Deva didn’t wait for Aleksei to answer her back. When she had agreed to help Beatrice and Lazarus, she knew the risks and the possibilities. The most difficult part would be to mourn the life she had forged for herself, but that was also part of life. One thing was certain; she wouldn’t go down without a fight.
Pushing herself up, and realizing she was naked, Deva wrapped the bed sheet around her and opened the door. All eyes turned to her. Aleksei’s brother was standing at the kitchen counter by Sasha who was holding her backpack. Gabrielle was sitting on the couch, while Lance was nowhere to be seen.
“Deva!” Sasha dropped her bag and went to her, taking her in a big bear hug. “I’m so glad you are okay. That bug was a nasty thing.”
Deva smiled. “Am I the only one who had it?”
“So far yes, and I hope it stays that way. I checked with the local hospitals, and they seem to have a small epidemic on their hands. It rarely contaminates fit individuals, you were one of the unlucky ones.”
“Yeah. That’s my kind of luck.”
Aleksei came out of the room and went to the kitchen.
Sasha called after him. “Can you heat her soup, Alek? She needs to get something in her stomach.”
The Russian didn’t answer back, but by the noise and beeping sounds, he was following her order. That almost made Deva smile.
“I need some clothes too.”
Gabrielle grabbed the backpack they had collected from her apartment and handed it to her. “Get dressed. We need to talk.”
Deva nodded and retreated to the bathroom. In record time, she washed up and brushed her tangled hair before donning the jeans and floral blouse. It was amazing to feel human again.
She could have fussed a little more on her hair, but loud voices drew her out.
Sasha was in an intense argument with Lazarus, and even though they tried to keep it low, it clearly wasn’t working.
“Just stop, would you.”
“Do you understand the situation your cousin is in, and how it could impact you?”
Sasha’s expression turned into a sneer. “I may be blonde, but I’m definitely not an idiot!”
“Then why won’t you accept protection?”
Her cousin turned to Deva as she approached and rolled her eyes. “You have no clue what I do for a living, pal. Where I’ve been and what kind of scumbags I deal with on a daily basis. If I started working with protection, an entire army wouldn’t be enough to keep me safe. You want to protect someone, focus on Deva, and leave me the hell alone, Lazarus King. And what kind of dumb-ass name is that anyway?”
Lazarus was clearly a man used to getting his way, and even his beard couldn’t conceal how hard he clenched his jaw. “You’re being impossible.”
Sasha rolled her eyes again before going to Deva and hugging her once more. “Take care, drink a lot of fluids and take it easy. If ever it goes south again, call me. I’m staying in the area for a while. And keep that bearded overbearing freak out of my way.”
And with one last wink, her blonde cousin was gone.
Lazarus raked his short hair in frustration before exhaling between his teeth. “It’s as if she doesn’t care if she lives or dies. And she’s the one calling me a freak when I’m concerned about her safety.” The controlling man may know a lot of things, but Sasha was her own woman, has always been. And the traumatizing events she had been involved with, broke her down but also built her back up to an even stronger woman. If any man, including Lazarus King, thought to control her, he was in for the ride of his life.
“You will never force Sasha to do something she doesn’t want to do. Let it go. She knows how to take care of herself.”
“I doubt that, Deva. We’re in the middle of a possible mob war, and even the mighty Miss Sasha Landry can’t ignore the dangers of it.”
Gabrielle sighed. “It’s Dr. Landry to you, and yes, she damn well can.”
Aleksei came to the living room with a bowl of soup and crackers. The gesture was so unlike the man, so domestic, that she froze for a minute as he placed everything on the coffee table.
“Eat.” And the controlling Russian was back.
She sat beside Gabrielle. “Where is Lance?”
It was Gabrielle’s turn to sigh. “He went to see where his truck might be just as I arrived. I wish I could have seen him, it’s been months since I last saw him. During our last mission, he was badly hurt. We all feared for his life. When he got better, he sort of vanished. It’s a long story.”
Deva knew about trauma and understood that sometimes, a victim could act out of character for a while. Time was of the essence.
Inching forward toward the coffee table, she grabbed a cracker and munched it, satisfied that her stomach was steady enough. “So, while I was out, what’s our status. What’s Finch up to?”
Aleksei leaned on the wall before her as Lazarus sat on a chair near the coffee table. Both men looked at each other before Aleksei’s brother finally started talking.
“After we talked, Aleksei and I, we started reaching out to our different contacts, trying to find out what was truly going on. Honestly, I thought that the objective of dear ol’ dad was to attack me through my brothers, which is still true, but the ramifications are more complex than that we realized.”
Her spoon halted mid-air as she looked at him. “I don’t like the way you are putting it, Oz.”
Aleksei pushed away from the wall and came to sit on the armrest beside her. “Eat, now.” And when she finally swallowed the spoonful of soup, he relaxed a bit. “What Lazarus is saying is after becoming a financial mogul as well as a strong political and economic influence both in the US and the UK, our father has decided to see if he could extend it some more. Starting with Chicago.”
“You mean the underworld? The different mob families? It’s not impossible, but very unlikely. Well, not that quickly at least. Unless there is a catch.”
Gabrielle turned to her. “Yeah, that’s the thing. It’s not clear enough, but he’s at play right now, mostly in Chicago, where very important families are established.”
Deva pondered on it. “He said he wanted to get close to my father. The MC world is a bit different, doesn’t work exactly the same way as the mafia.”
Gabrielle nodded. “Yes, but if he’s after influence, he would need someone like your father on his side. It would be a good starting point.”
Deva agreed. “MCs walk a parallel line, they are brawn with tactics and an agenda. One known only to them, that’s what makes them tricky. Not like the Bratva or the Yakuza, that are more organized. They are the one treading the line between the illegal and the political. They have done it for a long time.”
Aleksei touched her arm to make her look at him. “I couldn’t talk directly to my Pakan, but I’m close enough to have a sense of the situation. Lazarus is right, something is unsettling the families, but everybody is keeping their cards very close to their vests. Even internally.”
Gabrielle got to her feet. “We’ll put our ears to the ground, see what we can find here.”
Deva let herself lean back on the sofa, looking at the yellowish ceiling. “If the word hadn’t got out yet, that means this is big, and unless you are in the inner circles, you won’t get anything.” Possibilities swirled in her mind as she judged which one may be the best course of action. “Any confirmation that my name has popped up as newly resurrected?”
Aleksei shook his head. “Bratva doesn’t really discuss MC business, but I can check.”
Lazarus rubbed his beard. “I’ve got a few feelers out, and so far, I haven’t had any confirmation. I can recheck, though.”
Deva didn’t like it. “Bratva isn’t that close to MCs, if you try to get information, you’ll raise weird flags.”
Gabrielle frowned. “True. Neither are the Yakuza nor the Chinese. I can check with the Italians, and the Romanians, even the Irish mob, but my links are sketchy nowadays.”
Deva pushed herself up and winced. It was as if her body had rusted while she was unconscious. “Where’s my phone?”
Aleksei crossed his arm, suspicions all over his face. “What are you up to?”
“There’s a Puerto Rican fighter I need to speak to. And if I’m very lucky, we might get the answers we need.”