Ultimate Vengeance (Wanted Men Book 4)(106)

She went to the fridge to get a watermelon, and Sacha was almost positive her lavender and white yoga sweats had to be a child’s large. A quick glance at a very tight butt had Sacha vowing to take Lekzi on longer walks. Maybe she could start running with Alekzander in the mornings.

Sydney nodded at Nika and Eva, who’d both stopped what they were doing to stare at her. “They’re looking at me like that because I’m not one to air my personal business.”

“She isn’t,” Nika confirmed.

“It’s true,” Eva seconded. “We’re thinking because the guys are being so tight-lipped, they must be in protect-mode. Alek must have been a real dick. Am I right?”

Sacha laughed and brought the knife and cutting board to the sink where she rinsed her hands. “Yes. He was a dick,” she agreed as she tore off some paper towel. After tossing it, she went and picked Lekzi up to gently bob her on her hip, as was her habit. She hated to use the baby as a shield, but she knew she was. “But I now understand why.”

“What did he do?” Nika asked with a wary frown.

Because Alekzander had told her a little about the beautiful redhead’s violent history, Sacha gave in and offered them the short version of the worst moment of her life. If only to reassure Nika it wasn’t anything close to the horror she’d been through at the hands of her deceased husband. The girls’ expressions of dismay were a comfort.

“Holy shit balls.” Nika dropped the silverware on the table and walked around shaking her hands out. “I would have died. Holy shit, Sacha. One of the most amazing moments of your life…ruined. So unfair how men can do that to us, just like that.” She snapped her fingers. “How did you find the strength to walk out of there? I’m afraid I wouldn’t have been so classy.” She gave Eva a wide-eyed look. “Can you imagine what I would have done? Oh, no,” she laughed, shaking her head. “I wouldn’t have walked away. Maybe at one time, but not now.”

“I have a feeling you’d have channeled your inner Caleb,” Eva said before explaining, “That’s her brother. He’s a big teddy bear bad-ass with a nasty temper and a protective streak that stretches from here to Seattle.”

Nika looked thoughtful and a little ill as she began twisting the bottom on her bright hair. “No. I’m pretty sure I’d have taken it further. If I walked in on Vincente and some woman, I wouldn’t channel my brother. I’d channel my Reaper and totally wreck the bitch. And him? Oh, God. After I gathered the pieces of my heart, it would get ugly.” Sydney’s snicker had Nika pretending to hand the mic off to her. “What would you do?”

Sydney put the knife down and folded her hands on the counter as she tapped her tongue on the inside of her top teeth. When she reached over to take the imaginary microphone, she gave them a sly smile edged with something deliciously vindictive. “I’d take Jerome and his cousin—they’re two of my meanest bouncers at the club,” she said to Sacha. “I’d take them to an unknown location and film the dirtiest BBC porn ever made. Then I’d program it to play on a loop on every one of Russia’s computer screens. Oh, and it would be in HD. Oh! Oh! And the volume would be locked on ten.” She figuratively dropped the mic and rocked back on her heels, looking smug. “You?” she asked Eva.

Sacha was surprised crickets didn’t chirp when they all just stared at her.

Sydney’s smile fell. “What? Too much? I wouldn’t actually have the nerve to do it. We’re talking hypothetical, hit-them-where-it-hurts, right?”

Nika leaned across the island with her hand held up for a high five. “You’re nasty. If it ever happens, I’m calling you.”

Eva sat back in her chair, a hand on her belly, her expression sheepish. “If I caught Gabriel with another woman, after I died, I’d wimp out and call my dad.”

It was Sacha’s turn to circle around Nika and bend. Holding Lekzi’s hand up for a high-five from the Pakhan’s daughter, and in all seriousness, she declared, “You win.”

They all laughed, even the baby.

“Did we really just hear that shit?”

Maksim’s question caused the feminine humor surrounding them to run screaming from the room.

Standing under the archway was a wall of bristling testosterone made up of Maksim, Alekzander, Vincente, Gabriel, and Vasily. All but the older Russian looked put out. He was chuckling as he passed by the others.

“If you boys think a man is the only one capable of harboring violent or vengeful tendencies where their partner is concerned, you need to take the blinders off.” When he reached Eva, he stood behind her chair and rested his hands on her shoulders. When together, the resemblance between them was striking. “And there’s nothing wimpy about calling on your father when you need someone’s ass kicked. It would be my pleasure to have your back, precious.”