by Katee Robert
First, though …
He picked up the desk phone and pressed 1. Mikhail answered on the first ring. “Da?”
“Send Vance to my office. I have something I need to discuss with him.” Namely that his pawing through Keira’s unmentionables was a punishable offense.
And he had every intention of collecting.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Aiden hunted down Cillian the first chance he got. He found his brother in the library, reading to Hadley. The picture they painted, their heads bowed as his brother read a nonsense children’s book, was almost enough to make Aiden turn around and walk out, leaving the discussion for a later time.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option.
Still, he waited until Cillian had finished the book to say, “We need to talk.”
“I know.” Cillian set Hadley on her feet. “Take this book to your mama. You know it’s her favorite.”
Hadley grinned and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before leaving the room, pausing only to give Aiden a brief wave. “She’s a good kid.”
“Yes, she is. She’s also not why you’re here.” Cillian stood and stretched. “This is about our parents.”
“You called them.”
Cillian laughed in his face. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. Why the hell would I pull a stunt like that? Did I want to talk to you about whatever plan you’ve cooked up? Hell yes. Would I endanger all of us because I’m pissed that you aren’t letting me in? No. If you think otherwise, you’re a goddamn idiot.”
When his brother put it like that, it was hard to argue with him. Aiden dropped into the other chair and ran a hand over his face. He’d had such a clear sequence of events when his whole plan had been put into motion, but it seemed like every time he turned around, more threads were getting tangled. “Romanov is a threat that needed to be addressed, but if we come at him from the front, he’ll annihilate us.”
“I’m not arguing against that. What I am arguing against is using Keira as bait—because that’s what you’re doing, isn’t it?”
He didn’t know if it was a blessing or a curse that Cillian was so goddamn smart. “Romanov came to me for help.”
That got his brother’s attention. “What?”
“Two weeks ago. He’s having problems with the Eldridges, and he needed someone to help him with a bait and switch to keep them occupied while he gets things in place to remove them entirely.”
Cillian whistled. “That’s quite the coup—and it would leave Romanov in control of most of New York.”
“Yes.” Something that would keep anyone with half a brain up at night. “But it’s happening whether we like it or not. I agreed to work with him because it means I’ll have some say in the fallout—and there will be fallout.”
Cillian hesitated. “I despise Dmitri. I don’t like his history with Olivia, and a year of not being a total shithead doesn’t make up for twenty-four years of leaving her to the wolves.”
“He’s a known factor, and he has a history of keeping his word once he gives it.” And therein lay the problem. He wanted Romanov out of the picture—permanently. But he was reasonable enough to acknowledge that killing the man outright wasn’t going to do them any favors. He’d spent so long planning in silence, the only person who knew the full story was Liam.
Maybe it was time to change that.
“The Eldridges are just a distraction.”
Cillian’s eyes went wide. “That’s one hell of a distraction.”
“Yeah.” Alethea took the term sadistic to unparalleled lengths, and her heir was even worse. He couldn’t fault Romanov for wanting to remove them from the equation as quickly as possible—that was exactly how he’d felt about Brendan Halloran before the man was murdered. “I’m not convinced Romanov couldn’t remove the threat without our help, but the fact remains that he asked for help.”
“What did you get in return?”
“Keira gets a choice.” It was hard to say it aloud. He felt fucking weak for even allowing it on the bargaining table to begin with. Aiden very carefully didn’t look at his little brother. “I don’t think for a second that he’ll honor that—he’s put too much time and too many resources into securing her. She’s his last-ditch effort to save face and prove that crossing him is a mistake.”
“So what’s the endgame?” Cillian’s tone gave nothing away.
“He breaks his word, which will be enough to prove to both Sheridans and Hallorans that he’s a mad dog who needs to be put down. Between the three of us, the war will be quick and brutal, and over before anyone realizes it’s started. It’s a risk, but a calculated one.”
And if he could aim John Finch at the bastard, he could potentially get the FBI agent away from Boston and off Teague’s back. If he was lucky, maybe Finch would get caught in the crossfire.
Except that thought didn’t bring the same satisfaction it once had.
Finch was Charlie’s father, which meant his death would hurt her, and Aiden didn’t relish that.
“That sounds great in theory.”
He shifted to face Cillian. He could tell his brother knew what he was thinking. “Our father is going to get in the way.”
“Without a doubt. He’s already started trying to undermine you.”
Aiden knew that. But there was only so much Seamus could do. As soon as Aiden realized that his father might be back—and that he didn’t necessarily want him back—he’d taken steps to ensure the men’s loyalty. It wasn’t foolproof by any means, but it would make it harder for his father to win them over.
That didn’t mean Seamus would play along. If he had his way, Keira would actually marry Romanov. The thought of his sister, already so lost, trapped in a marriage with that monster …
“I’ll take care of it.” He wouldn’t make the same mistake with Keira that he had with Carrigan. He would protect her, even if it meant defying his father and putting both himself and Charlie in danger in the process. He pushed to his feet. “I’ve got to go.”
“What are you going to do?”
“What’s necessary.” He let calm settle onto his face—a mask was better than nothing. “I’ll protect the family—even if that means protecting the family from Seamus.”
