It took some force to get back her hand from Aleksei’s grasp, but Deva was damned if she would face her past clutching a security blanket.
The roaring of the bikes peaked outside before it ended abruptly. Everything in her was shaking, but when she looked down at her hands, they appeared steady. Facing the door, she took a step forward and waited. It was tempting to fidget, to smooth her blouse once more, but it wasn’t the image she wanted to project. She wasn’t Victoria Johnson anymore. Deva Landry had guts and courage, and that was what would show.
There was movement behind her, but as Hector and Aleksei didn’t react, she ignored it too, and instead schooled her features as Mex Johnson, the president of the Dark Blood Rows MC and the man that was her father, entered with three men on his heels. She may have recognized two of them, but it wasn’t important. The danger walked first.
Mex hadn’t changed much in all the years since she had seen him last. The only difference was that his dark hair had turned grayer. His tall body was still muscled and wiry, and his eyes were a golden brown, always assessing, and evaluating.
When his gaze locked with hers, Deva almost hoped to see recognition or even happiness in them. Some sort of relief to know that his daughter, his only remaining child, was alive and well. Instead, his expression was closed off, but not before she detected annoyance and calculation. She had escaped the man ten years ago, fighting for her life and freedom, but the little girl inside her hoped nonetheless. It sliced her heart into shreds, but it wasn’t a surprise.
Her father stopped about six feet from them, and his attention was definitely more on Hector than her.
“Nazario. I didn’t think I would see you here. I heard about the Russian, but are you banging my daughter too?”
Deva blinked and shook her head. “Well, Father. It’s been ten years. Not only do you not acknowledge me with your first words, but you managed to insult me as well.” This time, her father’s eyes zeroed in on her, and there was no tenderness in them. “You shouldn’t be allowed to speak to me. Not after all you’ve done, and the mess you left me with.”
“The mess? Are you referring to my father arranging a forced marriage to settle a difference with another MC? And even worse, to have arranged for me to have sex with him before the agreement was settled?”
Aleksei hissed behind her, but she ignored him.
“There is nothing wrong with a man having a taste before the big day.”
Deva closed her eyes as more and more of her father came back to memory. “I don’t know what my mother saw in you. You are disgusting.”
“At least your mother knew where her duty lay. Unlike you.”
Anger spiked in her. “I seriously doubt she would have let her daughter be sold like cattle and turned into a whore.”
Johnson crossed his arms. “That wasn’t the deal! You were to become a wife, not a prostitute. A marriage was planned and agreed on.”
“You don’t know what the deal was for me! And I agreed on nothing.” And now she was screaming, and it was liberating. “All you cared about was your power, your men, and your motorcycles. Your flesh and blood weren’t even worth your care and attention.”
“You never lacked for anything. You were protected.”
Deva cringed and forced her tears back. “Protected? You forbidding me to attend school was protection? Slapping me around when I didn’t behave like a porcelain doll was protection? Threatening me with the most god-awful punishments if I ever crossed the line? Was that how you protect a little girl? One so desperate to please you, to be loved by you? Still grieving her mother?”
“Sacrifice and duty! You were born into this family, into this MC, you must abide by those rules as without them only lies chaos and death.”
Determination flowed back in her veins. “Not anymore.”
“Oh, I don’t think so, Daughter.”
As a single unit, her father and his men drew their weapons and pointed them at her, Hector, and Aleksei. She heard rustling from behind her and quickly turned to see Aleksei and Hector pointing their guns back, and behind them were a few more men, probably Hector’s.
“Nazario, I never took you for a turncoat.”
“And I never took you for a slave owner, Johnson. I suggest you leave now.”
Mex barked a laugh. “Not without her.”
Aleksei hissed and took a step forward. Mex’s gun changed its target from her head to the Russian’s.
“Careful, Aleksei. Finch may have told me not to kill you, but I may be tempted to forget my promise if you don’t let me recover what’s mine.”
And again, Finch’s name came up. “So, it’s Finch who told you I was back. And what has he promised you in exchange for me? Or maybe the question would be, what did you promise him in exchange for the information?”
Her fathers focus returned to her, and she wasn’t about to let it go. “I see, this is no friendship, and I suspect you had to compromise, if not sacrifice, a whole lot, haven’t you?”
“You know nothing of the problems you caused when you left. But Finch understood. My patience is a small price to pay.”
Deva shook her head in disbelief. “You? Patience? I doubt you ever were patient, it’s been less than twenty-four hours since I revealed myself and here you are!”
“Not that, you fool! And what could you understand of this kind of politics? Now, come to me, and your fuck buddies won’t end up dead.”
There was something deeper, Deva could sense it and crossed her arms. “If you kill one of them or both, if you’re stupid enough, you’ll have two of the most dangerous syndications against you. And not even your extended MC will be able to survive that.”
The small twitch on Mex’s mouth convinced her that she had hit a nerve. “Again, all I have to do is wait. Patience is my friend. In the blink of an eye, the world can spin on its axis... even yours.”
Deva bit her tongue and was tempted to goad him even more, but she also knew how it would end. “Frankly, I don’t give a damn about your axis, your politics, your orders. I was about to say it was nice meeting you, but it wasn’t. It just confirmed to me that my only family was Mom and Johnny.”
