Absinthe nodded. “I have no problem. Scarlet might freak, but only because she likes time to process. I’ve already been railroading her fairly fast.”
“She doesn’t have time,” Czar said. “I’ll get Blythe on an afternoon reception. Alena, can you handle a cake and the rest of it?”
“Of course, if we’re not here too long.”
“We’ve only got a couple of things to discuss.” Czar glanced at his watch and then picked up his cell to text Blythe. “We can have the ceremony at the house. It’s beautiful there and private, easily protected. Lana, can you help Scarlet with finding a dress?”
“I’ll try. It isn’t like there’s much here, Czar, in the way of wedding attire, but I’m sure all the women will help me. Blythe probably has the best connections. She knows the Drakes and they know everyone. Inez Nelson knows everyone as well. I’ll start reaching out as soon as the meeting’s over.”
Absinthe glanced at Transporter and Mechanic, a small half grin on his face. He could well imagine Scarlet’s face when he told her they were getting married in a matter of hours, that they’d have one night together and then he’d be leaving her with the other team to protect her, men and women she barely knew, while he went somewhere doing things he couldn’t tell her. That was all going to go over really well with a woman like Scarlet.
“We can pull some really great gifts together for her,” Ice said. “Women like to have gifts on their wedding day, right, Alena?”
Alena glared at him. “That depends. What are you up to?”
Ice winked at her. “We’re all just wanting to help Absinthe out with his lady and their wedding. You just make the cake. We’ll see to the gifts.”
Alena and Lana looked at each other and groaned, shaking their heads.
Czar tapped the table, getting everyone’s attention. “I’ve got one more item for today that’s very important. I’m proposing bringing in a new member. Rurik Volkov is a member of Torpedo Ink already. He belongs to the Trinity chapter, but he doesn’t really fit in with them. He’s had a difficult time there and the president has reached out to me and feels that he would do better here with us, and I agree with him. I’ve discussed this with a few of you already.”
“Why wouldn’t he fit with them?” Lana asked curiously. “Don’t they know him?”
Czar shook his head. “Rurik is not a man easily known to very many people. He’s much like Reaper or Savage. I think he makes the others uncomfortable.”
Alena made a rude noise under her breath, drawing a sharp glance from Czar, but she kept her head down and didn’t say anything.
“Gavriil, you went to school with him. What do you know about him?” Transporter asked.
Gavriil shook his head. “I didn’t go to school with him. He was there briefly, just for a short time, maybe four years, but even as a kid he was quiet and kept to himself. He had a younger sister, quite beautiful. Calina, I think was her name. They were pulled out of the school when he was thirteen or fourteen. I never saw him again.”
“Great,” Alena said. “He’s probably the plant the Russian sent to spy on us. Or assassinate us all. And you want to bring him right in and let him join, Czar.”
“Do you have something you want to share with us about Rurik, Alena? What do you know about him that the rest of us don’t?” Czar asked.
Absinthe put a restraining hand on Alena’s wrist beneath the table. He recognized the little bite that could barely be heard in Czar’s voice. For some reason, Czar was championing the unknown biker. It was clear that Czar knew something about him, something very important, and that somewhere earlier in Czar’s history, the two men had crossed paths. Alena needed to listen before she drew her own conclusions.
“I don’t like him,” Alena said, ignoring Absinthe’s silent instructions not to voice her objections yet. “He’s a total asshole.”
“Has he done something to you we should know about?” Czar challenged softly when the others sat up straight. Ice and Storm leaned toward their sister, shaking their heads.
Alena tossed her wild, naturally platinum hair back over her shoulder a little defiantly. “No, of course not. If he had, he’d be a dead man. I’m like the others in his chapter, I guess. He makes me uncomfortable.”
“That’s total bullshit.” Czar glared at her. “We aren’t anything like those in that chapter. If you were like them, you wouldn’t be alive right now. Savage is your brother. Reaper is your brother. If either of those men walk into that chapter on my orders, you better believe they’re going to make them uncomfortable. He’s called Razrushitel for a reason. They know it and they fear him. He belongs with us.”