Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 99191 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 496(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99191 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 496(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
It was equally likely that whoever that player was would come after them, if only to ensure that they wouldn’t try to get back into the game.
No, there were no other options but to continue forward, bearing the price and doing whatever it took to guarantee that they stayed in power—stayed as safe as anyone could be in this life.
He turned away from the dead men. “This doesn’t read like Romanov.” As much as he’d like to lay the whole damn problem at the Russian’s feet, it didn’t line up.
“No, it doesn’t.” Liam fell into step next to him as they walked up the stairs to the garage. “How sure are you of the Eldridges?”
“Not sure enough.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Fuck, this is my fault, isn’t it?” He should have just left well enough alone, or gone after Romanov himself instead of putting together a plan that involved far too many wild cards. He couldn’t control Alethea. That was abundantly clear.
“You didn’t order a hit on your woman and sisters.” Liam shook his head. “Don’t go taking this on, too. You know damn well that we can’t predict every move every enemy will make.”
He did know that. It didn’t make it any easier to bear. “I should have known she’d go after the women.” That was what bothered him the most about the situation. There was a time when even the most twisted of enemies would hesitate to strike out against the women and children of a family, but it appeared they were long past it. If he was being honest, they’d been past it for a very long time now.
But Alethea was a woman. She wouldn’t have that same code.
Aiden stepped forward to grab the door and open it. “I would have predicted that she’d at least have waited until she took out Romanov to start looking to remove the other competition.”
A mistake they’d both made. Maybe if he’d consulted with Carrigan, she would have had better insight on the way Alethea’s mind worked. But he hadn’t.
Something else I needed to change…and now have an opportunity to do so because of Charlie.
“The question is how you’re going to respond.”
He followed Liam out into the night. They climbed a second set of stairs to the porch situated at the back of the house. Most of the family ignored it, preferring to either be inside or completely out of the house, but he and Liam had spent quite a few evenings out here, sharing a beer and just sitting in silence.
Silence wasn’t an option tonight. They needed a plan for moving forward. “What’s my father been up to today?” He hadn’t seen much of Seamus, which wasn’t comforting in the least. The man was up to something, and hell if he could figure out what it was.
Everyone in his fucking family seemed to be up to something these days.
“He’s been in meetings with the gunrunners. I don’t know where he’s planning on sending the shipment he’s currently negotiating.”
“Find out.” He needed to cut that shit off at the knees. Aiden hadn’t really expected his father to back off just because they’d exchanged words, but it appeared Seamus was more than happy to use his current distraction to undermine him. He couldn’t allow it to happen, no matter what else was going on.
They were only as strong as their foundation, and infighting would weaken the family at a time when they needed their strength the most.
“We need proof that it was the Eldridges. Once we have that, I’ll make my move.” He just needed to figure out what his move was going to be. He stood before an impossible choice. If he didn’t strike back after an attack like that, it would be a weakness his enemies would want to exploit. If he did, he ran the risk of screwing up his plans.
His original plan to set the Eldridges on Romanov and Romanov on the Eldridges was all well and good, but he couldn’t allow Romanov to fight his battles.
Or James Halloran, for that matter.
Fuck.
He pulled out his phone, cursing himself for not thinking of it sooner, and dialed James. He had the man’s number out of sheer necessity, though he hadn’t had cause to use it up to this point. It rang until he was sure it would click over to voicemail, and then a surly voice answered. “What do you want?”
There was no reason to mince words. James wouldn’t take it well if he tried to manipulate him. His only option was blunt honesty. “That attack was against Charlie and Keira, not Carrigan. I want you to stay out of it.”
“Too fucking bad. She has three sets of stitches and she’s cut all to hell. If your woman hadn’t reacted when she did, Carrigan would be dead. So don’t try to start a pissing contest with me, Aiden. You know who’s responsible? You had better fucking tell me, or you will be next on my list.”