Page 18 of Pregnant Bratva Wife (Vadim Bratva #13)

It had been four days since we had dinner at Caspian’s. Though Autumn hasn’t actively tried to avoid me since, she still kept her distance.

Each time I caught her laughing with the staff or speaking animatedly into her phone, I caught myself staring at her like a teenager with a crush. But whenever she saw me, those eyes lost some life, and that laugh quickly evaporated.

That morning, we were having breakfast together. We hadn’t planned it. But when I came in, she was already there. Fortunately, she didn’t scuffle away. She had her hair in a messy bun, little wisps escaping around her face as she concentrated on reading the paper.

She looked beautiful.

But of course, she was also off-limits.

Yet, despite that, there was something else that had been gnawing at the back of my mind.

I cleared my throat. “Autumn?”

She looked up cautiously. “Yes?”

In the morning light, her eyes reminded me of a beautiful river.

“I was wondering if you’d like to have dinner with me tonight.”

She cocked a brow. “Dinner?”

“Yes. That meal people typically eat in the evening.” I tried for humor, and was rewarded with the tiniest twitch of her lips.

“I know what dinner is,” she said. “I’m just surprised you’re asking.”

I shrugged, hoping to look casual, hoping to pretend it wouldn’t matter if she said no, but all the while the knot in my stomach tightened and I prayed she’d say yes. “I just felt that you’ve been cooped up in here for so long. It might be a nice change of scenery.”

It was true. I had been worried about her. Ever since she found out about my world, she had somehow gone into a shell. She had stopped going for runs, stopped heading out for errands. It’s as though the entire world had become dangerous overnight, and I hated watching her live like that.

“Just dinner?” she asked skeptically.

“Just dinner,” I said, taking a sip of my coffee. “I promise there’s no agenda. You can say no. I won’t mind.”

I would have been disappointed, though, with every cell in my body. But of course I couldn’t have told her that.

She nodded softly. “Okay.”

I hadn’t realized how much I longed for that word because an instant gush of joy sparked through my body. “Great! Seven work for you?”

“Seven’s fine.”

We finished breakfast in silence, but I couldn’t help noticing she glanced up at me a few times when she thought I wasn’t looking.

***

By seven, I’d changed three times, which was ridiculous for a full-grown man. I finally settled on dark jeans and a gray Henley—casual but not sloppy.

The kind of thing normal men wore on normal dates.

Not that this was a date.

When Autumn came down the stairs in a simple blue dress that made her eyes look like pieces of the sky, I had to remind myself again: Not a date.

“You look nice,” I said.

“Thanks.” She eyed my casual clothes with surprise. “You too. Are we not going somewhere fancy?”

“Not tonight.” I opened the front door for her. “I thought we’d try something different.”

She followed me to the car, curiosity replacing some of the wariness in her expression. “Different how?”

“You’ll see.”

My driver, Anton, took us to the west side of the city, away from the high-end restaurants where I typically took women out for dinner.

I watched Autumn’s face as we pulled up to a small, brightly-colored taco stand with picnic tables scattered around it.

Her eyebrows shot up. “This is... unexpected.”

“Disappointed?” I asked, suddenly worried I had misjudged what she liked.

“No.” A genuine smile spread across her face. “Just surprised. You don’t seem like a taco stand kind of guy.”

I put a hand to my chest, mock offended. “Wow. That’s the second-most hurtful thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

She grinned. “What was the first?”

“That I look like someone who orders plain chicken at restaurants.”

She laughed. “Okay, that’s fair.”

“I’m wounded,” I said, but offered her my arm anyway. “Come on. Let me blow your mind with street food.”

She looked around at the casual setting, the families and couples sitting at the wooden tables, and the string lights all around. “So, is this place a front for money laundering or something?”

I laughed. “No. It’s just tacos. Really good tacos. Although it could be a front. I see some really addictive salsa being passed around.”

