Gabriel's Regret: Book 1 (The Medlov Men Series 2) by Latrivia Nelson, Latrivia Welch Page B
Authors: Latrivia Nelson, Latrivia Welch
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A dirty blonde man in his mid-30s, wide and large in stature, was the first to speak, but this was nothing new. He was a known politician when it came to matters of diplomacy, always twisting words and meanings to fit his murky intentions. “My brothers, we cannot lose our position with our local militia and those who are supporting us,” Faddei said, arms folded across his mountainous chest. “If we are going to choose another leader, it has to be now…tonight.”
The tension in the room grew thick.
“Why do we need to choose another leader? Valeriya is our leader now,” Taras said, running a hand through his dark, long beard. His arctic blue eyes narrowed. “What has she done to make you decide otherwise?”
Faddei frowned and drew his brows together. “She is a woman, Taras.” Shaking his head in disbelief that he was even forced to state the obvious; he motioned toward the door as if Valeriya was there in front of him. “She is a Black woman.”
“Alexei was a Black man. And he was a strong leader. What is your point?” Taras asked, forcing him to actually speak his bigotry aloud.
“To be both though,” Faddei rolled his eyes in frustration and gasped. “It is unthinkable. The men won’t follow a Black woman now that her brother is dead.” He raised a long thick finger. “Now… she can continue to be a lieutenant – it’s good for our image, but she cannot lead this revolution. Yes, we fight the Nazis, but many who are opposed to their organization still have their reservations about race; they still have their own beliefs. That cannot be ignored.”
Taras had never liked Faddei but up until this moment he had at least respected him. “Well, my men will follow her, and I will follow her.” He looked around the room. “And my men make up most of the militia outside of one other faction.”
Osip cleared his throat and tried to find common ground. “I see both of your points. Both of you are right. There are men who will follow her and there are men who will not follow her. But she is the next in line and she has her own men, over 100 in total across the city. Without her, we cannot win this fight. Without each of you, we cannot win. There are only five captains to lead this revolution here in Donestk. Valeriya and the four of us. If we tell our men to follow her, they will. If some of them choose not to, then they don’t really care about our cause anyway.” He looked at the only silent man in the room demanding that he speak up.
Symon was a quiet man with fire red hair and sterling gray eyes who looked more like an accountant than a freedom fighter with his thin silver wire framed glasses and lean build, but he was one of their best strategists and fighters. He raised his head from his hands and rolled his neck. “I just put my best friend on a table in the back room. We grew up together. My family worked for his in this very hotel before it became just another concrete hovel. He died trying to protect all of us, our children, our women, our families. And now you want to forsake the only family he has left because of personal ambition. What I think is that this meeting is a waste of time. We have bigger issues and we already have a fucking leader.”
Faddei scoffed. “Stop being so dramatic, Symon. No one wants to forsake her. We simply have to choose someone who is better suited to be our leader.”
Symon looked down at his bloody clothes. “Have we even asked Valeriya what she wants to do? Have we given her that much respect, brothers? Or are we too busy plotting for the coveted position?”
On cue, Valeriya pushed the door open and stood in the threshold. “No one has asked me, brat,” she answered. “But thank you for bringing it up.” Her eyes scanned the room. Why was she not surprised that there was a meeting of the captains…every captain but her.
She stepped
A dirty blonde man in his mid-30s, wide and large in stature, was the first to speak, but this was nothing new. He was a known politician when it came to matters of diplomacy, always twisting words and meanings to fit his murky intentions. “My brothers, we cannot lose our position with our local militia and those who are supporting us,” Faddei said, arms folded across his mountainous chest. “If we are going to choose another leader, it has to be now…tonight.”
The tension in the room grew thick.
“Why do we need to choose another leader? Valeriya is our leader now,” Taras said, running a hand through his dark, long beard. His arctic blue eyes narrowed. “What has she done to make you decide otherwise?”
Faddei frowned and drew his brows together. “She is a woman, Taras.” Shaking his head in disbelief that he was even forced to state the obvious; he motioned toward the door as if Valeriya was there in front of him. “She is a Black woman.”
“Alexei was a Black man. And he was a strong leader. What is your point?” Taras asked, forcing him to actually speak his bigotry aloud.
“To be both though,” Faddei rolled his eyes in frustration and gasped. “It is unthinkable. The men won’t follow a Black woman now that her brother is dead.” He raised a long thick finger. “Now… she can continue to be a lieutenant – it’s good for our image, but she cannot lead this revolution. Yes, we fight the Nazis, but many who are opposed to their organization still have their reservations about race; they still have their own beliefs. That cannot be ignored.”
Taras had never liked Faddei but up until this moment he had at least respected him. “Well, my men will follow her, and I will follow her.” He looked around the room. “And my men make up most of the militia outside of one other faction.”
Osip cleared his throat and tried to find common ground. “I see both of your points. Both of you are right. There are men who will follow her and there are men who will not follow her. But she is the next in line and she has her own men, over 100 in total across the city. Without her, we cannot win this fight. Without each of you, we cannot win. There are only five captains to lead this revolution here in Donestk. Valeriya and the four of us. If we tell our men to follow her, they will. If some of them choose not to, then they don’t really care about our cause anyway.” He looked at the only silent man in the room demanding that he speak up.
Symon was a quiet man with fire red hair and sterling gray eyes who looked more like an accountant than a freedom fighter with his thin silver wire framed glasses and lean build, but he was one of their best strategists and fighters. He raised his head from his hands and rolled his neck. “I just put my best friend on a table in the back room. We grew up together. My family worked for his in this very hotel before it became just another concrete hovel. He died trying to protect all of us, our children, our women, our families. And now you want to forsake the only family he has left because of personal ambition. What I think is that this meeting is a waste of time. We have bigger issues and we already have a fucking leader.”
Faddei scoffed. “Stop being so dramatic, Symon. No one wants to forsake her. We simply have to choose someone who is better suited to be our leader.”
Symon looked down at his bloody clothes. “Have we even asked Valeriya what she wants to do? Have we given her that much respect, brothers? Or are we too busy plotting for the coveted position?”
On cue, Valeriya pushed the door open and stood in the threshold. “No one has asked me, brat,” she answered. “But thank you for bringing it up.” Her eyes scanned the room. Why was she not surprised that there was a meeting of the captains…every captain but her.
She stepped
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