Chapter 16
After a ride in uncomfortable silence, and Deva asking again to be dropped at her apartment, a tenuous agreement was reached among the men for her to grab a bag from her place, and for them to then go to Lance’s apartment to regroup. He was the wildcard of their group, and it would take a while for people to discover his name and retrace his whereabouts. Even his truck that was probably dismantled in pieces by now was a rental, under a fake identity.
Deva didn’t dare ask why Lance was so cautious, she was just glad he had been by her side when she was in dire need. Tiredness pulled at every cell of her body, and she longed for a bed; lack of sleep was starting to play games with her wits. Again, and again, her thoughts circled about the encounter with Finch. Something was off, but now, she wasn’t sure her instinct could be trusted. And Aleksei simmering so close wasn’t helping.
Lance’s place was in the business district. The sun was slowly coming up, and people were starting to mill around. Lazarus parked in the back alley, and Lance got out, checking the area before gesturing for Deva to get out of the car. Aleksei rounded the car, his gun discreetly hidden along his thigh, flanking Deva, his other hand on the small of her back. She stepped away from his touch, but the stubborn man circled her hip with his arm, pulling her side against his. The hold was almost painful, and then she knew she could tell her bed goodbye as she was probably going to be pulled into another Russian storm soon.
They all entered by the ordinary-looking building’s back door, and went up a few flights of stairs and at the end of the corridor, Lance unlocked his door. The place was quaint but clean. No frills. Fully furnished, the kitchen was small, but the living area sported a large couch. One functional bathroom with a master bedroom and a smaller guest bedroom.
The four of them stood there, immobile for a good minute until Aleksei snarled and put his fist through the sheetrock wall. Well, he didn’t stop at one punch and repeatedly groaned as his frustration, anger, and skin went through the widening hole.
Lance remained back and shook his head, probably thinking about the repair fees on his lease. Oz was hovering nearby, debating what to do. In the meantime, Aleksei was destroying the wall and more seriously, injuring his already wounded hands. Deva wasn’t about to wait for him to wind down like the other two seemed to be doing.
“Aleksei!”
The sound he made would make a lesser woman run out of the apartment, but she wasn’t about back down.
“Aleksei, stop!” She grabbed the waistband of his pants and pulled hard. It didn’t completely move him away from the wall, but the rampage was about to restart. As he swung his arm again, blood dripping from his knuckles, she rushed in front of him and put her own hands over his fists, ignoring the blood.
The man before her was almost past of rescue, his eyes wild and the pain wasn’t even registering with him. She’d seen her father’s men in that state, adrenaline pumping through their veins, just after a killing spree. Not a surprise as the man before her was still pumped from a quick fight, surprised by her arrival, torn with his confrontation with Finch...
His arms were trembling with restraint and his gaze not quite focused on her yet.
She could have forced him to lower his arms, but the fighter was much stronger than she was and power would only trigger him more. Instead, she let go of his hands and walked into his arms.
His body radiated heat, sweat, and tension, each muscle so tight she thought he would break. When she pressed her ear against his chest, Deva heard thunder, but still held on. It was the only way she could get to her brother after a fight, and she hoped it would do the same for Aleksei too.
Gently, she started running her hands over his back until layer by layer, his muscles relaxed, and his heart slowed. His arms lowered to his sides. Only then did she loosen her grip to let him go, but muscled arms banded around her, preventing any movement.
The threat must have lowered significantly as she heard Oz and Lance moving around. And she was alone. As quickly had it had happened, Aleksei had stepped away from her, the unyielding mask of stone back on his face.
He positioned himself to encompass all three people in the apartment.
“Now, explain what is going on. You seem too cozy for this to be a coincidence. And you.” He pointed at Lazarus. “I told you to stay away. I told you I wasn’t interested in you helping me.”
Lazarus racked his short black hair in frustration. “Do you think I would intervene in your life if I didn’t have a good reason too?”
“And that reason would be? Jamieson Finch?”
“Don’t tell me that you trust the man?”
Aleksei shook his head. “You think I lived my life waiting for you to save me? Where were you when I was born in the dead of winter in a shed in St. Petersburg? Where were you when I had to steal to put food in my belly? Where were you when I was 14 and holding my mother in my arms as she died!”
Deva closed her eyes as Aleksei spewed his pain and regret to his brother. People like them were filled with it, it was what drove them, pushed them, made them survivors.
“I’m sorry for what you went through, Aleksei. If I could, I would take it all on me. But I can’t change the past. Hate me for it, if you want, I don’t care. But even if you hate me, even if you despise who I am, what I do, my allies and my enemies, you are my brother. Nothing, nobody, not even you can change that.” Lazarus’s expression was one of a man tormented, making her heart squeeze in compassion.
Aleksei cursed as he started walking the small space. Deva’s head started pounding, and she let herself fall on the couch, a shiver going through her body.
Lance, who still remained silent, went into his room and returned with a large flannel shirt. Smiling at him, she put in on. Aleksei’s eyes narrowed as he looked at her and then at Lance. Sensing another storm brewing, she decided to deflect.
“What do you want to do Aleksei? What was that agreement with Finch?”
“You are asking questions, but answering few of my own.”
Deva let her head fall backward for a moment. “If I answer, will you believe me? You don’t trust your own brother, what about me? I’m a complete stranger. I like my head right where it is, thank you.”
“It’s my brother who hired you, who put you in my path?”