“Ooh. Really?” Her eyes widened. “You think we can afford it?”

“Might have to traffic some kidneys,” I answered seriously.

She nodded, pretending to consider as we walked on. I watched her from the corner of my eye. The small smile on her face, the genuine excitement at being here, made me suddenly feel like a fool.

Why had it taken me a month to take her out for a night? Why had I allowed all this time to be wasted away?

We approached the stand, where a middle-aged woman greeted us warmly.

“Federico! Long time no see!”

“Hola, Maria. Two of everything, please. And a couple of beers.”

Maria’s eyes darted to Autumn with undisguised interest. “And who is this?”

“My wife,” I said, feeling a strange pride in saying those words. “Autumn.”

Maria’s eyes widened, but she recovered quickly. “?Qué sorpresa! Federico Lebedev with a wife! The world is full of miracles.” She winked at Autumn. “You must be special to have caught this one.”

Autumn laughed, a sound I hadn’t heard nearly enough. “Or crazy. The jury’s still out.”

I paid while Maria prepared our food, then led Autumn to a table away from the other diners. The beer was cold, the tacos were spicy and perfect, and for a few minutes, we ate in companionable silence.

“How did you find this place?” Autumn finally asked.

“One of my men brought me here years ago. Said it reminded him of home.” I took a pull from my beer. “I’ve been coming ever since.”

“Do you bring many people here?”

I smiled. “No. Just the people I actually like.”

That earned me another small smile.

“Ask me,” I said suddenly.

She looked up, confused. “Ask you what?”

“Whatever you want to know. About me. About what I do. About the Bratva. I won’t lie to you anymore.”

Her fingers tightened around her beer bottle. “Why now?”

“Because you deserve the truth. And because I’m tired of watching you look at me like I might snap and kill someone over dinner.”

She winced. “That obvious, huh?”

“A little.”

She took a deep breath, then met my eyes directly. “Okay. Your family. They’re all Bratva, too?”

“All of them. It’s a family business, passed down for generations.”

“Even the women? Kate, Elena, Beatrice?”

I nodded. “They know everything. They’re part of it too, though in different ways.

Not really involved in the illegal aspects of it.

Kate handles most of our legitimate business interests.

Beatrice is still finding her place, but she’s smart as hell and good with numbers. Kate prefers her own hobbies.”

“And your parents? Were they...?”

“My parents died when we were kids. In a car accident. But yes, they were.”

Her face softened. “I’m sorry.”

I felt that same tug in my throat. “It was a long time ago.”

“Still. That’s young to lose both parents.”

“We had an uncle who stepped in. Raised us until he was killed.” I took another sip of beer, surprised by how easily the words came. I rarely talked about the past. “After that, Caspian took charge. He was only twenty-three, but he grew our territory, made alliances, stabilized things.”

“And now?”

“Now we’re stronger than ever. Caspian handles the big picture. I manage enforcement and security. Giovanni deals with international connections. Dante runs the streets. Achille handles weapons and tech. Luca is our diplomat—he smooths things over when relationships get tense.”

Autumn nodded, processing. “And the Espositos? The ones who tried to take me?”

“Our main rivals. They’ve been trying to move in on our territory for years.” I hesitated, then added, “The man you saw me with at the warehouse was Vincent Esposito, right-hand man to their leader.”

She flinched slightly at the memory but didn’t look away. “What were you trying to get from him?”

“Information. The Espositos have been targeting our shipments and businesses. We needed to know how they know when to attack.”

For some reason, I didn’t go into detail about when they kidnapped Elena and Gastone. I didn’t want to scare her. I wanted to be honest, but also protect her in a way.

“Did you find out?”

“Not yet. But we will.” I leaned forward. “Autumn, I know what you saw was ugly. I won’t pretend it wasn’t. But everything I do is to protect my family.”

She hesitated for a while, then whispered. “Family is important, isn’t it?”

And with those five words, I felt as though we were making progress. We sat in silence for a while. If she had more questions, she didn’t ask.

“What about you?” I asked, leaning forward. For some reason, I wanted to know what made Autumn, Autumn. How could a woman who had faced all those hardships remain so strong in her ideals?

“My turn to share?” She looked up in surprise.

“If you want.”

She took a sip of her beer before speaking. “My father left when I was twelve. Just walked out one day and never came back. Megan was only seven.” Her voice hardened. “Our mother started drinking heavily after that. She’d disappear for days sometimes, gambling away whatever money she had.”

“So you took care of Megan.”

Autumn nodded. “Someone had to. I dropped out of college when Mom’s health started failing, took whatever jobs I could get. Waitressing mostly.”

“That’s where the loan sharks came in?” I asked gently.

“Mom ran up huge gambling debts before she died. They started coming after me, threatening Megan.” She looked up at me, eyes clear and direct. “That’s why I agreed to marry you. For her.”

“I know.”

She twisted her napkin. “Thank you for that. For helping with her tuition. She called me the other day, told me she’d donated most of the money you sent because she thought it was a bank error.”

I couldn’t help laughing. “Honest to a fault. Must run in the family.”

“I didn’t tell her the truth about us.” Autumn’s voice dropped. “I said we fell in love quickly. That you’re a businessman.”

“That’s not entirely a lie.” I held her gaze. “I do own legitimate businesses.”

“Front companies?”

“Some. Others are actually profitable on their own.”

She shook her head, a small smile playing on her lips. “This is surreal. I’m having tacos with a mob boss and discussing his portfolio diversification.”

“Not a boss. That’s Caspian. I’m just the muscle.”

She snorted. “Just the muscle. Right.” Her eyes traveled over my shoulders and arms in a way that made my skin heat. “Speaking of which, how’d you get so... you know.”

“So what?” I asked, enjoying her discomfort.

“You know.” She gestured vaguely at my body. “Built.”

“Military training, martial arts, and good genetics.” I grinned at her. “Why? You like what you see, Mrs. Lebedev?”

Her cheeks flushed, but she didn’t look away. “You know I do. That’s not the issue.”

“What is the issue, then?”

“The issue is I married a criminal who kills people.”

“Fair point.”

We finished our food in silence, but it wasn’t uncomfortable anymore. Just thoughtful.

“One more question,” she said as we walked back to the car.

“Shoot.”

“Why’d you bring me here? To this specific place?”

I considered lying, but she deserved the truth. “Because I wanted you to see that you can still move around freely. That being married to me doesn’t mean you’re trapped in that house.” I opened the car door for her. “And because I like their carnitas.”

She laughed, the sound warming me from the inside out. “It was good. Thank you.”

The drive home was quiet, but not tense. Autumn gazed out the window, lost in thought. When her hand slid across the seat and brushed against mine, I didn’t pull away. Neither did she.

Back at the house, I walked her to her bedroom door. We hadn’t discussed where things stood between us, but something had shifted. Some of the fear had left her eyes, replaced with a little camaraderie.

“Thank you for tonight,” she said, lingering in her doorway. “It was... nice to talk. Really talk.”

“Anytime.” I took a step back, fighting the urge to touch her. To pull her close and feel her body against mine again. “Goodnight, Autumn.”

She looked up at me, and maybe I imagined it, but she looked disappointed. “You’re heading to bed?”

I wanted nothing more than to follow her inside, to lose myself in her again. But I was afraid of being with her alone after tonight. She was the first woman in the world I opened up to in that way.

And feeling vulnerable? It confused the hell out of me.

“Yes, to bed,” I said, the words painful to speak.

I wanted to touch her. To kiss her. To pull her into me and forget everything ugly between us.

But I didn’t. Too complicated.

I stepped back. “Goodnight, Autumn.”

Her eyes searched mine. “Goodnight.”

I walked away before I could change my mind.