* * *
Charlie hadn’t had a chance to talk to Aiden about Keira taking Krav Maga. She hadn’t actually talked to him at all, despite sitting six inches from him for the last five hours as they traveled from Boston to New York. The silence had been uncomfortable at first, but when she realized Aiden was thinking hard about what the night would bring and probably strategizing the best way to go about it, she left him alone.
The driver slowed and pulled the car to a stop. They’d arrived.
She leaned over Aiden and peered out the window. “It’s a warehouse.” And a seedy one at that. When she was still a cop, she’d spent time in some of NYC’s worst neighborhoods, and the location of this place was the worst of the worst. Cops barely patrolled this area unless they had a specific reason to be there, because the badge put a target right between their eyes, and the neighborhood mostly took care of its own. They didn’t want or need the law interfering. “This is such a bad idea.”
If she’d known Aiden would take them to murder central, she wouldn’t have chosen a short strapless dress that hugged every curve and left little to the imagination. It was also a red bright enough to stop traffic, and she’d felt pretty damn great about the choice. Until now. “You said we were meeting the Eldridges.”
“We are.”
She pointed at the building. “We’re going to walk in there and get killed.”
“It would be bad business for Alethea to murder us, in a warehouse or otherwise.” Aiden climbed out of the car and held out a hand to help her from the backseat. If she didn’t already know that things were tense, she would have now, by the fact that he didn’t comment on her dress or do more than brush a quick kiss over her mouth before they left. He was preoccupied, which was all well and good … if they weren�
��t about to meet two of the scariest women Charlie had ever come across.
“Aiden.” She stopped him with a hand on his arm, catching her breath when he turned to face her. He looked downright lickable in his black suit, the sheer lack of color in his clothing somehow bringing out the green of his eyes, even in this light. Charlie wanted to tell him that it would be okay, that whatever it was that was bothering him—father or enemies or otherwise—she’d be at his side to face it. But if she said any of that, he’d laugh in her face, and rightly so. She wasn’t his girlfriend, and there might be a ring on her finger but she wasn’t walking down the aisle to him. This wasn’t real.
So she didn’t say any of it. She just adjusted his already perfectly buttoned-up shirt. “I’ll tell you a secret.”
“Oh?”
Conscious of Liam and the other man just a few feet away and the possibility of cameras and audio equipment monitoring their every move, she inched closer. Her heels—just as red as her dress—put her at almost the same height as Aiden, so it was child’s play to lean in and whisper in his ear. “I’m not wearing anything under this dress.” That would distract him.
Sure enough, his hands came to rest on her ass, palming her as he confirmed what she’d just said. Aiden growled a little. “When I said make a statement, that wasn’t what I meant.”
“Wasn’t it?” Even though her adrenaline was pumping in anticipation of walking through that warehouse door, she smiled. “Doesn’t it make you feel just an eensie bit better knowing that you’ll be having me in the backseat of that town car after this hellhole of a meeting is over?”
His hands spasmed on her ass. “Christ, bright eyes, you really know how to change a man’s outlook.”
Apparently, she didn’t need sweet and comforting words to get his head in the game and chase that hopeless look off his face. She just needed to remind him of what they did best. “Let’s go get them.”
He took a step back, claiming her hand as he did, and they turned to face the warehouse. “Try not to bait Mae this time.”
“She likes it when I bait her.” She squeezed his hand. “If she thinks that we’re so in love that you’ll actually marry me, she might cut my throat herself. It amuses her to consider me a dalliance and to consider you something of a sure thing for her.”
Charlie loathed the thought of Aiden with that monster of a woman. It didn’t matter that it wasn’t something he wanted or planned for—she’d put a ton of money on Mae planning on making it happen.
He shot her a look and then cursed. “Fuck, Charlie, I didn’t even think about that when I asked you to do this.”
“That’s because even with three sisters, apparently you don’t know how the female mind works.” Especially in a sociopath like Mae. Or a psychopath. Charlie had always had some difficulty telling those two apart. “She’s set her sights on you, Aiden. She could care less that you’re claiming to be desperately in love with someone else, engaged or not.”
“Fuck.” He slowed to a stop.
“What?” She looked around, but nothing popped out as overtly dangerous, aside from the murder warehouse. “What’s wrong?”
“You didn’t bargain on the Eldridge heir gunning for your blood when you agreed to this. I didn’t bargain on it. I can’t ask you to go through with it.”
She blinked. Of all the responses I imagined, that wasn’t on the list. “Aiden, I’m more than capable of taking care of myself.”
“In a fair fight, sure. But she won’t come at you fair. Mae will knife you in the back.”
She knew that. She also knew that the end justified the means—and the risks ventured along the way. Charlie turned to face him again. Sexual distraction wouldn’t work this time. She had to lay it out straight and hope that he’d be rational enough to realize she was right. “Your dad showing up has you all messed up in the head. Stop. Think. If you walk in there without me, either they’re going to assume I’m too weak to hold my own and they’re going to come gunning for me, or they’re going to know that you have no intention of marrying me. We don’t have time for you to worry about me.”
