The silence that follows is absolute.
I've seen photographs. Heard stories. The brother who married into the Bratva. The brother who was exiled forbetraying the family. The brother who, depending on who tells the story, is either a traitor or a man who did what he had to do to protect someone he loved.
"You can't just walk in here." Aidan's voice is controlled, but the cords in his neck are taut.
"Your security didn't stop me." Jason doesn't apologize. Doesn't hesitate. His gaze finds William. "We need to talk. Now."
"Jason." William hasn't moved from his position beside me. His hand is still near his hip. Near the gun. "You shouldn't be here."
"No. I shouldn't." Jason steps into the room. Raven is frozen beside me, her hand gripping the edge of the table. "But Viktor Tarasov is three hours out with enough men and firepower to level this house, and someone needed to tell you in person because your phones are compromised."
The temperature in the room drops.
"What?" William's voice is low.
"Your phones. Your encrypted channels. Reilan had access to everything while he was here, and you never changed the codes after he left." Jason's breathing is hard. He's been running. Driving. Something. "Viktor's known about your meeting with the families. He's known about Sunday. He's not waiting for you to come to him. He's coming here. Tonight."
"That's impossible." Aidan shakes his head. "We swept everything. Matty built new channels after Reilan..."
"After Reilan, what?" Jason looks between his brothers. "Left? Disappeared?" Something sharp in his tone. "Doesn't matter. Viktor had the old codes, and your new encryption is built on the same architecture. Matty's good, but he's not a cryptographer. Viktor's people cracked it in forty-eight hours."
William pulls the gun now. Not pointing it at Jason. Just holding it.
"How do you know this?"
"Kira." Jason's voice changes when he says her name. Softer. "She still has contacts inside the Bratva. People who owe her. One of them reached out twelve hours ago with a warning."
"And you came yourself."
"I had to be sure you'd listen."
William stares at his brother. The two of them were locked in something I don't have the history to fully understand. Years of loyalty and betrayal and blood between them, compressed into this single moment in a dining room that still smells like burned carrots.
"How many men?" William asks.
"Sixty. Maybe more. Infantry mostly. But Kira's contact mentioned heavy ordnance. Rockets. The kind of hardware you don't bring to a negotiation."
Sixty men. Against how many? The security team at Aidan's house. Whatever men the families have pledged but haven't yet assembled. We were supposed to have until Sunday. We were supposed to have time.
"Three hours," William repeats.
"At best. Could be less. I drove straight from the airport and didn't stop."
William turns to Aidan.
"Call the families," William says. "Every man they can get here in the next two hours. Conor first. Then the Brennans."
Aidan is already pulling out his phone.
"Raven." William looks at her. Then at me. "Both of you. Upstairs. Now."
"I'm not going upstairs while you..." I start.
"This isn't a discussion." His eyes find mine. There's something behind the hardness. Something I'm not supposed to see. Fear. Not for himself. "Please, Aoife."
The please undoes me.
Raven takes my arm. I let her pull me toward the door. As we pass Jason, he steps aside. Up close, I can see the resemblance more clearly. The jawline. The way he holds himself. Murphy bones.
