I left him on read and decided to sleep on it before I answered him. On one hand, I’d never had a family before. The idea of meeting someone I shared blood with, who knew my mother, was hard to resist. Riordan told me that I wouldn’t be pressured to involve myself with thebratva, but this wasn’t my first rodeo. Riordan could promise all he wanted, but when push came to shove, he wasn’t thepakhan. His father, my uncle, was. Whether or not Mikhail Petrov could be trusted had yet to be determined. My experiences with mob bosses would say,not fucking likely.
I was up, showered, and dressed for the day, sitting on my bed mulling over my cousin’s latest text, when Lennon knocked on my door. “Hey, Indi, Amazon did it again!” she said in a huff. Lennon had been having the worst luck ordering clothes from Amazon lately. She’d order something in her size, but when it was delivered, it was always a size or two off. Amazon usually sent her a coupon for a new order as an apology for messing up her package and even let her keep the wrong items, but still! I bet it was super annoying for her.
“Do you mind taking these off my hands, please? I don’t feel like going to the post office to send it back, and they should fit you.” Lennon held up a cute pair of dark-washed jeans and an off-the-shoulder slouchy gray top that had adorable little skulls and roses printed all over it.
“Yeah, sure thing, bestie. Anything to spare you a trip to the post office. I know how much you hate that place.”
Lennon smiled and tossed the clothes on my bed. “Anything going on today?”
“Well—” I bit my lip and handed her my phone so she could read Riordan’s text.
Riordan:Can you meet us for dinner tonight at The Goldfinch?
Lennon read Riordan’s message and handed my phone back as she plopped down next to me on my bed. “Don’t think about what Riordan wants, or the bratva, or anything else. What do you want to do, Indi? If you could have this situation work out in an ideal way, what would it be?”
I shrugged as I mulled over her words and picked at a loose thread on my blanket. “I don’t know… I’ve never had a family before—”
“You do now.” Lennon interrupted. “You’re one of us, no matter what you decide to do about the Petrovs. You aren’t alone anymore.”
My eyes glazed over with tears. Lennon had taken me under her wing as soon as I’d arrived at the clubhouse and became my first real friend. Hearing her claim me like that soothed something within me and mademe feel less alone, less unwanted, and more at home here with the Crows. “Bestie, I love you for saying that. I’m curious about the Petrovs, and Riordanseemsgenuine…” I worried my bottom lip with my teeth. “It’s Mikhail and Cara I’m worried about. You don’t get to be a mob boss of any flavor without being ruthless, dangerous, calculating, and powerful. Cara is Unc—Roark’s sister. What if she’s still loyal to the Callahans and tells Seamus and Roark where I am?”
“Riordan asked you to dinner, not to declare your loyalty to the bratva. I say give them a chance. Who knows, maybe Cara hates Seamus and Roark almost as much as you do?”
I mulled everything over for a bit while Lennon checked her socials on her phone. She ended up going through her DMs on a dating app, occasionally showing me profiles for approval and rolling her eyes at some of the messages she received. Eventually, bored of watching her delete unsolicited dick pics, I picked up my own phone and sent a message to Riordan.
Me:If I say yes, can I bring my friends with me to dinner?
A few moments later, I saw three dots, and then Riordan’s reply.
Riordan:Whatever makes you feel comfortable, lisichka. Maybe not Priest, though. That guy is a prick.
I giggled, showing Lennon his response. “He’s not wrong,” she muttered.
Me:He can be, but he’s not too bad. Priest can be sweet sometimes.
I paused my typing, remembering our moment at Ellis’s spot the night before. He was definitely sweet that night, in his own gruff way. I began to blush as my thoughts wandered to the night Priest wasespeciallysweet, when he showed me how much fun a girl could have on his bike. Lennon was giving me a smug look. “Whatcha thinkin’ about, bestie?” she teased. My blush deepened, and I ignored her giggles as I messaged Riordan.
Me:I was wondering if I could bring Lennon. Maybe Cricket, too?
Riordan:Bring one other Crow, just to be safe. Now that Roark knows where you are, you shouldn’t go anywhere without proper security.
“Aw,”Lennon cooed over my shoulder as she read Riordan’s words. “See, he’s not a bad guy. I mean… he’s definitely on the gray scale, morally speaking. So he’s not really agoodguy either… But he’s sweet, caring about your safety.”
“You don’t have to sell me on Riordan.” I weighed the pros and cons on agreeing to meet my aunt and uncle, but ultimately, my curiosity overpowered my caution and spurred my fingers to tap out a response.
Me:Okay. What time should my plus-threes and I be at The Goldfinch?
Riordan:Seven.
Me:We’ll be there.
A thought niggled at the back of my brain, poking me until I added a final text.
Me:Be ready to tell me how you knew the compound was under attack that night.
It was time for Riordan to explain how he knew the Iron Raiders attacked the Los Cuervos compound. What he had to say would help me decide once and for all if I wanted to give his family a chance at knowing their long and very lost niece. I mean, to be fair, if I were them, I’d want to meet me too. I was awesome.
Bones