If possible, her father’s face became even harder at their names. “Your brother was never a disappointment like you were. He was ten times better than you’ll ever be.”
“And a hundred times more of a man than you, Father.”
The way his fist tightened on his gun made her wince. And one second she was looking at the mean-looking weapon, and the next, Aleksei had shoved her behind him.
“And now, it’s time for you and your men to go.” His voice was low, and the Russian accent added a level of menace that made her shiver. A quick look at Hector confirmed to her that the showdown wasn’t over yet.
Gripping Aleksei’s waistband like a lifeline, Deva prayed in silence for all of it to be over. For the man who sired her to leave and never come back. Unfortunately, unless someone killed him right here and now, it wasn’t going to happen.
“Don’t make me ask again, little boys. I want my daughter back. Now!”
Deva shivered. There was no way out. She could see it. This was a bloodbath waiting to happen unless she did something, and scramble for some time.
“If I agree to go back, what do I get in return?”
As she sidestepped, Aleksei grabbed her arm in a painful grip. The man wasn’t about to let her sacrifice herself for him. Tense, ready to crack, it was impossible to convey with words what she wanted to do. The best she could do was squeeze his wrist a little and tap it with her fingers.
“Are we negotiating, Daughter?”
When the Russian finally let her go, she moved around him, facing her father once more.
“Always. I want to guarantee the safety of my two lovers and their men.”
Mex shifted, trying to decipher her expression, but Deva had learned with the very best teacher. And when his stance relaxed, she knew a crack finally appeared. One she was so desperate for.
“My dear Victoria, if you come with me, I’ll make sure that no blood is spilled today.”
“And the following days?”
Mex gave her the very first genuine smile. “And there I see the bright child I knew. I will hold my word, as long as you hold yours, Victoria. Simple as that.”
Deva could add another layer, continue her trick, but the more time passed, the more the situation could explode like a firecracker. Gone was the little girl who mourned her mother, the teenage girl whose soul broke for her brother. All her fears, all her doubts, she pushed them aside, as Beatrice had told her to do ten years ago. And that strength, those skills, would help them get her out safe.
“I will come with you on this condition. But first, let me give one last kiss to my lovers, as you’ve so gently said.”
Before her father could object, she turned to Aleksei and kissed him, circling his neck with her arms, plastering her body against his. He stood stiffly at first, but after a second or two, his free arm came around her waist. Ending the kiss, Deva hugged him hard and pressed her lips against his ear.
“Trust me, I’m not going with him. Stand ready to get out.”
It was a quick message, but that’s all she could do with the time she had. Aleksei looked at her as if frozen but didn’t say a word. Didn’t acknowledge her statement.
Going to Hector, she barely had reached him when he grabbed her in his arms and took her lips. Damn, she may not have been aroused, but the man was an incredible kisser. And by the twinkle in his gaze, he was having the time of his life. Discreetly pinching him to let her go, she finally could catch her breath and relay the same message she had told Aleksei. Both men stood still, and their undivided attention bolstered her spirit, confirmed that what she had planned next, she could succeed.
Shoulders back, eyes locked to her father’s, she went to the trio of men. Mex took her in his arms in a fierce but calculated hug. Keeping an arm around her shoulder, he murmured something to one of his men who ran outside.
“My dear Vicky. When you understand the bigger picture, everything will become clear. You will see in time. I promise.”
“I doubt I ever will, Father.”
And as she had practiced so many times in hiding with Bea, Deva twisted and grabbed the gun from her father’s hand before pivoting and using the butt of the gun to crack the goon’s nose who quickly folded to the ground. The man howled, and blood gushed, but she was now standing in front of the man who called himself her father, gun pointed at his face.
“On your knees.”
The expression of utter surprise on her father’s face didn’t remain for long, as rage twisted his features.
“Bitch!”
“I said on your knees. You will learn what it feels like to crawl, Daddy.”
He made a move toward her, and she fired. It was unconscious, or maybe it wasn’t, but she didn’t aim for body mass and instead the bullet hit his thigh.
The howl of pain reverberated throughout the gym, and Deva froze. Not from what she had done, but to whom. Her hand was steady enough for not having shot a gun in so many years. And part of her wanted to pull the trigger again. And again.
Still standing, her father held his thigh. His second in command started to move, and she kicked him in the balls.
“I said kneel!”
“You are fucking insane!” Her father spewed in her direction.
And she fired again in his calf. This time, the older man fell forward, and Deva still aimed. It was as if it wasn’t enough.
“I should keep firing, destroy that leg of yours and let you bleed to death, like Johnny.”
Mex heaved trying to staunch the flow with both hands. “My son died when he stepped on a mine serving his country.”
“My brother died fleeing the life you had forced him into! And I won’t make the same mistake.”
As she aimed at her father’s head, something caught her eye, and Aleksei appeared in her line of vision.
“Deva, stop. We need to go.”
A racket came from the front door, she didn’t have the chance to answer him as he pulled her backward.
Faint noises became gun shots as they turned, heading for the back door. Before they left, Deva risked one last glance back, and she only saw rage on Mex’s face. That was one door she hoped was closed for good.