Epilogue

Dimitri

One year later…

“I can’t believe this is happening. I don’t think I have enough photos. He didn’t even look back when I tried to take them!” Ava’s mouth slumps as we drop Ethan off to his first day at school, but I’m grinning from ear to ear watching how he’s changed and grown so quickly in front of our eyes. There’re many proud and anxious parents gathered around the school gates, and as Ethan finds his playmates, I watch on at his excitement. I stand next to Ava as she tries to squeeze out more pictures, waving furiously at Ethan and blowing kisses to him.

He’s at the age where he will blow them back, and he flaps his arms in a wave to us, but as the gates open and the sea of children engulf him, it gets harder and harder to see him. “Bye, Mom and Dad, I’m going inside. Bye!”

“Bye!” I call out, a proud father as he shuffles inside the gates, yelling and screaming with his classmates as the teachers wait near the brick building, calling each child in on roll call.

“Wow. He’s going in there. Can you believe it? Our son.” I hold on to Ava’s waist, whispering in her ear. “There’s nothing to fear; he’s an Utkin. Bravery is in his blood. Strong Bratva boy,” I growl, making her laugh.

“Dimitri, stop it! My baby, he’s gone,” she wails as the kids trail inside with backpacks on that are nearly bigger than they are.

Laughing, I tuck her sleek bob behind her ear, understanding why she might be worried, but I would cross mountains, rivers, and lakes to protect my blood. “I know the principal’s address. If anything goes down, I’ve got him covered.” I wink, reminding her of the Bratva privileges should they need to be exercised, and she sighs.

“That’s right. Sometimes I forget.”

“I make it, so you forget. We have a normal life like any other,” I tell her in amusement as she rolls her eyes, age looking good on her. She’s as curvy as ever, her hair sleeker. She moves with the grace of water, and I make sure she’s relaxed and pampered. The more I spoil Ava, the better I feel.

We’ve traveled to so many places together, including back to Raven’s Peak, but for R & R only. Profits are soaring through the roof and tech companies buying into the base as a power source. I ripped up the last contract with Ava for Raven’s Peak to show her I was serious about her. Now we own Raven’s Peak 50/50, and all the energy contracts for the property go through her as our lawyer. Together we make a hell of a power couple.

But there’s so much more I want to show her, but only her. Ava lingers as one of the last parents waiting for the doors close before she moves. I have to gently take her hand to move her on.

“Darling, it’s going to be fine. Come on, let me take you to breakfast. I’ve got a couple of hours, and I want to spend time with you before I go to work.”

I draw her into a loving hug as she smiles at me. “Okay, you can take me to breakfast, but do you think we could go to that cute little place near the river, at the quiet end?” Suspicious that she’s up to something, I grin as we reach the car.

“Sure we can. Any reason or you just want to eat there this morning?”

“Umm, no.” But there’s a glow to her when she says it as if she’s harboring a secret I don’t know about. She reapplies her lipstick and I stare at her mesmerized by all that she is. Some days I’m in awe at all that she handles with Ethan and now working directly alongside me. I thought mixing business with pleasure might be a problem, and cause fights, but it does the opposite. We’ve become closer than ever, and she’s become a valuable member of the Bratva as our official commercial and litigation lawyer for all mergers and acquisitions. Given our reach, we keep her busy, and I trust her implicitly with any Bratva dealings.

Getting rid of Cara proved to be a little more difficult. “I want to keep the ring. I don’t want that skank having it.”

“She’s not a skank, Cara. We’re not compatible, and you know it. Why don’t you find someone you truly love? Someone that makes you feel something,” I told her in a candid conversation one day.

She looked at me as if I had two heads. “What are you fucking talking about love? You’re the head of the Bratva. It’s what’s done. We do fit together Dimitri, but you don’t with her. Maybe you need a couple of days to sort through things and get back on track,” Cara replied coolly as we sat in the study, and it was at that moment I saw her for the opportunistic shark she was.

“I don’t know what plans you and my mother have cooking, but it’s not going to work, and you can keep the ring if you’re that desperate,” I told her, looking down my nose. It wasn’t as if she needed the money, it was more so that she did it out of spite.

“Fuck you, Dimitri. I told you to get rid of the kid, I knew he would be a hindrance.” I had to hold myself back from putting my hands around her throat.

“No. You don’t get to talk about my son like that. And if we had a child, you would be a shit mother,” I ground out, seeing red. Cara found a way to push my buttons in those four years.

“Agh. I’m leaving. And my father and I are pulling out of our business deal for the Riveria with the Utkins. So there.”

“You’re a brat, Cara. Go. And I want all your stuff packed up in the next couple of days. I can have my housekeeping staff help you. I didn’t want it to end in a nasty way, but if this is the way you want to take it, so be it.”

“No, you made it that way by going back to some piece of ass from Raven’s Peak.”

I focus on the present, forever glad that I got rid of that little entanglement. “Okay, wherever you want to go, Ms. Future Utkin.” Her smile grows wider as we drive, snaking along the curved road to one of our favorite breakfast spots, the river out in front of us. There’s only a handful of people near the boardwalk, and it’s a blustery day. I hold Ava’s hand as she leads me to the railing, the cute café diner in front of us.

“Hi,” she says playfully, the Chicago wind whipping around her hair as she quickly tries to smooth it down. Smirking, I laugh as she giggles and I help.

“Hi, you need a scarf for the wind. We can get one after breakfast if we have enough time.”

“It’s okay, a little wind in my hair never hurt anyone. I wanted to talk to you about something,” she starts out, her warm eyes twinkling. There’s been an extra glow to her lately that I can’t put my finger on, but it’s working for her, and I love seeing her happy.

“Yes. Tell me anything.” I grasp her fingers in mine, blowing heat into them, the wind a little chilly, but Ava’s not bothered.

“We have one child in school. It’s such a big deal, and I can’t wait until we see the next one off too.” She reveals the happy secret so casually, I almost miss it.

“What? A second one….” I put the pieces together, turning towards her with a huge grin. “Does that mean what I think it means? We’re having another kid!” I hold on to her hips, wanting to shout from the rooftops.

“Yes. That’s exactly what I mean.” She bobs her head up and down. “We are having another one.” She holds up two fingers and I grab her, dragging her up into my arms as she screams with laughter, her hair flying about her face as people watch on.

“Dimitri! Put me down. Everybody’s looking at us.” She pats my shoulder, my teeth growing cold from the wind, but I don’t care because this is the most magical moment of my life. I slide her down, moving her unruly locks out of her face. “Hey, you.” I kiss her passionately, the cool chill of the weather no match for the warmth shared between us.

“Are you happy, Dimitri?” she asks, giggling as I stop and touch her stomach.

“Am I happy.” I throw my head back. “I’ve never been happier. We’ve come a long way you and I, Ava. And I promise you I’m going to be there every step of the way for this pregnancy. I’m not going to leave you alone. I’m going to be eyeballing you every day.” I make light of it, but I’m serious about our future together.

Ava rolls her eyes. “You already do that at work.”

“Is it too much for you?”

“No. You know it’s not. I like being part of the organization. I’ve found my place. Besides I have my own corner office. By the way, did you know Mark Thompson rang me yesterday?”

“What? Your old boss?” I inquire, the conversation taking a turn.

“Yes. But don’t worry, he wasn’t trying to poach me back. He wants to give me a client that’s on the move to Chicago.”

Impressed, my eyebrows raise. “You really are like a superwoman to me. I love you so much, and I can’t wait to have two babies running around.”

“Me neither. I’m sure it’s going to be chaos, but I wouldn’t have it any other way, Dimitri Utkin.” She touches the side of my cold face as we embrace, keeping each other warm. “But you know what?”

I grin back at her, our breakfast time fast running away, but I know I’m going to spend many a breakfast with her in the future anyway. “What?”

She scrunches her nose, shivering as I draw her close. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“I promise not to bring you chaos. I want to be your peace from now on, Ava. No more,” I whisper as the wind whips up around us.

“You’re not, but now that we’re having the second baby, I wonder if you want your mother involved?” Ava proceeds with caution, but I let my connection to Mother die as soon as Ava told me the score.

“No,” I state firmly, placing a hand around her waist as we walk to the café. “You’re such a compassionate person, and it’s one of the things I love about you most, but my mother only chooses to corrupt. There’s no excuse for what she did,” I conclude, knowing I sound like a hypocrite given that Ava forgave me for all my sins.

This wasn’t the same. Not by a long shot. She’d been slowly manipulating me my entire life and molding me into the man my father wasn’t as her surrogate husband.

“Dimitri. You’re a shame like your father. Ava’s not for us and should respect Bratva and your mother. So what if I paid her little girlfriend off! Now you’ve got a bastard child! Why should you worry? Marry Cara and set us free. We send Ethan to boarding school when he’s old enough. Make a respectable man out of him.”

I remember the day I confronted her, days after at lunch and all she did was order another wine, not giving a shit about thwarting any plans I had for love in my life or Ethan. Livid, I had stood up throwing the napkin down, ending our relationship.

“No. You’re the woman who should carry shame paying off Ava’s best friend. I will be with and marry who I want to marry. And do yourself a favor, don’t you ever talk about my son like that. Ever. And if you come anywhere near him, I’ll have you dealt with. And I’m sure you can read between the lines when I say that.”

The lunch ended in a thunderstorm, and I haven’t spoken to my mother since. Not until she apologizes to Ava directly, but there’s no way she can make up for the years lost.

“Okay. I just don’t—”

I cut her off, anticipating what she’s about to say. “No. Don’t feel guilt for her. What’s done is done. We have our family to worry about, and it’s expanding. We’re happy together. Let’s stay happy. Okay?”

“Okay.” Her dreamy eyes melt, and I want to give her the world. “I love you, Dimitri Utkin. You make my heart pound.”

I laugh, the line from one of our favorite movies we watched the other night. “And you do the same to mine. I love you back harder.”

*****

THE END

The next part in this series is “Pregnant Bratva Virgin”. Check out the book and order your copy here:

Pregnant Bratva Virgin

I was sent to investigate a Bratva crime lord - now he forced me to marry him, and got me pregnant. One reckless night with a much older, ruthless man marked me as his. I didn’t know he was the enemy I’d been hunting. Now, he’s locked me away, demanding my innocence as the price.

The man I came to bring down is the one who owns me now—body, soul, and secrets I never meant for anyone to know. He’s cold, powerful, and unyielding. My protests only make him more dangerous, more possessive. I was supposed to be his enemy, yet he says I’m the only one he’ll protect and punish. And now, with his heir growing inside me, I’m bound to him by a dark, unbreakable tie.

His mouth scorches my skin, leaving me weak and trembling. His touch makes me burn with need, even as I fight him. Each time I resist, he pulls me closer, forcing me to surrender to his control. In his arms, I feel small, helpless, and desperate for the fire only he can give.

Will he ruin me beyond repair, or make me his forever?

Get “Pregnant Bratva Virgin” now