Fyodor sat in a chair by the fireplace and didn’t turn as his brother walked in. He just stared into the flames, his broad shoulders slumped.
“He found us at last, didn’t he?” he asked in a soft voice.
Timur took the ice-cold bottle of water Gorya handed him. There was a wealth of a buffet spread out on a long narrow table at one end of the room, but his stomach wasn’t up to eating.
“Yes. Apostol Delov was not the man who gave us up. He fished, but he didn’t tell Lazar, afraid he wouldn’t get the reward. Just by fishing, it confirmed what Lazar had been told. We knew it was coming, Fyodor. We wanted it to come. That was the entire reason for using your real name. You could have stayed Alonzo Massi and that would have bought us more time—maybe. Most likely not though, because you’re easily recognizable. Your picture has been in newspapers, on television, even a time or two in a magazine because of Siena. He would have found you. This way, we know he’s coming at us.” Timur looked at his cousins. “At all of us. He particularly wants the two of you.”
Mitya looked completely impassive. Sevastyan shrugged. They had known, just as Fyodor had, that Lazar would never rest until he found them.
“It didn’t occur to me Evangeline would get pregnant so soon and if she did, there might be complications.” Fyodor didn’t look up.
Timur wished he had an answer. He stood in the middle of the room knowing he couldn’t offer comfort to his brother, because the answer was, they surrounded their women with danger from every front. They held things back from them. They weren’t good men and never had been, yet they refused to give up the women they loved. He wanted to believe that had everything to do with his leopard, but he was always honest with himself. Ashe was his. Born for him. Made for him. He’d lie. He’d steal. He’d kill over and over to keep her.
“We started down this path,” Drake said, “with good intentions, having no idea how complicated it would get. We knew shifters indulging in criminal activity also became severely twisted. They had to be removed, and only we could do that. We’re shifters and we have to police our own.”
Timur didn’t say anything. What was there to say? He knew he would never walk away and leave his brother to face the kind of danger he did every day without the best security possible—and Timur was that security. They were locked on to the path they’d chosen. They couldn’t stop because it suddenly got rough. Nor, even if they tried to walk away, would they ever be free. They would be hunted for the rest of their lives.
“What of Evangeline’s family?” Fyodor asked. “Are they in any way connected to Lazar?”
“Through Ulisse most likely, but that isn’t confirmed,” Timur admitted. “Ulisse is distributing opium, and Lazar wants his source. Apparently, the opium is sought after, a very good product. Lazar forced Ulisse to tell him where he got the product. Our raid on the convoy needs to be cancelled.”
“I can get the evidence against Ulisse to the cops,” Jake volunteered.
It was understood that an enemy like Ulisse, despite being human, couldn’t be left to claw at their backs.
“Ashe and I were shot at in the grove just beyond the vineyard. He used the scent-blocker but left behind fur in the tree. Amur leopard. Definitely Anton Lipin.”
Fyodor nearly came out of his chair. “You didn’t tell me. What the hell, Timur? I would have sent men to help you.”
“I didn’t need help.” Timur shrugged his shoulders. “I handled it.”
“Like hell you handle it next time. You let me know what’s happening immediately . I’m just as concerned for your safety as you are for mine,” Fyodor hissed, his eyes nearly glowing.
Timur hid the sudden desire to smile. His brother rarely expressed his affection for anyone but Evangeline, but it was there in that spurt of anger. He nodded his head, not daring to use his voice because Fyodor would have heard the lie. No way would he contact his brother for help. If Timur was in danger, what kind of head of security would he be if he couldn’t handle it himself?
“Anton Lipin was sent by Lazar?” Elijah asked. “He’s Interpol?”
“He’s running the team Lazar sent here. That also gives him access to the scent-blocker,” Timur pointed out. The question still nagged at him. Why would Anton Lipin decide to deviate from Lazar’s orders not to kill any of them? It made no sense for Lazar to change the orders at the last moment again.
Drake drummed his fingers on the table and then straightened up, facing them. “I took over the lair after I claimed Saria. It was a mess, and I mean a real mess. Most of the leopards were out of control. At that time, several of the men, instead of challenging me, came after me with rifles. If any of them are working with the Tregres …”