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“You’ve gotten rather…bigsince I saw you last,” Aksana said, walking toward the bar. “You must be due very soon. Pregnancy is so hard on a woman’s body. We’re never quite the same afterward.”
It was a criticism, not an observation, but Kira wasn’t rising to the bait, and she had no intention of giving Aksana details about her pregnancy.
“Why are you still here?” Kira asked.
“My son has generously offered to provide for me as long as I’m in town,” she said, her back still to Kira as she poured herself a drink. “Motherhood is such a trial. I thought I may as well enjoy one of its few perks.”
Kira shouldn’t have been surprised by the other woman’s willingness to take advantage of Lyon’s generosity while simultaneously criticizing him, but somehow, she still was.
Aksana never failed to gall her.
“And yet, I find it hard to believe you would stay in Chicago simply for a free suite at the Waldorf.” Kira eyed the huge pearl earrings in Aksana’s ears, the perfect strand around her throat. “You seem to be doing just fine.”
Aksana stared at her. “Give me a difficult positional game, I will play it.”
It was an unusual thing to say. Then again, Aksana was an unusual woman.
“Is that what you think this is?” Kira asked. “A game?”
Aksana smirked. “My dear, if you think it’s not, you’re the one who is mistaken.”
“Vadim Ivanov is dead. And yet, you remain in Chicago a month after his death. I want to know why,” Kira said.
She knew Aksana was playing an unseen part in the attacks on the bratva, but she didn’t know how, and she didn’t want to give the woman the satisfaction of thinking they were worried.
Aksana’s expression hardened. “I don’t owe you — or my son — anything.”
Kira straightened. This conversation had been pointless. She didn’t know why she’d bothered except to alleviate her own sense of helplessness.
She turned to go, rage blooming in the pit of her stomach like a poisonous flower.
She opened the door and looked back at Aksana. “You’re a terrible person. Even worse? You’re a terrible mother. Lyon is the man he is in spite of you. And I thank god for that every day.”
She stepped into the hall and closed the door behind her.
33
“This situation is making me feel insane,” Lyon said quietly, staring out the passenger side window while Alek drove through the city’s darkened streets.
“Markus and I can handle it,” Alek said. “And the brigadiers.”
“I wasn’t talking about the new men,” Lyon said.
It was after midnight, the fifth night in a row they’d spent making calls to every crew standing watch over their business interests. He trusted Alek and Markus, knew they could handle the men, veterans and new recruits alike.
But it was good for the new associates to see Lyon’s face, to know that he was involved in the day-to-day business, both as a warning and a sign of appreciation for their work.
Besides, Lyon liked to look a man in the eye, shake his hand. It was the only true way to get the measure of a man. That and time, although both had failed him from time to time in the past.
Alek sighed, catching Lyon’s meaning. “We’re going to figure it out.”
“It’s been a week,” Lyon said. “The men we have are getting nervous.”
Their business interests were still getting hit once or twice a day. Whoever was responsible was attempting to go through the men Lyon had stationed as watchdogs, beating them senseless before robbing the establishments Lyon’s men were protecting or vandalizing them just for fun.
The drivers were still under assault despite the fact that they now drove in pairs. His unseen enemy seemed to have a limitless army. That army was whittling away at Lyon’s dwindling ranks, either by beating them and taking them off the street while they recovered or by scaring the shit out of the new recruits, some of whom hadn’t lasted more than a day with the bratva.
“The ones who need to leave are leaving,” Alek said, pulling next to the curb across the street from a dive bar that was under their protection. Three of their men, Stefan and two new recruits, leaned against the adjacent building, their gazes watchful. “If they can’t cut it, they don’t belong with us.”
