Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 100416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
“It’s not frustration I want to take out on you.” Aiden’s entire body was tensed as if he fought to hold himself back from attacking. For a man who had renowned self-control, he wasn’t exhibiting much of it lately. He leaned forward. “You married Keira.”
“I told you I was going to.”
A muscle in Aiden’s jaw jumped. “You also told me that you’d give her a choice, or was that a goddamn lie, too? You had to have broken every single fucking speed limit to get to Boston ahead of me, and then you took her like a thief in the night.”
“I did not take your sister. I offered her a choice. She chose me.” He waved a hand through the air, feigning nonchalance. “It’s a moot point now. She’s my wife. I will not relinquish her, and she has no desire to be relinquished. There are more important matters to discuss.”
“There’s nothing more important than my family.”
He and Dmitri could agree on that, though who they termed family varied significantly. “In that case, you’re about to renew our alliance against the Eldridges. Officially.” He paused. “Have you received any gifts from Mae?”
Aiden hissed out a breath and sat back. “She sent me a set of women’s hands with a ring almost identical to the family heirloom Charlie has on her finger.” His gaze sharpened. “Why? What did you get?”
“The head from the body I assume the hands were once attached to.” He waited a beat. “The dead woman bears a startling resemblance to your sister.”
“Fuck.”
“My thoughts exactly.” Just remembering the feeling that had coursed through him at the sight of that head—something akin to fear—pissed him the hell off. “She’s changing the game and isn’t playing by the rules. No one is safe, Aiden. Not Charlie, not your sisters, not your nieces and nephews. The only way to remove the threat is to remove it. Immediately.”
For the first time since he’d walked through the door, Aiden looked at him like he was a person rather than shit on the bottom of his shoe. Progress. “I suppose you have a brilliant plan.”
“You give me a lot of credit.” Credit where credit was due. He permitted himself a small smile. “I have my best man working to find them. Someone is running their business in their absence—either that, or they haven’t gone far.”
“If they were close, you would have already found them.” No credit there, just a statement of fact.
“Da.”
“What do you need from me?”
Now we’re getting somewhere. “Your man Mark is highly motivated to see Eldridge blood run.”
“If you already know it for a fact, there’s no reason to say it out loud. I’m not going to pat you on the back for having spies in my house.”
Dmitri snorted. “Please. There’s no need for spies when human nature is so predictable. Mae Eldridge shot Mark’s cousin, so he’s uniquely situated to want vengeance, and he’s got a skill set that makes him useful. Send him to New York to eliminate the person holding the power in the Eldridges’ absence, and I’ll have my men accomplish the rest after the first domino falls. If my man hasn’t found Alethea by then, the resulting events will draw her and Mae out.”
Aiden drummed his fingers on the desk. “I’ll think about it.”
“Think fast.” He rose. “We want the same thing, Aiden.”
“No, Romanov, we don’t.” He didn’t move, just kept up the damn drumming. “My sister tells me that you’re fucking on every available surface.”
Did she, now? He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “She’s a beautiful woman. We’re married. I would think it’d be stranger if we weren’t fucking.”
Aiden’s expression didn’t shift. “You’ll be having a wedding reception.” Not a question, but not quite a command, either.
You’re learning, O’Malley. “Invitations went out today. It’s set for next Saturday.”
“We’ll be there.” He waited for Dmitri to take a step to continue. “All of us. O’Malley. Sheridan. Halloran. Every single one of us have a vested interested in Keira’s health and happiness.”
Smarter to keep his mouth shut and allow Aiden to hold the high ground, but Dmitri couldn’t let that comment stand. It was all well and good to crow about family loyalty and their beloved youngest sister, but not a single fucking O’Malley had stepped in to stop her free fall after Devlin O’Malley’s death. Not one.
Oh, Aiden tried after he’d taken control of the family, but by then it was too late, and his attempts weren’t nearly strong enough to breach Keira’s walls. Understandable, perhaps, but unforgivable when taken hand in hand with his holier-than-thou attitude. Dmitri smoothed down the lapels of his suit. “Really, Aiden, if her health and happiness were so important to you, I would think you’d have acted much sooner to try to get through to her. You forgot about her while in pursuit of your own goals—every single one of you.”