“Bullshit. Romanov is going to take us out. He’s got the ability to do it, and we both know it. The only reason he hasn’t is because we keep Olivia and her daughter safe—and because he wants Keira.” When it came right down to it,thatwas the tipping point to the man offering the alliance in the first place. He had to know Aiden would fight him every step of the way if he tried to force his hand.
More flies with honey and all that bullshit.
“You’re right. He could have taken us out—and he damn well fuckingwillif he finds out you’re planning on going back on your word and crossing him.” Seamus shoved to his feet. “I don’t care if you’ve been running things for a day or a year—you’re out. It’s over.”
Nothing his father said made any sense. He shook his head. “So, what? You’re going to renounce the engagement and have him come after us for blood? You just said that he could take us all out.”
“There’s only one option—thanks to you. You will honorthe alliance and do whatever the Russian says. Your sister has to marry Romanov. No schemes. No knives in the back.” Seamus strode for the door. “You made your bed. Now Keira has to sleep in it.”
***
Charlie had just finished getting ready when a knock at the bedroom door drew her out. She opened it to find Keira there, the very picture of nervous energy. “Hey.”
“You want to get out of here for a little bit?” She shot a look down the hall like she was afraid someone would catch them and drag them back to their rooms.
Charlie followed her gaze. “Looking for someone?”
“My parents came back into Boston last night unexpectedly.” She made a face. “The very last thing I need is to be cornered by either of them.”
Aiden’s parents were back? Was that why she’d woken up alone?
Reaching out for him when she was half-awake only to find his side of the bed cold was such a silly thing to worry about right now, but it had stung all the same. She stepped back and allowed Keira to put a door between them and anyone who might come by. Aiden’s parents would think she was a gold digger the same way the rest of his family did, but they might actually try todosomething about it.
He’ll handle it. He’s handled everything else up to this point.
It didn’t comfort her as much as she would have liked. “When’s the last time you saw them?”
“Over a year ago.”
She let go of her own worries and focused on Keira. Shewas obviously concerned about facing her parents if she’d sought Charlie out.
A year was a long time not to see someone—especially family. Charlie took in the woman’s body, skinny in a way that seemed to indicate not eating, rather than exercising. And the circles under her eyes and the way her cheeks were hollowed out. From what she’d heard of Seamus O’Malley, he cared less about his daughter’s mental and physical health than he did about her value as an investment.
It was tempting to think that Keira’s mother would be different, if only because she was alive and well and able tobea mother to her kids. Charlie’s tendency was to give mothers almost godlike power because she didn’t have one of her own. She knew that. It was nice to think that every mother who managed to live to see their children grown was a good mother, but it wasn’t reality.
The woman hadn’t stepped in when Keira’s siblings were in need, so there was no reason to think she’d do so now.
“Keira—”
“I know, okay? I know I look like shit, and I don’t need everyone and their dog telling me that I look like shit. My mom will lecture me for hours, and my father will just look right through me. I don’t have it in me to deal with either.”
Charlie knew all about doing whatever it took to survive. Hadn’t she been in a similar place a few years ago? Her downward spiral would have lasted a lot longer if Jacques—a bartender she barely knew at the time, not her fucking dad, who should have done it—hadn’t stepped in and basically slapped some sense into her.I wonder how Jacques is doing…She put the thought away and refocused on the woman in front of her.
Keira needed an escape. She needed to feel in control—maybe for the first time in years. Charlie didn’t pretend to know the woman inside and out, but she knew what madeherfeel better when she was clawing her way back from the edge.
“Give me two minutes.” She went to the dresser. “I just need to grab my gun.”
“Gun?” Keira walked deeper into the room, curled her lip at the rumpled sheets, and walked to the window to open it. “Holy shit, it smells like fucking in here. God, you two are like teenagers.”
“Yeah, well…magic pussy.”
She snorted. “I’m never going to live that one down, am I?”
“It’s a classic. Give me a second to make a few calls.” Charlie was conscious of Keira’s attention on her as she figured out which Krav Maga gym was closest, and allowed drop-ins. Then she pulled her gun from her suitcase and strapped on her ankle holster. A few seconds later and the weapon was barely a bulge against her jeans. “Let’s go.”
“What does a poker dealer need to carry a nine-millimeter for?”
“Good eye.” She shot Keira an appraising look. It was tempting to brush off the question, but it also wasn’t fair. “I was attacked a few years ago. I was helpless, even with all the training I’d had, and I’ve promised myself I’ll never feel like that again. The gun is just a tool—not some magical protection—but it might make the difference between being the one on the ground and being the one standing over my attacker.”
