Aleksei moved forward, coming close to her back as Lazarus stayed a few feet away, trying to be as invisible as possible.
“Is it the only word getting around?”
Hector put his hands in his pockets and rocked on his heels a few times.
“Maybe.” He took a few more steps in her direction. Aleksei moved to intercept, but Deva put a hand on his arm. She needed to deal with it by herself.
Making sure, Aleksei had understood, Deva turned her attention back to Hector.
“It’s a complicated story. And you ought to understand that initially, it has nothing to do with you. To be honest, I wasn’t completely sure you were...”
He gave her a dazzling smile. “A criminal? A killer?”
At least he hadn’t lost his sense of humor. “Well, if you don’t care about my past, I certainly don’t care about yours.”
“That you are Bratva?”
Deva rolled her eyes. “I’m not Bratva.”
“The word says you are Bratva-related now.”
Annoyed, she frowned at Aleksei and then at Hector. “Come on! Is it like a disease? You touch it, you get it?”
Aleksei growled as Hector laughed. “The word is you didn’t just only touch.”
Rolling her eyes, Deva tried to stay serious. “Can we focus, please? It’s not Bratva related, okay?”
“So why is he here? Or maybe you decided to go British and brought the red coats along.”
She turned to Lazarus who stayed stoic, arms crossed, gray eyes cold as ice. Not a single sign of acknowledgment.
“And who’s the chatty Cathy now? If you make a single allusion about me going Puerto Rican, I’ll be forced to punch you.”
Laughing again, Hector lifted his hands. “I would not do such a thing, Deva. Unless you get really interested. Which you are clearly not. And if it has nothing to do with my crew, what do you need to know?”
“It’s about the Dark Blood Rows.”
The smile was quick to disappear, and Deva saw calculation in his eyes.
“Listen, Hector. All I want to know is there any news, any unusual restlessness on that front.”
The Puerto Rican fighter seemed to ponder his next words. “Like the sudden reappearance of Victoria Johnson?”
Slowly, Deva nodded, her vision slowly turning into a tunnel, narrowing her options.
“There is a rumor. I met with people yesterday, and that’s all they were talking about. But the thing is, the news was reported by an outsider to the president of the Rows. They are cautious and demanding proof. And from what I’ve heard, they are moving fast.”
Deva couldn’t talk just yet as Aleksei started caressing her lower back. Naturally, she slid a hand to him and weaved her fingers with his, a gesture she found incredibly reassuring. It was Lazarus who asked the question she had in her head.
“Who told Mex? Who’s the outsider?”
Hector turned his gaze to the man and nodded. “You already know the answer. Jamieson Finch. And I heard that Mex demanded proof from Finch. I think it’s only a question of time before Finch comes to snatch the daughter and take her to her father. If Mex doesn’t do it himself first.”
Deva shook her head. “The real question is; why is Finch making friends with certain families? And even the MCs? Does he want a cut or something? Benefit from their influence?”
Hector sighed and relaxed a bit. “I’m not privy to that information, Deva. And if I was I’m not sure I would be able to tell you. My personal take? Unofficially? It seems a little forced. Nobody, ever, gets that friendly with the upper management. If you get my drift.”
“What kind of man would have the balls to force Chicago’s most dangerous men into becoming his personal lapdogs?”
