be so tense. My friend just wants to have a word with you,” he said.

“What friend?” I asked, my voice starting out weak but growing stronger.

“Me.”

I jumped and then turned toward the sound, but the man who spoke never stepped out of the shadows.

V
asile

“
W
ho wants cookies
!” Esther asked.

Fast as lightning, two tiny arms went up into the air, and Esther laughed.

“Okay, but you have to help me make them,” she said.

Then she shooed the kids toward the kitchen, but not before she stopped and gave me a lingering look. She’d been back for a little over two hours, and had taken the lead in keeping the kids entertained.

Once I came back to my senses, if I came back to my senses, I would thank her. But right now, it was all I could do to stay inside my skin.

A moment later, Sorin came in.

“What did you find?” I asked, trying to keep my voice low, but the urgency in it enough for anyone listening to hear.

“Her car was there,” he said.

“Did you see anything else?”

He shook his head. “We tossed it and didn’t find anything. I checked myself and there was nothing. Now it’s off to be chopped and burned.”

“Good. They may have planted some kind of tracking device on the car, or could have done anything else, so it needs to be destroyed. And Anton?” I asked.

“He’s agreed to meet.”

“Good.”

“Priest?” he asked.

“I’ll deal with him,” I said.

“We have everyone out looking for her, Vasile. We’ll find her,” he said.

“What if we’re too late?” I asked.

I should have kept quiet, but I had to give voice to the thought. It was that or go insane and start killing everything in my path.

“We won’t be,” Sorin said.

My brother sounded confident, but he always did.

“Do you think I’m stupid, Sorin?” I asked, my voice rising as I squared to face him.

“Depends. Do you want to waste time fighting me, or should we be out looking for your woman?” he said, pulling himself to his full height, his arms hanging loose but ready at his sides.

Knowing my brother as I did, I knew he wouldn’t care either way. He’d fight me until one or both of us was unconscious if I wanted. And the urge was there. It would be easy to fight him, or better yet, beat Ioan to a pulp. Anything would be better than this. Better than not knowing where she was, better than being on the edge of insanity with worry.

But as easy as it might have been, as much better as it would have made me feel, it wouldn’t get me any closer to finding Fawn and bringing her back home.

Sorin watched me, waiting, until finally, I relented.

I shook my head. “No. Come with me,” I said.

Together, we went to the front door, and I pulled it open.

The sight that greeted me was more beautiful than any I had ever seen.

I moved before my mind could consciously process thought, and I had Fawn’s body pressed against mine and lifted her until her feet were no longer on the ground.

I held her tight, so tight, I worried that she couldn’t breathe. But I didn’t let her go, couldn’t let her go. I had feared the worst, had imagined the most horrible things happening to her, but she was here, now, alive and in my arms.

She hugged me back, her hands warm against my skin.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered in my ear, her voice low, almost broken.

Speech was impossible between the relief and the thoughts that raced through my mind. Whoever had done this to her would suffer. He would bear the weight of the things he had made me fear, pay for the insult to her and to my family.

But most of all, he would pay for putting that sound in her voice again, returning that worry, that fear that I had sworn she would never feel again.

“Where’s Maria?” she asked.

I set her down then, stared into her face, my chest squeezing so tight I could scarcely get air out of my lungs.

“In there. With Esther,” I finally managed to say.

“Okay. I’m going to see her,” she said.

Though I was reluctant to let her go, I did, knowing that she wanted to see the baby. We’d talk later.

She went into the house and I followed her as she followed the laughter that came from the kitchen. She approached, but then paused for a moment. I watched as she breathed deep, then plastered a smile on her face before she walked into the room.

“Look who’s here!” I heard Esther say, followed by Maria’s excited squeals.

“Maria, what are you doing?” Fawn asked.

I listened for a few moments longer as Maria babbled something unintelligible.

“When are you going to talk to her?” Sorin asked.

“Later. After Maria sleeps,” I said.

Esther came out a few moments later carrying Baby Sorin, her own expression troubled, but some of the tension gone.

She stopped, touched my shoulder, and then looked at Sorin. “I’ll wait outside,” she said.

Sorin kissed her hard, quickly, and then waited until the door was closed.

