“Deva, no amount of money, and no level of power will never be enough for men who have tasted it.”
“You included, Gerasim?”
Discreetly, Aleksei touched her back in warning. However, the Russian Pakan looked more amused than insulted.
“With your father, you already have the answer to that question. Do you find yourself above the need for power and money, my dear?”
Deva shook her head. “No. I’m not. But I doubt men of your stature suffered from the darker side of it. From being victims of that quest. That’s reserved for women usually.”
To her surprise, pain and deep sorrow etched the mob boss’s face. “Deva, I know first hand that you couldn’t be more right. Women are the first victims of our folly. And I experienced that pain in ways you wouldn’t imagine.”
Something moved behind her. She saw Aleksei reach for a gun in the small of his back. Kai and Lance pushed themselves up and reached for their weapons as well. A man in a suit walked in the restaurant, ignoring everyone else but Gerasim. As the Pakan’s men stayed seated, there wasn’t an immediate threat. Deva nodded at Kai who re-holstered his gun under his shirt. Lance scanned the room but didn’t sit back at the table.
“Ah, Semyon. Glad you could make it. Aleksei, I don’t think you’ve had the chance to meet my second-in-command, Semyon Kuznetzov.”
Aleksei stood to take Semyon’s arm. Deva saw it as some sort of secret Bratva handshake. Semyon was younger than Aleksei by a few years she guessed. Dark blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, the man had a baby face with deep dark eyes. With a lean, tall body, he looked more like a student than a member of the Bratva in her opinion, but as she wasn’t that familiar with their whole hierarchy, she decided to let it slide.
“Semyon, I’d like you to meet Deva Landry.”
He took her hand but didn’t shake it. It was as if he was disgusted by the contact and needed to end it as quickly as possible. It didn’t show clearly on his face, but what passed in that touch definitely made Deva uneasy. Semyon didn’t look at her long but was the epitome of politeness.
“Miss Landry. A pleasure to meet you.”
And then he turned to his boss and murmured something to Gerasim who nodded before turning to her once more. “I have something to attend to, so you will need to excuse me.”
Gerasim got to his feet, followed by almost everyone in the room. But before he left, he rounded the table to take Deva’s hand. “My dear, rest assured that I have absolutely no intention of doing any sort of business with Finch. Ever. Also, I admire courage and tenacity, but even with those, I wouldn’t wander off without your protection. I find you interesting Miss Landry. But I would be very angry if anything happened to Aleksei because of you.”
Deva blinked at the praise mixed with a threat. “The last thing I want is to hurt him.”
He looked a long time at her before finally smiling. A genuine smile. “Good day, Miss Landry.”
He walked away, Semyon in his wake. But before it could be concealed, she saw resentment in Gerasim’s second-in-command. Another ball to add to the ones she was juggling.
