“I’ve lost my appetite.” Carrigan stood, James following her. He hadn’t once spoken, just watched the whole circus. Aiden didn’t like to admit it, but the Halloran territory was in good hands with this man—and so was his sister. Those two had already made some big changes, creating a nonprofit organization to help victims of sex trafficking, and quietly bringing down the perpetrators of the slave trade by means both legal and illegal. As a brother, he was proud of his sister and happy that she was happy.
As the head of the O’Malley family? Her actions had put every single person under his care in danger, and she’d do it all over again in a heartbeat. James Halloran might not be the worst choice for a husband, but it didn’t change the fact that he and Aiden would never be friends. There was too much history between their families—too many betrayals.
Too many deaths.
Aiden couldn’t help thinking of Devlin, his youngest brother, who’d been gunned down three years ago. Back then, the O’Malley siblings had been more friends thanenemies. Devlin had been good and kind, but Aiden couldn’t help thinking that his youngest brother’s relative innocence would have disappeared over time. That if alive, Devlin would have been as much a stranger to him now as the rest of his family.
For the first time in a very long time, Aiden felt well and truly alone.
Charlie squeezed his hand, bringing him back to the situation at hand. He’d anticipated Carrigan’s reaction, but it wasn’t her that he needed to convince. It was Teague and Cillian. Teague had never been a fool—his foolish decision to become an FBI informant aside—and he was still looking at Charlie like he recognized her. She had only superficial similarities to her father—the line of their nose, the shape of their eyes—but Aiden wouldn’t put it past his brother to connect the dots if given the opportunity.
So he wouldn’t give him the opportunity. He stroked Charlie’s shoulder again. “We’re setting the wedding for November.”
If anything, Cillian lookedmoreaghast. “In two months?”
“No reason to wait.”And every reason to rush this along so no one has too much time to do more than react.Their pending nuptials would distract the rest of the family from what he was doing with Keira and Dmitri, at least for a little while. Cillian knew about the deal with Romanov. Hehadto know. But Teague and Carrigan would revolt, and it would put them all in a precarious position of fighting each other when they should be fighting Romanov.
“Is she pregnant?”
“Cillian!” Olivia broke her silence to smack his arm. “You’re being rude.”
“No surprise pregnancy.” One of those in the family was more than enough. He managed a grin. “Just true love.”
Liam appeared in the doorway, and the look on his face sent Aiden’s every instinct on high alert. He kept his expression neutral. “Excuse me.”
Liam barely waited until they had the door shut to pull Aiden aside. “Keira went out her window and down the fire escape. She gave Mark the slip, but he’s checking her usual haunts, and I’ve sent men to help him search. We’ll bring her back.”
The last time she’d escaped them so thoroughly,Romanovhad been the one to retrieve her. He’d deposited her at the front door without harming her—or that was what she said. Keira had been pale and shaken and downright vicious when he tried to question her, so he’d found his answers in a more roundabout way.
Interrogating druggies wasn’t his idea of a good time, but the answers he’d discovered supported Keira’s claim that Romanov hadn’t hurt her—at least not physically.
After that, Aiden stopped taking chances with his youngest sister’s safety. He’d put Mark on her detail, with a secondary perimeter when they knew she was leaving, so that she wouldn’t be taken again.
But it was impossible to ensure that if he didn’t know where the fuck she was.
While there was no reason for Romanov to strike now, when Aiden had agreed to help him, he didn’t trust the Russian for a second—and that wasn’t even taking into accountotherenemies who may see her as a weak link to be exploited. Fear rose, the one emotion he never allowed himself. He wrestled it back and locked it down deep. Fearwould get him and the people he cared about killed. What he needed was cold, hard logic.
“Find her.”
Liam nodded once and was gone, striding away at a pace that was almost running. Keira was as much little sister to him as she was to Aiden. He’d never forgive himself if something happened to her on his watch.
Neither of them would.
Chapter Five
Dmitri Romanov studied the man in front of him. He’d sent Mikhail on an errand, and the man had come back empty-handed. “Explain.”
Mikhail seemed to shrink in on himself, a feat since he was built slightly to begin with. “I’m sorry, Mr. Romanov. If she was anyone else, I would have taken her regardless of her wishes, but she’s to marry you, and…”
And once he married Keira O’Malley, she would outrank every one of his men. None of them were sure what that meant exactly or how Dmitri would implement his marriage within the power structure, and it made them all jumpy. If Mikhail crossed Keira now and she held it against him later…
Dmitri understood why he was hesitant to take that step. It didn’t mean he forgave it.
“Mikhail, did I or did I not give you an order?”
His shoulders slumped a second before he got control of himself and straightened. “You did.” He managed to meetDmitri’s gaze. “And with all due respect, sir, she would have caused a scene, and I judged that to be worse than to deliver her message.”
Ah yes, her message.If he wanted her, he was to come get her himself.
