Chapter 19
“I don’t want you there, Aleksei. Don’t you understand how dangerous the situation is without bringing a Russian into the mix?”
The infuriating man only stared at the road and didn’t even acknowledge her question. Lazarus let out a mirthless chuckle in the backseat.
“You mean, an MC princess and a Bratva enforcer? It’s the start of a very bad joke in my opinion.”
Deva flashed him an annoyed look over her shoulder. “And what about you? Son of Finch?”
He puffed, annoyed. “I’m my mother’s son. I’m a bastard, and I would prefer using that adjective.”
“Is Lazarus King even your real name?”
The man only smiled at her, and she suspected that it had to be the first of a very long list of secrets. “The same as Deva for you I suppose. I had to recreate myself, for my own salvation. A long, sad story that’s irrelevant right now.”
Deva shook her head. “Nonetheless, and to return to the question you conveniently ignored, you are not helping me by acting as my bodyguards. And Aleksei, if you clench your jaw any tighter, you won’t be able to chew Jell-O.”
“Couldn’t a phone call be enough?” The words came out of his mouth with a hiss.
This man would never learn. “The best would have been for me to meet him alone. On his territory, and Hector was even fine with meeting me on neutral territory. It may have been okay for you to train at the same gym, but not discuss business. And thisisbusiness. And no, a phone call wouldn’t have been enough. I want to see his face. And so far, the safest and most neutral place is Rusty’s gym. Now that I’ve convinced Hector to meet, you acting as my bodyguards can mess things up.”
The way both men stayed silent made her want to shoot them where it would hurt for their stubbornness.
The rest of the trip was blessedly silent and helped Deva gather her thoughts. The problem was, she didn’t know which angle to take. Only her instinct, that gut feeling deep down inside, convinced her that she could approach Hector, the unknown was how much she could reveal and believe what he would say.
As they turned the corner, Deva noticed a couple of random men standing by. Probably Hector’s. The Puerto Rican was no fool, especially since he saw her at the gathering. She wouldn’t be the only one asking questions.
Aleksei parked beside the gym, not too far from the door and waited a beat before getting out. No surprise that he would have seen the men. When he got out, Lazarus did the same and opened her door, helping her out. Both men may have appeared relaxed on the outside, but it was everything but the case.
Deva rounded the car, but as she was about to reach for the door handle, Aleksei pulled her roughly into his arms and kissed her. It took her a full second to get her bearings, and when she did, her body melted against his. It was immediate as if the only option was to surrender upon contact. The kiss was possessive and very demonstrative. As if staged? That thought made her push against his muscled chest.
“What was that for?” Her breathlessness revealed that despite the tone of annoyance in her voice, she wasn’t indifferent to him. The expression on his gorgeous face didn’t give anything away, only the thunder against her palms revealed a bit more.
“The Puerto Ricans are all around, by claiming you, I’m making you Bratva. Giving you protection.”
Deep down, she knew there were advantages in that, although it complicated things even more. And it was only for that reason she didn’t knee him in the balls, and instead pulled at his black t-shirt to bring him so close, she would only have to whisper.
“I hope you catch my bug. Damn you.”
Shoving him away, Deva opened the door, but not before seeing Lazarus with a smirk behind his beard.Bastards, both of them.
Inside, the gym was dimly lit as the sun was setting over the city. And apart from Hector, there didn’t seem to be anyone else.
He was near the punching bags, giving one of them tentative punches. But this wasn’t the fighter Deva was used to joking with, the man in the gym sported a three-piece suit, and his chocolate hair was slicked back. If not for the tattoos peeking from his collar and sleeves, he would pass for a rich businessman instead of a gang member.
He continued to launch a few more punches as the three of them approached, and then immobilized the bag before turning to them.
Hector seemed to encompass her two companions, a deeper frown for Aleksei. For a long moment, the two men sized each other up. Deva could feel tension mounting and decided to cut to the chase and hopefully avoid the two alpha males ending up in a confrontation.
Stepping between them, she got closer to Hector.
“I don’t want a confrontation, Hector. Ignore those two goons, it was my idea to come and see you and they insisted on coming along.”
Immediately, Hector’s fierce expression mellowed into a grin. “You have me intrigued. I would have helped you because I like you. You are a good person. But when I saw you at the gathering, dressed as you were, with the Russian, a few questions popped up. And there was some strong gossip too.”
Deva winced. “Yeah, it’s partly the reason why I asked for a meeting with you. I wasn’t sure you were with the Puerto Rican family, but seeing you there...”
“Well, and my question would be with which family are you. The Russians?”
