Chapter 41
Shivana
“I understand, Daddy.” I squinted, covering my forehead with my hand to shield the bright sun.
“I don’t know why you didn’t mention this to me, Pidgin ,” Dad said on the other line.
“It didn’t seem beneficial to give news without actually having news.” That was at least half-true. There wasn’t anything specific to tell them yet.
“Don’t play semantics with me, Shiv. You wouldn’t have applied if you didn’t plan to stay. I have friends there. I could’ve helped.”
“Is that how you found out?” I asked, my voice breaking. He wasn’t berating me about staying, he was upset I didn’t go to him for help. Still, did he have to be involved in everything?
“I graduated with the gentleman who heads the department you interviewed for. He was given your info for a second interview and recognized the name. It was a simple connection.”
Even though he couldn’t see me, my hands went to my face. My phone sat on the armrest of the Adirondack chair, since I had my earbuds in. Even when I tried to do something on my own, he still was involved. “What are the odds?” I asked dryly, finally moving my hands from my face.
“There’s school, conferences, classes, papers. You should know. You’ve been to some already. You meet lots of other practitioners and, in this day and age, it’s quite easy to stay in touch. It’s a small pool compared to the amount of people in the country, Shiv.”
“Apparently,” I said, picking at a loose thread at the hem of my shirt. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I just really would love a position like this and the CDC is, like, the best place for it.”
“It’s a decent place. Not the only one to do research.”
“And where are you living?” my mother was asking in the background.
“Yes, have you been living out of your suitcase?” Dad asked. “All of your things are here. You were supposed to be gone for only a couple of weeks.”
“I bought a few things. They do have stores in Georgia.” Well that tone wouldn’t help anything . I needed to cool it.
“Why did you let me go on about the parties if you weren’t coming home?” Mom asked, still a little muffled from being in the background.
“I didn’t know what would happen. I didn’t want to say anything until I found a job and was settled.”
“ Pidgin , that could be months. You’ve already been gone a couple of months as it is. Don’t you know how worried your mother has been?”
Blowing a breath through puffed cheeks, I answered, “I’m sorry. I didn’t think this through. But I plan to stay, even if I don’t get the job at the CDC.” Oh God. I’m going to be sick.
A flurry of Hindi erupted from them both before Dad sighed. “Shivana, we love you and just want what’s best for you.”
“I know. I love you, too. But this is what would make me happy. I’m happy here.”
“Is there a man?” Mom asked.
I froze, my eyes roaming the courtyard to see if any members were walking around, but instead saw a large, black SUV that was similar to the one Lacy and I were tossed into for an attempted kidnapping. “I gotta go, but I love you both. I’ll call you soon.” Then I ended the call before they could get another word in.
My heart raced and I looked around in confusion. Who the hell was this? And why weren’t they stopped at the entrance? This place may as well be a fortress with all the extra guards everywhere. And I knew from conversations I wasn’t supposed to hear that there were cameras everywhere. So what the hell happened?
I was sizing up the walk to the door, then looked back at the SUV, wondering if I could even make a mad dash before they got me. The odds weren’t good, but I swallowed hard, shoved my phone in my pocket, and decided to make a run for it. I’d zig zag until I made it. Harder to miss a wild, moving target, right?
But just as I started my sprint, Hawk burst from the door with his arms out wide, smiling widely. Eagle followed, looking nearly as eager as Hawk. I skidded and froze where I was, still piecing together what was happening.
Jackal pulled up the driveway, his dark hair blowing behind him, as a man with brown hair in a nice suit sprang from the front passenger side, then opened the back door. A blond man climbed out, buttoning his suit jacket as he smiled and headed toward Hawk.
Being nosy, I stayed frozen, hoping they didn’t see me but also that I heard anything they said. That didn’t last long when the blond man looked over, followed by Hawk. He immediately waved me over. Shit. Busted.
I had thrown on a pair of jeans, a red tank top, and sandals because it was hot out. We planned to hang in the bar later to celebrate Lacy’s last night of freedom. There was no chance in hell of us taking her to a male revue or anything cool, so we decided to have a little party at the clubhouse. Lots of members from other chapters were supposed to be arriving any minute. But this wasn’t a biker. This man’s coiffed hair and tailored suit screamed power and money.
