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)
There was no choice, as much as he hated to admit it. “Fine. You’re in.”
“Delightful. We’ll meet in neutral territory. I trust you’ll ensure that James Halloran minds his manners.” Dmitri ended the call.
Aiden leaned against the railing and glared out into the night, wondering where the fuck he’d gone wrong. He was supposed to be orchestrating the downfall of Romanov to ensure that he didn’t end up actually marrying Keira, and yet here he was, working with him again to bring down a common enemy.
The world had gone topsy-turvy when he wasn’t looking. He felt like he was moving through a foreign land without a map or compass. It didn’t matter. He wouldn’t let it.
All that mattered was the bottom line.
Chapter Twenty
Charlie picked at her breakfast, not feeling much like eating. She took a bite of the eggs out of principle. With all the chaos going on, she needed her strength. Waking up alone—again—had put her in a foul mood. Add to that the fact that Keira wasn’t in her room and Liam wasn’t lurking at the bottom of the stairs like she was used to and she felt completely out of place.
The two men who worked in the kitchen took pity on her and threw together a late breakfast, even though it was obvious that they were on the way out the door. Now she sat alone, wishing she’d just gone back to sleep instead of coming downstairs.
Footsteps had her perking up, and for half a second, she thought the man who walked through the door was Aiden. But then his features registered. Seamus. She braced herself, but the contempt that appeared in his dark eyes still hit her hard enough that he might as well have reached across the kitchen island and slapped her.
Seamus O’Malley crossed his arms over his chest and looked her up and down—or at what he could see of her upper half. “At least my son has good taste, even if thinking with his dick has put our family in jeopardy.”
Even though she knew that was the part she played and a necessary one at that, irritation bloomed. “I happen to like his dick quite a bit. And you’ve already made your opinion known. Now you’re just being mean.”
He cocked his head to the side. “What I can’t figure out is how you got Liam on board. He’s usually the more levelheaded of the two, and he won’t hear a word spoken against you. Are you fucking him as well?”
Charlie carefully set aside her fork, because if she didn’t stop holding it right now, she’d throw it at him. She pushed back her stool and stood. He was the same height as Aiden, so he towered over her, even with the table between them. Every instinct she had screamed not to show Seamus her back. She lifted her chin, refusing to let him intimidate her. “If I was fucking him, it wouldn’t be any of your business.”
“Wrong, girl. Anything and everything that happens in this house—with my children or my men—is my business.”
She widened her eyes and pressed a hand to her chest. “Your men? Oh my God, I’m sorry. I didn’t know Liam’s dick had your name tattooed across it.”
She expected him to come at her. Most straight men with anger issues couldn’t stand even the slightest homoerotic accusation leveled at them.
Seamus surprised her, though. He raised his eyebrows in an expression that almost perfectly mirrored the one Aiden had given her just hours before. The similarity made her skin crawl. He shook his head. “You aren’t doing yourself, or my son, any favors by continuing this charade. You can’t make it in this life—your temper is going to get you both into hot water, and it’s Aiden who will have to get you out again.” He reached into his jacket. “How much?”
“Excuse me?” She was still trying to process the lightning-fast change in his demeanor, and it took his pulling out a pen for her to understand what he meant. “You can’t pay me off.”
“I think we both know that’s not true.” He opened his checkbook. “A hundred thousand should be enough, don’t you think?” