“Stop trying to convince yourself of all the reasons you two shouldn’t be together. Putting everything else aside, how does Koen make youfeel?”
“He makes me feel…” I think about it for a second. “He makes me feel safe, protected, and when he looks at me…” My heart warms in my chest and I bury my face in my hands again, sinking deeper into the couch cushions. “I know what this sounds like...” I trail off, cutting off my stream of crazy.
“It sounds like love,” Lily says, and I look up, meeting her eyes.
I shake my head, looking back down at my feet. My stomach twists. I don’t want to say it. But the truth is there, raw and impossible to deny. “I think I’m falling for him. And it terrifies me.”
“Because of his connections?” Lily asks, her voice careful as she brings up Koen’sline of work.
“Because it’s not just about me,” I whisper. “He doesn’t know about Remi. And every day I don’t tell him, it gets heavier. He deserves to know. But if I tell him and he hates me, or if he doesn’t care at all… If he walks away again…” My chest caves in. “I don’t know if I could survive that,” I admit quietly.
“I thought I was protecting her, protecting me…” The image of Koen I’d curated in my head all these years, the constant reminders I gave myself that who he was that night had just beenan act, and that the news reports and the word on the streets detailing the cold, ruthless leader of the Irish mob was therealKoen O’Rourke. But now, having spent the past couple of weeks with him…
“I think I got it wrong.” Tears sting the corners of my eyes, and my lower lip quivers slightly before I bite down hard on it to get it to stop.
Lily, not one to miss a thing, lunges forward. “Oh, honey,” she breathes out, wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug. She squeezes me again. “Then maybe it’s time to stop running. Secrets like this… they don’t stay hidden. And if he really loves you back, he won’t walk away. He’ll fight for you.Bothof you.”
“We’re supposed to go out tomorrow night after rehearsal. I’m—I’m going to tell him.” I look up at Lily. “I’m scared.”
“It’ll be okay,” she sighs. “And if it’s not… we’ll figure it out.”
“I hope so.”
64
THE RED WOLF
KOEN
I walk back into Obsidian,and the mood is tense. It’s just Mac and I. Aidan and Liam have a Breakers game this afternoon, and Alex, Garrett, and Jerrad are still combing the streets of New York, trying to track down my sister, who’s still in the wind after running away last week.
New York was Reagan’s last pinged location before she disabled the tracker I use to keep tabs on her.
Honestly, New York makes sense. She wants to vanish, and in a big city like that, it’s the equivalent of searching for a needle in a haystack.
She texted her apologies, citing her need for space, and dipped. But the longer she’s out there on her own, the more danger she’s in. And even though searching for her is spreading the Irish thin, family is more important.
Jace is on Briar duty. She had rehearsal all day for the showcase, and either way, after what Niko said, I don’t want her anywhere near the Volkov. We already know they’re funding Giovanni’s little sex trafficking organization, but to what end, I’m not yet sure.
I don’t owe the Volkov shit; they are Nikolai’s problem. They don’t have a stake in Boston yet, but their influence in the recenttrafficking ring could signal a newfound interest. The Volkov primarily run Russia, though their reach and influence stretches far across the ocean to the States.
The Bratva is more structured than the Irish Mob as a whole. Though, still not anywhere near as organized as the Italians. Where each Irish mob organization is its own entity, the Bratva has higher-ups they answer to.
Each Bratva organization answers to its own Pakhan, like Nikolai Kostalov in the Boston Bratva, or Andrei Vasilyev in New York. All of those different organizations bow to the Volkov back in Russia. A vast organization run by Pakhan Oleg Volkov.
Ronan Volkov is the third son of Oleg. His older brother Maksim will inherit that throne, but Ronan… Ronan is their reaper. Judge, jury, and executioner.
Krasnyy volk.The red wolf.
I’m anxious to get this meeting over with. While I trust Jace, I haven’t seen Briar since yesterday afternoon. The Devils have a big shipment arriving tonight that cannot go wrong. I spent all day yesterday prepping and readying everything, and I personally vetted all the men working the shipment to ensure no leaks.
Liam and Mac will be on site tonight to make sure all goes smoothly. I would join them, but I have other plans. I trust they can keep it locked down.
Tonight, I’m taking Briar out to dinner. Just the two of us. Tonight, I make her mine. She’s already mine. She’salwaysbeen mine. But after tonight, everyone else will know it too.
I stalk through the club, meeting Niko outside of the private room we met him in a few days back. He gives me a stiff nod of acknowledgement, which I return.
“Weapons.”
