Player didn’t take his gaze from Destroyer’s eyes. The man looked like what he was—a brutal, dangerous man. He could be charismatic if he chose, with his dark, mesmerizing eyes, eyes that were fixed on Alena’s face. There was despair there. Sadness. No way was Destroyer going to walk away from Alena’s plea. He knew how difficult it was. He saw inside her to that soft, vulnerable part she protected, and the man was bracing himself to do something he’d never done in his life—share something that was real and painful and buried so deep no one knew how much it hurt to give it up.
Destroyer shook his head and ran his hands through his hair again. “I’ve never really followed anyone in my life. Not since I lost my grandmother, but Czar and I have a history. If there’s anyone I believe in, it’s him. You lay down an argument I can’t exactly ignore, Alena. All of you have. I appreciate you fighting for me.” He managed a rueful smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
He sighed again. When he put one hand on the table, he closed his fingers into a tight fist. It was large, tattooed, scarred and had seen many fights. “We lost our parents early. Calina, my sister, didn’t talk for a long time after their accident.” He ducked his head, avoiding Alena’s eyes. “It wasn’t an accident. My father started drinking more and more, and when he did, he would get very angry with everyone. He didn’t like anyone looking at my mother. She was very beautiful.”
It was clear he didn’t talk about his family to anyone. He probably hadn’t talked about his parents since he was a child. He fell silent and no one prompted him to speak. No one became impatient with him. They simply waited. All of them knew what loss was. They’d all suffered enormous losses. It was entirely up to Destroyer if he wanted to give that piece of himself to the club.
“He flew into jealous rages, and he did that night. He shot our mother and then tried to shoot Calina, but I dragged her out of the room and ran out of the house with her. I wasn’t very old myself, but I just kept running until I made it to my grandparents’ house. They lived about three miles from us. He killed my mother and then himself. Calina was really just a baby, a toddler, and he shot our mother right in front of her—she had blood all over her. My grandparents took us in. They were good people. The best.”
He did look up then, but this time at Czar. “I get crazy sometimes, in my head. What the hell is wrong with the world? When Sorbacov’s men came for my grandfather because he was too outspoken against the new president’s policy, the soldiers shot him, but they beat my grandmother to death, again, right in front of Calina. I tried to stop them, and they found that very amusing. I took a beating myself in front of her. She was practically in a catatonic state after that. I thought when Sorbacov and his son were dead and I was free, all the killing would end, all the brutality, but it follows me. What’s the difference between someone who would kill a child and someone who would do the same to the elderly?”
Destroyer rubbed his fist in his palm in agitation. “A grandmother? They beat her? Robbed her? A woman with the guts to bring a ten-year-old girl to the United States and start a life? It’s bullshit. It just triggered something in me.”
“That’s understandable, Destroyer,” Czar said. “I can safely say, it triggered something in all of us. We’ll vote on it, but I don’t think you have much to worry about.”
Destroyer cast the first vote decisively in favor of watching over the elderly and finding out who was behind the robberies. It was unanimous, which didn’t surprise Player in the least.
“You’ll have to find out everything you can about the other robberies, Code,” Czar said.
“I don’t sleep so good,” Destroyer confessed. “I can take the night watches, although if someone spots me, they’ll probably be more afraid of me than the robbers.”
“Not that I can imagine you letting anyone spot you,” Czar said, “but we could have Inez smooth things over with her friends, let them know we’re looking out for them. On the other hand, it might not be the best idea to risk it. Someone had the key to that lock at the Gamal house. That’s someone who knows them.”
“Best not to let anyone know so you don’t get caught when you’re on guard duty,” Steele cautioned. “Are we finished here? I want to make certain my woman is safe so she can see her friend again.”