She poked the pile of laundry with her toe. “I think you’re bored, too. You had fun yesterday.”
Keira yawned. “What’s your point?”
“My point is that we should get out of here for the day again. There’s got to be something we could do.” She hadn’t spent much time in Boston, despite living relatively close, but the touristy thing didn’t appeal—and she doubted that would be enough to tempt Keira out of the room. “Don’t you have something you need to do that you haven’t been doing because of all this?” Charlie waved her hand.
“It’s too early to party. My coke dealer never answers his phone before three.” Keira saw the look on her face and burst out laughing. “Fuck, Charlie, I’m kidding. That bastard stopped calling me back months ago. I’m pretty sure Aiden threatened his life if he didn’t eighty-six me.”
She chose not to comment on that. “Well?”
“Oh,fine.” Keira dug her phone out from beneath a pile of pillows and thumbed through it. “You’re not going to like this.” Before Charlie could ask what she meant, she had the phone to her ear. “Carrigan?…Yeah, I know, it’s been way too long. What are you doing for lunch?…Perfect.” Her hazel eyes lit on Charlie. “Oh, and I’m bringing our brother’s gold-digging fiancée with me…No, don’t be a bitch. I like her.”
Charlie pressed her lips together, wondering if she’d just made a mistake. It was one thing to run around the city with Keira, pretending they were just friends who happened to like the same things—like punching a bag until their arms felt like limp noodles. Going to lunch with Carrigan was something else altogether. That woman was formidable, and it was readily apparent that she had no problem getting her hands dirty. She hadn’t done anything to confirm that, but Charlie couldn’t shake the feeling.
Then again, I told Aiden it was time to start reaching out to his family. Maybe it’s time I learned what that really entails.
Liam didn’t look happy when they told him where they were going, but he assigned them a security detail, saying he would call ahead to the Hallorans and ensure that things were covered on their end as well.
It wasn’t until they were in the backseat of yet another town car that Keira slouched in her seat and expelled a long breath. “God. It’s always a gamble if they’re going to let me out of the house. With my father back, I thought someone might throw a bitchfit—especially since we’re going to see Carrigan, and she’s supposed to be dead to the family.”
It took a few seconds for the pieces to click into place. Carrigan was with James Halloran. It didn’t seem to bother Aiden all that much. After all, he’d invited her to the dinner he’d put together, but if their father didn’t agree with his stance…that would complicate things.
“Dead to the family?”
“Ridiculous, isn’t it? I mean, we all have mixed feelings about the whole Halloran thing, but James isn’t that bad, and he obviously worships the ground Carrigan walks on.” Something like longing flickered over Keira’s face. “Could be worse.”
“Could definitely be worse.” She sent a quick text to Aiden, wincing when she realized she should have done it before she left.Going to see Carrigan.
Her phone vibrated almost instantly.I know.
Of course he knew. Liam would have told him before they drove out of the building.Problem?
No. Be careful.
She started to set her phone aside, but it buzzed again.Have dinner with me tonight. Just us, no plotting.
I’d love that.A smile pulled at the edges of Charlie’s mouth despite her best intentions.
“OhGod. You two are disgusting.”
She looked up in time to see Keira roll her eyes. “Really? Because I’m pretty sure you were giving Dmitri Romanov all sorts of come-fuck-me looks. And now you’re wearing his rock on your finger.” The memory killed any feel-good she’d gotten from Aiden’s plans for the night. “He’s dangerous, Keira. I don’t think you understand how much.”
Keira gave her a look that had no place on a twenty-one-year-old’s face. “Everyone in our world is dangerous. If you haven’t figured that out yet, you should get out while you still can. My brother might like to pretend that he’s holier-than-thou, but he’s just as ruthless as Dmitri. And I’d be really surprised if he didn’t have as much blood on his hands—if not more.”
“You don’t…” Surely she wasn’t hearing this right. “You sound like you have feelings for him.” She very carefully didn’t think about the claims Keira had aimed at Aiden.
All emotion disappeared from the woman’s face. “Don’t be silly, Charlie. Only a fool would fall for Dmitri Romanov.”
***
Keira regretted setting up the lunch with Carrigan and Charlie the second they sat down at the table. It was early enough that the restaurant wasn’t very busy, which was ablessing in disguise, because her sister turned to Charlie and immediately said, “Keira is right. You must be a gold-digging whore to get into bed with this family.”
Charlie took a sip of her water. “Let’s get this out of the way. I’m marrying your brother. You can throw a bitchfit, but the wedding is going to happen. You might as well come to terms with it now, or you won’t be invited.”
Keira knew she should probably step in, but Charlie seemed more than capable of holding her own. She was an interesting woman, and despite herself, Keira kind of hoped that Aiden didn’t fuck it up.
Her phone vibrated in the pocket of the jacket she’d tossed over her tank top before they left the house. She slipped it out and blinked. When had she thrown Dmitri’s burner phone into this jacket? “Excuse me.”
Neither her sister nor Charlie paid much attention as she rose from the table and walked to the back of the restaurant, where the bathrooms were. She answered as soon as she turned the corner. “Are you sneaking into my room again and moving this damn phone around?”
