Page 24 of Lost Bastard


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The man didn’t even seem offended at her words. “I’m a former SEAL. Is that cool enough for you? And I’ve been a consultant for many rescue organizations. I have more experience in fire combat and war situations than you can imagine.”

She frowned, not quite convinced yet. “If you are lying, you are putting yourself at greater risk. The people I work with will have my head if an outsider comes with me and gets killed. And Gabrielle would have what was left of me.”

Deva blinked when she saw the change in his face when she spoke the name of her handler.

“Gabrielle Thorne? Is she the one in charge of you in this? No! Don’t speak. I know her. In fact, she’s the wife of my swim buddy and best friend, Sullivan. He’s a Navy SEAL too.”

Deva didn’t know what to do. He was dropping names nobody knew about, not even her cousin Sasha. And before he could speak, he continued. “Beatrice Dante is the founder of Purgatory, one of the organizations I worked for. You can call them, call any of them. They will vouch for me.”

There was no time for double-checking anything, and she had to rely on what she saw and her instinct. Going alone to the fight would be suspicious, especially when she revealed herself at the entrance. No one would come alone. But did she trust him? She was a good judge of character, and her gut told her that she could. And as she didn’t have the time to do a background check...

“What’s your name, Navy SEAL?”

“Lance.”

“Lance, are you related to any mob family, MC or crime association?”

The man seemed to be taken aback by her question and crossed his muscled arms as he frowned.

“Hell, no. I come from a simple family. My brothers are crazies, but that’s another story. Why are you asking? It has to do with Aleksei Voronov? He’s stuck in some sort of gang war?”

“If only it were that simple. To keep it short, his brother, Lazarus King wants to protect him from their father.”

Lance inhaled sharply. “Lazarus King? I know him. And if we are talking about his father, you must be referring to Jamieson Finch. In that case, you are not only in one hell of a mess but a dangerous one. Just fill me in on the rest while we drive there.”

Before surrendering with gratitude, there was another question she needed to ask. “Why do you want to help me?”

The large warrior angled his head as if assessing her question.

“My first instinct, before you said anything about Gabby, it’s what my mother ingrained in me. Never turn your back on a lady in distress.”

Time was running out, and if she were going to jump, it would be all the way. And there were worse partners than a seasoned warrior. “Sorry to tell you that, but I’m not the one in distress. Stick close to me, act protective, don’t stare at anybody and don’t start a fight. The rest, we’ll decide when we get there. Do you have a car?”

The giant man relaxed a bit, glad she finally accepted his aid. “My pickup truck is parked on the street.”

Deva smirked at her new giant friend. “I hope you don’t like it too much, because it may never recover from where we are going.”