Maksimos Korsak aka Ink
Kasimir Popov aka Preacher
Lana Popov aka Widow
Nikolaos Bolotan aka Mechanic
Pytor Bolotan aka Transporter
Andrii Federoff aka Maestro
Gedeon Lazaroff aka Player
Kir Vasiliev aka Master—Treasurer
Lazar Alexeev aka Keys
Aleksei Solokov aka Absinthe
Rurik Volkov aka Razrushitel/Destroyer
NEWER PATCHED MEMBERS
Gavriil Prakenskii
Casimir Prakenskii
Fatei Molchalin aka Rock
PROSPECTS
Glitch
Hyde
SIBLINGS WITHIN THE GROUP
Viktor (Czar), Gavriil and Casimir
Reaper and Savage
Mechanic and Transporter
Ice, Storm and Alena (Torch)
Preacher and Lana (Widow)
TEAMS
Czar heads Team One
Reaper, Savage, Ice, Storm, Transporter, Alena, Absinthe, Mechanic, Destroyer
Steele heads Team Two
Keys, Master, Player, Maestro, Lana, Preacher, Ink, Code
OLD LADIES
Blythe, Lissa, Lexi, Anya, Breezy, Soleil, Scarlet, Zyah, Seychelle, Ambrielle
ONE
Azelie Vargas became aware of the whispers and giggles, and she looked up to see her three favorite seniors gesturing wildly toward the window. They were matchmakers, those three. They came into the coffee shop, every day at the same time, and ordered the same drinks and pastries. Sometimes Azelie treated them, knowing they were on a tight budget.
Penny Atwater had been best friends with China and Blanc Christian for nearly sixty years. They still lived next door to one another in San Francisco homes that shared a wall. None of them drove. They’d taken the bus everywhere as children growing up and then later continued to do so as adults. All three referred to themselves as widows and shared a love of dancing. Blanc had been a professional ballroom dancer and had taught in a studio with her sister, China.
Azelie loved their passion for life. She wasn’t so certain of their enthusiasm for finding her a romantic partner. Still, they made her laugh because they wore bright clothes and had such a joy for living. The three referred to themselves as “the merry widows” and then would laugh with such enthusiasm it was difficult not to join them in their merriment.
Two gentlemen, Doug Parsons and Carlton Gray, had been neighbors with the three women for over forty years. Their houses were on either side of the merry widows’ homes. They often came into the coffee shop around the same time as the three women, sitting with them and reminiscing about funny or poignant times from their past. Azelie enjoyed listening to them. She suspected most of those coming to the coffee shop did as well.
The coffee shop wasn’t a trendy one. It was a mom-and-pop organic coffee shop, so the prices were a little higher. But everyone who frequented it was loyal. Azelie went there to study for her classes or read. Sometimes she worked on the book she was currently writing. She’d been lucky enough to have three books published and had a contract for a fourth. They were moderately successful, which meant she made some money on them. Not a lot, but it helped to pay for her college classes.
The man the three seniors were all atwitter over stood on the sidewalk just outside the coffee shop. He’d come in twice before with another man. Both times the women in the shop—including her—were rendered speechless at the sheer beauty and power the two men exuded. Even Shaila Manger, the owner, came out of the kitchen to ogle the men. Her husband, David, simply laughed good-naturedly, not in the least upset that his wife of thirty-eight years found the two men hot.
Personally, Azelie did have a bit of a crush on the taller of the two men. Just looking at him took her breath away. She was careful not to stare when he had come in with his friend. In fact, she kept her gaze glued to her laptop. That didn’t stop the three seniors from gesturing wildly and giggling like schoolgirls. The men had to have noticed—they would have been blind not to—but she refused to acknowledge the matchmaking or the fact that the women had managed to ferret out the names of the newcomers.
