“Twenty-four hours,” I say.
Flanaghan moves fast, stepping toward Declan, voice rising.
“He’s going to make her disappear, or they’ll both vanish! You can’t let—”
Declan stands. His voice comes low, cold.
“You don’t fucking tell me what to do.”
He gets right in Flanaghan’s face, eyes narrowed, then turns to me.
“Twenty-four hours, Flynn.”
I nod, rise, and walk out as John explodes behind me, cursing, slamming his fists against the table like a tantrum in a suit.
“You’ve got a plan?” Kaden mutters, falling into step beside me.
I shake my head.
Neither of us says another word until we’re in the car, then I lean back against the seat, eyes closing, jaw clenched tight.
“These fucking rules are shit,” I say. “We can mingle, fuck, and breed anyone with a hand in our pocket; it doesn’t matter if it’s Russian or Italian, but the second it’s an innocent girl with no price tag, the whole fucking room loses their minds.”
Kaden’s already pulling onto the road, tyres spitting gravel.
“You know he’s doing this to get closer,” he says. “With you out of the picture, he’s one step nearer to being next in line if anything happens to Declan.”
He’s not wrong.
Flanaghan’s been twitchy ever since the Russians last year. He didn’t like the deal Declan made to get Viviana. Hated that it worked. Hated that they fell in love and that Declan got everything and more.
The Consortium isn’t run like normal families. It has never been.
Declan stepped forward when our fathers died fighting the Russian mafia.
I didn’t want the power, but I swore I’d stand beside him. Shoulder to shoulder.
Over the decades, the Consortium has always been led by the Callaghans or the Bradys.
The two first families. The real ones.
The Keeffes and the Flanaghans, no matter what we say publicly, have never truly had blood that belonged at the top.
I get home late, my mind going at the speed of light, trying to think of a way out of this shit.
I removed the plug the minute I got home and told her to go her way. She was expecting me to touch her, take her, but I have hours to scheme, or she either gets a bullet to the head, or we will have to disappear with a target on our head.
I will never let that happen, and I know Declan won’t either, and that puts his leadership and life on the line.
I prowl the mansion, halls quiet, but a light glows upstairs. I head towards it; the door cracked open, and I drop my hand to my gun. Kaden’s in his office, and the last time I saw Autumn she was in her bed.
Pushing the door open, I raise my gun, but I stop and hide it when I see her on the floor in an oversized wool sweater and fuzzy brown socks, hair twisted in a messy bun. The light baths her soft, makes her look ethereal, edges glowing gold.
Fuck. If they come for her, I will kill them all; I won’t let anyone touch her.
“What are you doing?” I try to sound soft, but it comes out louder, making her jump slightly with her shoulders hitching.
She turns, stares me up and down slow when a hint of a smirk tugs at her lips. I’m shirtless, sweatpants low on my hips, and her gaze lingers, heat flickering. She likes it.