Though a small selfish part of her warmed at his wanting to keep her safe, the rest of her was doing her best not to be insulted. Didn’t he know that the worst for her had already come to pass? It was possible that Mae could kill her, but she had no intention of letting the woman get the opportunity.
“Charlie …”
She could tell he was still wavering, some streak of honor trying to take hold, so she went for the sucker punch. “If we don’t do this, Keira marries Romanov.”
Aiden took one breath, and another, and then nodded and straightened. “If you change your mind—”
“I won’t.”
“All the same. If you change your mind, all you have to do is say the word and we’re out of there. I’ll figure out another way that doesn’t make you the target of one of the scariest women I’ve ever met.”
That delicate warmth in her chest spread. He’d do it, too. It might set him back and put his own sister in danger, but he’d get her out if she felt like she was in over her head. Charlie almost laughed. She’d been in over her head the second she agreed to do this.
Truth be told, she hadn’t seen the surface for years, not since she’d lost everything.
And that focused her.
Justice. Revenge. Two sides of the same coin. That’s what this was about. She couldn’t afford to lose sight of that.
So she held her head high as they walked through the nondescript door and into the warehouse. It looked like she imagined thousands of other warehouses looked—pallets stacked high and wrapped up until it was impossible to tell what they held. Charlie took it all in, noting the wide aisles that didn’t offer much in the way of cover, and the tiny windows overhead that were impossible to climb to. If this was a trap, she didn’t think they’d get out alive, Liam and his man at their backs or no.
A woman melted out of the shadows. She was so plain that Charlie had to look at her a second time to make her appearance register. Mousey brown hair, a pleasant-looking face, a normal build. It was only on that second look that she saw the careful makeup designed to downplay her features, and that the roots of her hair were a rich brunette, and that her clothes had likely been picked for their poor fit. This woman could walk into any room and be ignored and overlooked, and the people there wouldn’t even realize they were doing it.
Dangerous.
The woman motioned. “This way, please.” Even her voice was pitched to be forgettable.
She led them deeper into the warehouse, finally stopping in front of a door. “Inside, please.”
So unfailingly polite. Aiden opened the door, and Charlie slipped through, blinking in the low lights. She took in the familiar hexagon table wrapped in green felt, and the dealer—another woman—who was as low-key as the woman who had led them here. Poker.
Footsteps had her turning to face the Eldridge women as they strode into the room from a different door. Alethea had dressed in a sharp pantsuit that highlighted her petite form. Mae wore a dress easily as short as Charlie’s and, quite frankly, she rocked it. She looked like one of the women in a WWE show, all glamorous strength and murderous intent—and it worked for her. Charlie could admit that, even when she wanted to be in any other room but this one.
Mae smiled, the expression sending chills down Charlie’s spine. The woman motioned to the poker table. “We wanted you to feel right at home.”
Somehow, Charlie doubted that very much. But she pasted on a smile anyway and slid into the nearest chair. “That’s so thoughtful of you. Are we playing Texas Hold ’Em or Five-Card Draw?”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Aiden barely breathed as Charlie faced down Mae for what felt like the millionth time that night. Even though he knew she was playing up the persona of an empty-headed idiot, it was still disconcerting to watch her giggle and joke her way to winning. She effectively took out both him and Alethea in the first hour, manipulating t
hem expertly despite the dramatics—or because of the dramatics. She bluffed so well, he still wasn’t sure when she actually was bluffing. Even though he knew better, he’d underestimated her.
It made him wonder how else he was underestimating her.
But as soon as it was down to her and Mae, Charlie started losing. For the life of him, he couldn’t figure out if it was on purpose or not. They still hadn’t gotten around to talking business. It would come, though. Alethea hadn’t invited them out here for a simple poker game, no matter what her daughter thought of Charlie. The woman was too smart to waste an opportunity as important as getting Aiden on her side, but she was too arrogant not to try to play him in the process.
So he focused on Charlie and the game dwindling to a close between her and Mae. He hadn’t trusted her before in how she handled the situation with the Eldridge heir. He trusted her now.
“All in.” Charlie pushed all her chips to the center of the table with a flirty wink at him. “Dinner’s going to be on me tonight, baby.”
She loves this. The risk, the role-playing, the outwitting of dangerous enemies.
He made a noncommittal sound. Alethea leaned over from where she sat next to him and murmured, “Trouble in paradise?”
“You’re awfully concerned with my love life.” He didn’t look away from the game, where Mae was considering Charlie like a cat toying with a mouse before devouring it.
She laughed softly. “This is about business and you know it—you also know that your love life is business. Since you’re going to play coy on the subject, let’s put the rest of it on the table. You want us to work with you against Dmitri Romanov.”
Finally. Trust the woman to leave it until the last possible moment to broach the real reason they were there. When he looked at her, he found she was wearing the same expression as her daughter.
Normally, Aiden knew which way he wanted to play a person, depending on a number of factors. His sisters got the older brother who was kind of an asshole but still loved the shit out of them. The people under his command got Seamus 2.0, because that’s what they responded to best. Charlie got … Well, she was currently beside the point.
