“Really, Koen?” She puts a hand on her hip likeI’mthe one being unreasonable.
“What the hell are you doing here? Where the fuck is Alex?”
Not a second later, Alex trails out of the elevator after Reagan.
Perfect. He looks guilty as all hell.
“I tried to call?—”
I remember seeing all the missed calls from him on my phone.
“What the hell amIdoing here?” Reagan snaps, stalking closer, her heels clicking sharply against the hardwood. “I live here, do I not?”
“Yes,” I growl out, stepping closer, but she doesn’t back down. Sheneverbacks down. “Butyou’resupposed to be in a safe house in Vermont.”
I point my finger at her and she lifts her chin, arms crossed while looking me in the eye. “I don’t think that’s your call to make.”
“Not my—” I start but she keeps going, cutting me off.
“I’m not one of your little soldiers you can boss around, or a pawn to move around on your chessboard. It’s my life and it’s my decision.”
My eyes slide to Alex, hovering uselessly by the elevator doors, looking like he’d rather be in a Bratva torture cell than stuck between two siblings at war.
“I’m sorry Rí, she was relentless. When I stopped for gas she started walking back to Boston… refused to get back in the car unless I agreed to take her home. I tried to call?—”
Honestly, it’s no surprise she managed to berate him into turning around. He has a soft spot for her. I pull out my phone, scanning through the calls to see a few I missed from Alex. With all the chaos happening after Aidan’s impromptu wedding, I haven’t been able to get back to everyone yet. I let out a sigh, running my fingers through my hair.
“I’m not a child,” Reagan hisses, and I peer down at her. “You can’t keep shipping me off like a piece of luggage every time you piss off someone in the city.”
“It’s to keep you safe.” And I mean that, I know what men like the Bratva and the Italians or the Cartel would do to her if they ever got their hands on her. I couldn’t live with myself if I let it happen.
“I’m tired of safe.Safeis killing me. I have to be able tolive,Koen.” Tears well up in her eyes before she wills them away, clenching her jaw—as well as her fists—as she stares me down, throwing her energy into her anger to keep from breaking down. “I’m here all day, in this apartment. I have toaskpermission to go out. I have to have an escort. Two of your guys, if not one of my brothers.” She rolls her eyes. “You’ve built me a prison.”
“Better a prison than a grave,” I mutter, but my words lack conviction because I know she’s right. Growing up as the youngest daughter in a mafia family hasn’t exactly been easy. Her life already wasn’t her own before, but since our father died and I ordered a lockdown, it’s not a question that she’s gotten the shortest end of the stick.
“You’re not wrong. I’m not disagreeing with you but the Bratva?—”
“It’s never a good time! There’s always going to be someone, somewhere, who wants to hurt me. I can’t just sit around waiting for it to happen. I won’t.” Her chin lifts and the glint in her eyes grows sharper—unyielding. I recognize it, I’ve seen it before; it’s a silent promise that no threat in the world would move her.
I look away, toward the sky while I try and figure out what the fuck to do with my rebellious little sister.
“Fine. No Vermont. But you don’t leave this apartment.”
She rolls her eyes and I take a step toward her, my eyes narrowed. “I mean it, Reagan. I’m not fucking around this time.”
She glares at me for a long while. “Fine,” she spits out with a small snarl, turning on her heel and storming down the hall. A moment later I hear her door slam shut.
For not wanting to be treated like a child, she sure knows how to throw one hell of a tantrum.
I sigh, looking over to Alex.
“I’m sorry, Rí.” He hangs his head, looking away from me.
“It’s fine.” I wave it off. “I know how she can be.”
My phone buzzes and I read over the incoming text about another potential distribution issue.
The elevator dings again and we both look up to see Liam strolling into the loft, hockey bag over his shoulder. He stops when he spots Alex, looking between us in confusion, knowing just as well as I do that he is supposed to be in Vermont. “What’s going on?”
