Chapter 37
The plan B, as Gabrielle called it, wasn’t even a thought in Deva’s mind. Such a plan meant that there were sincere intentions or the pursuit of hope. And in her mind, that final decision squelched any possibility of a happy ending.
Yes, she loved Aleksei Voronov. As simple as that, there was no going back. She wasn’t a starry-eyed teenager, and Deva knew that if she went for everything she had fought against to gain her life and freedom, her life would turn sour and part of her would die inside.
Her only hope was that one day, the torment of her heart over him would lessen. Her last wish was that Aleksei would find happiness and peace, whatever the manner or with whom.
And following that wish, Deva had asked Gabrielle for one last favor.
It was under the setting sun of a very hot September day in Chicago that she used one last time Gerasim Egorov’s personal cell to ask for a meeting.
Sitting on a bench overlooking Lake Michigan at the edge of Navy Pier, Deva turned her back to the bubbly crowd, tourists, and families, her eyes lost in the moving waters and the beautiful hues of sky chasing the fading light. Keeping her thoughts clear, and her eyes dry was the most difficult task at hand.
“May I sit with you?”
Deva smiled as she recognized the Pakan’s voice. Turning her head, she was surprised to see such a powerful man in a pink polo shirt, cream golf shorts, and the most interesting cap.
“Gerasim? Is that you? Or maybe it’s a new trick to make sure you are not recognized when walking alone through the city?”
The man smiled, scratching his goatee as he sat beside her. “You are one of the few courageous enough to mock me, my dear Deva.” He looked down at his outfit. “My wife chose it. And I couldn’t say no. You know that none of my closest colleagues said a word about it.”
“Maybe they didn’t dare make a comment. From what’s happened in the last few months, it’s normal to be skittish.”
Gerasim boomed with laughter. “Qualifying my men as skittish is the funniest image. But I think you got it right. It shook us, but keeping my men on their toes will strengthen their loyalty. And between you and me, it made me realize that I must be careful. Even more so now, with people like Finch lurking nearby, that are cunning and dangerous. I never thought I would see the day when I would doubt the men around me and their loyalty.”
He waited a moment, looking at the lake, before turning to his bench companion once more. “I’m sorry you suffered because I couldn’t see the jackal in my pack of wolves.”
Deva shook her head. “I will survive. It just added scars to the ones I already have.”
“And are those new scars the reason why you and Aleksei drifted apart?”
Deva forced herself to joke about his question, to hide behind the teasing. “I never thought you’d play Cupid, Gerasim. Is this a service you offer to all your men?”
The man only shook his head. “I don’t care who my men put in their bed unless it has a direct impact on my business.”
“So why this interest in Aleksei?”
Gerasim frowned a little as if trying to understand beyond her words. She found his expression most unsettling.
“Do you know anything about him?”
It was her turn now to be confused. “What do you mean?”
“Aleksei is my nephew, the only son of my sister.”
Blinking, Deva gaped at him. “Zoya?”
There was genuine surprise in his gaze. “I see he at least told you that.”
“What he told me is that his family turned his back on his mother when they discovered she was pregnant with Finch’s child.”
Gerasim face turned grim. “And you are right. I was in the army at that time, going through difficult times of my own. That’s no excuse. I was her older brother, I should have known. It took time before I’ve learned she had left. And even worse, I didn’t find her before she died. But I knew of Aleksei. And as I was slowly transitioning from the army to the Bratva, I always kept an eye out for him. It took me years to finally find him, running scams in the streets of St. Petersburg.” A smile tugged the old man’s lips at the memory. “Such intelligence, and wrath. When I introduced myself, I almost got my head chopped off! It took time, like trying to convince a rabid wolf that I wasn’t a threat, worse, that he could trust me. I told him that even a wolf needed a pack sometimes. That whatever he wanted to do, I would help him. It was one of the reasons why he followed me to the United States, and let me help him from time to time. Even today, he tolerates me but does not fully trust me. Did you know that Voronov means wolf? He wouldn’t take his mother’s surname, wanting to forge his life for himself. It suits him, though.”
Deva swallowed hard. “That’s him, knowing what he wants and getting it, snarling along the way. I wish for him to find his way, his happiness in life. Especially after all he went through.”
“And that happiness doesn’t include you?”
It was difficult saying it out loud, but it was the truth, and this was Aleksei’s uncle after all. “I love him. I can say that much. But I didn’t flee Chicago back then and hide for so many years without learning some important things about myself. The MC, the Rows, they hurt me badly. They required much more of me than I ever had to give. Aleksei is Bratva, and even though I love him more than anything else, I also know that being dragged into your organization would be my undoing. I fear I would resent Aleksei at some point for the decisions he had made. For the path that he has chosen. I can’t do that to him. Or to myself, Gerasim.”