Deciding that my attire was perfectly suitable for the location and occasion, and that mister fancy suit was the one that stuck out, I made my way over.
“This is Dr. Raja. She’s helped out in some…messy circumstances,” Hawk said as I got within their circle.
The blond man extended his hand, and since Hawk and Eagle looked so friendly with him, I didn’t want to be rude. I placed my hand into his, but he turned it, then brought my knuckles to his lips. Ewww .
“How did such an exotic and intelligent beauty find herself here at the compound?” the blond man asked.
I tugged on my hand. “It’s not really polite to refer to women from foreign places as exotic,” I stated. Hawk gave me a tight-lipped glare, but I cocked my brow. It was rude as fuck, so as least I didn’t say it like that.
Looking over his shoulder, Jackal’s brow furrowed as he made long strides toward me.
The man put his hand to his chest. “You must excuse me, miss. I only meant to compliment you.”
“All well deserved, I’m sure,” Jackal said as he wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me firmly to his side. “I see you’ve met Petrov, Jr.”
Note to self, ask who the fuck that is and why it matters later. “Yes. He was just saying how intelligent I am.”
“Excuse my manners, my dear. I’m Nikolai Petrov, Jr. So pleased to meet you, Dr. Raja. And Jackal, it’s been a long time my friend.” He could call me doctor. He’d have to earn the right to call me Shiv and he already had a point deducted.
Nikolai extended his hand to Jackal. He squeezed me, then moved his arm to shake his hand. “It has. I hope you had a nice trip.” Then his arm went right back. But he kissed my temple and said, “Hey, Lil Bird. Why don’t you find your friends?”
That was code for they had man-talk too big for my lady ears. But since they all were so tense, I decided I wasn’t interested anyway. “I’ll check on Mama Hen, too. We have a lot of guests coming.”
“Cindy,” Nikolai said with sincere admiration in his voice. “I cannot wait to see her. It’s been ages.”
Giving a tight smile, I turned and went inside. Pulling my phone out, there was one missed call from my mom. Wow. She was exhibiting some serious self-control.
I didn’t see the girls hanging around, so I headed to the kitchen where I found Mama Hen and Lacy.
“Hey, hon, whatcha up to?” Mama Hen asked as she piled meat onto trays to take outside for grilling. There were always a few pieces of chicken, and I knew that was for me.
“Some preppy guy is outside. Called me exotic,” I said, rolling my eyes.
Lacy grimaced. “Eww. Preppy guy? Who could that be? I thought it was a bunch of members?”
“His name is Nikolai,” I said as I reached for the veggie tray.
“Petrov? Old or young?” Mama Hen asked.
“Youngish, I guess? Maybe around my age?” I shrugged, then crunched on the carrot.
“Oh. Hmm.”
“Why ‘hmm’?” I asked.
“Surprised he came all this way, but I suppose it’s professional courtesy to invite him.”
Lacy stopped mixing whatever it was in her bowl. “Oh, hell. That guy is here?” She shivered.
“Why, who is he?” I asked, grabbing a celery stick and dipping it into Mama Hen’s homemade ranch dip.
“He’s, like, a boss,” Lacy practically whispered.
“A boss of what?” I asked, crunching my celery.
Mama Hen’s eyes cut to Lacy, and she promptly zipped her lips and went back to stirring.
“Boss?” I said again. Then it hit me. “You mean like a mob boss?”
Lacy shushed at me but I whipped my head toward the door. “So you mean there’s a goodfellow outside? That’s crazy!”
“Shivana,” Mama Hen snapped.
My giddiness dissipated. “Sorry. But how the hell do we even know him? Is there, ya know, a mob in Atlanta?” I never thought about organized crime outside of the obvious places like New York and Chicago. We had plenty back home, but it was all speculation, of course.
“He’s a business partner and they’re from up north. Just be polite or avoid him if possible. Was there an older man with him?” Mama Hen asked.
“Not that I saw, but he traveled with an entourage. I guess it makes sense now.”
“Like I said, Shiv, best to just steer clear if you can.”
Lacy nodded from behind her. I needed that story, because I knew there had to be one.