“I’ll gather a few trusted soldiers,” he said.

“Good. Have them waiting,” I said.

He nodded and then left, and I waited in the foyer, trying to force myself to be calm. Fawn was back, but I didn’t want to scare Maria. I wasn’t yet sure I was in a place where I could go in there, be the daddy that she loved, and not the monster that I so desperately wanted to be.

A few long minutes later, ones that hadn’t made things better but that had given me the calm to face my family, I went into the kitchen, where Fawn stood watching Maria as she played in flour.

“Did you have fun today?” Fawn asked.

If Maria heard the tears that made her mother’s voice waver, she didn’t show it. Without speaking, I went to Fawn and wrapped my arms around her.

I swore I would never let her go.

F
awn

I
lingered
over Maria as she slept, watching her peaceful face. I loved her with all my heart.

I also envied her. Her life was so free from all the ugliness. It hit me then that I had allowed myself to believe I could protect her, that together we could keep her safe, but today had proven how wrong I was.

I lingered for a moment longer and then went to where he stood outside of the nursery. Without thought, I buried my face against his massive chest. His arms went around me, and I pulled him closer, leaned on him, hoping I could steal some of his strength, his courage.

I could hear the questions he wanted to ask, was ready to answer them as best I was able, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he scooped me up and carried me the short distance down the hall, and he didn’t stop until he reached our bathroom. I closed my eyes and kept my face against his chest, listening to the strong thud of his heart, letting the sound ground me, remind me I was back with him, back where I was supposed to be.

He held me as he moved, and I listened to the sound of rushing water as he turned on the faucet. When he set me on my feet, I opened my eyes and met his. The love, the anger, the relief I saw there matched what I felt, and I reached for him and held him again.

After a moment, he broke away and peeled the clothes from my body and then did the same with his own. I wrapped my arms around him again, pressed my face against his chest and just breathed.

He broke away and sat in the tub and then pulled me atop him. I gave myself over to the warmth of the water, gave myself to the feeling of his body under mine, his hands against me.

Here, in this moment, nothing mattered but him, his lips against my neck, his hands against my arms, my breasts, my thighs.

Vasile didn’t speak, but words weren’t necessary. He spoke with his touch, and with each caress, each stray kiss, I felt his love. He settled his hands around my waist and turned me, his movements strong, sure, his heavy hands against me a comfort. Each second that Vasile’s hands were on me, each second his body was under mine helped set the world to right, reminded me I was really here, that I was home with the man I loved.

His hardness nudged against my opening insistently, and when I looked into his eyes, I saw his urgency, felt it in the slight tremble in his hands. I reached between our bodies and stroked his thick length, his skin hot against my hands even in the water. Vasile lifted me, and I arched my hips and lowered myself. Only the very tip of his cock breached me, but I cried out, my body and my mind both relieved and filled with passion from his touch.

Lips, soft, gentle, brushed against my neck, but as Vasile kissed me softly, he tightened his hold on my hips and pushed me down until he was fully inside me. He continued to nibble against my flesh, tracing his lips against my collarbones softly. His hands, however, gripped me even tighter, and he lifted me up and then pushed me down, each thrust spreading the flesh that yielded to his, sending me higher and wiping away the last traces of the fear lingering inside me. Soon, they were gone, and all that remained was the pleasure that lit my body, the love that filled my heart. And those were what I held as Vasile drove me to climax.

He stilled, his breath warm against my ear as he emptied himself inside me, his warmth filling me, the strongest, most undeniable proof I was safe, that I was home.

We stayed in the bath long after the water had cooled and my heart slowed. Eventually, though, he stood and then lifted me, dried me, and carried me to our bed. He laid me down gently and then reached for my hand, held one of mine with both of his.

I looked down at our joined hands, felt the roughness of his fingers against mine, saw the dark ink that marked his skin. I let my thumb trace the letters that I couldn’t read but that I understood so well.

“Tell me what happened,” he said when I finally lifted my eyes to look into his.

His voice was quiet, and I thought about how I’d almost never heard him raise it. But he didn’t have to because I recognized the tone in it, though I’d only heard it once. Still, there was no question what it meant.

I would tell him what had happened. And then someone would die.