Page 28

28

MADE MAN

AIDAN

T he panic I initially felt in my chest seeing Reagan alone with Rory slowly ebbs away as I sit and listen to my sister carry on in that carefree way only she can about everything and nothing all at the same time. As if the O’Rourke family casually having breakfast with a Kostalova is a normal, everyday occurrence.

I learn Reagan and Rory have quite a bit in common.I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. They’re around the same age; both girls grew up carrying the weight of their family’s sins.

Rory’s nervous. Her eyes keep flitting to mine before she responds to my siblings’ questions questions. She’s constantly taking my temp, gauging my reaction, even though she’s the subject of Koen’s hard stare from across the table; he’s pissed she snuck right past him. When my sister takes a wild turn into the latest drama on this season of The Bachelor, I put Rory out of her misery.

I stand, the movement drawing the attention of everyone at the table. “As much fun as this has been Rae, breakfast is done and we have business to attend to. Rory , if you don’t mind accompanying me back to my room?”

I don’t miss the slight flash of fear in her eyes before she buries it away, steeling her spine and rising gracefully from the table. Even pushing her chair neatly back in.

“Thanks for the company, Reagan.” Rory offers a tentative smile toward my sister, who beams back at her. Fuck, that’s going to be a problem. But before circling around to my side, Rory turns to face Koen. “That was the best French toast I’ve ever had. Thank you for cooking.”

Koen looks up at her with an odd expression on his face, not sure how to react to the girl we’re holding captive in my bedroom thanking him for the food. He finally settles on a small nod before his eyes slide to meet mine as Rory passes between us. We exchange a look before I follow her silent form down the hall to my room.

She hesitates before entering, as if afraid the room might swallow her whole. But she lifts her chin and steps inside, walking a few feet before turning to face me.

I shut the door behind me and watch as she takes another step back, creating more distance between us. The sight of her in my old Breakers hoodie is something else, and I can’t tear my eyes away from her if I wanted to.

“So, where do we go from here?” she asks, a slight waver in her voice. She’s nervous as hell, but she’s trying not to look it.

“I’m not sure...” I tell her honestly, crossing my arms and widening my stance. After everything that happened last night, I’m not sure I can bring myself to chain her back up in order to torture the information I need out of her.“How often do you get migraines like that?”

Her face pinches, and she looks uncomfortable. “Not too often—it’s worse when I’m stressed… a side effect of the concussion…” she trails off, breaking our gaze. From the car bomb, I finish her sentence, having read through Liam’s research thoroughly. Rory had been fifteen feet away when the bomb went off, killing her mother instantly and nearly killing her. She’d been lucky to walk away…

Her eyes linger on the photo frames I have sitting along my window sill. She’s staring at one in particular; the one of my siblings and me with our dad. The last one we took, in fact. When she speaks, her voice is quiet, tired even,“I don’t know if my father had anything to do with your father’s death.” She peeks up at me.

I stay quiet, letting her continue.

“I stay far away from the—from the family business.” She says, carefully reading my face. Tensed like a deer in the sights of a wolf. Ready to bolt at the first sign of danger.

I nod, “I should’ve known as much.” In my anger over finding out who she actually was, I hadn’t considered what information she may or may not have access to. Seeing her with Reagan at breakfast got me thinking. We keep our sister as far away from the family business as we can.

The way she’s looking at me… Koen and I need to rethink our play here. I know without a doubt, I will not be able to put a bullet in this girl.But using Rory to leverage a deal with the Russians may only alienate the Irish further. We need to be working on alliances, not pushing the Russians further into the Italians’ hands.

There’s a knock at my door. Both of us turn right as Koen bursts in, not waiting for a response, Liam close behind him. I can tell by both of their faces something’s happened.

“What is it?” I push off the bureau I was leaning against and see Rory, skirting toward the left side of the room, putting me between her and my brothers.

Interesting .

“Alex’s been made.”

Everything stops. My blood goes cold. “Where is he?” I pray for the slight chance he escaped before the Russians could get a hold of him.

“The Bratva have him.” Koen’s face is grave as he confirms my worst fears, a tortured look in his eyes. It’s rare for my brother to show emotion, but the Russians have Alex.

“Trade me.” Her voice startles me. Startles all of us. I’d almost forgotten she was in the room after Koen’s news.

All eyes turn to Rory.Worry clouds her blue eyes. Her mouth tightens into a thin line. “The Bratva will trade Alexei for me—Alex,” she nods, certain of her words, “but you need to make the call now before...”

All of us know what the Russians do to traitors. The same thing we would. Admitting to stealing the Russian’s little angel may kick off a new war between the Irish and the Bratva, but it’s likely Alex’s only chance.

Koen looks to both Liam and me before stalking out of the room, his phone in hand.

“Looks like you found your ticket home, princess.” There’s a slight resignation in my tone. I don’t know why, but I have an overwhelming urge to lock her back up in my room and never let her go. I shove it away, focusing on my worry for Alex.

Rory frowns, her eyes trailing over to my wall of windows and she stops at the one looking out over the small courtyard garden. Her fingers clench and unclench at her sides several times before she lets out a steadying breath and turns to face me.

“When do we leave?”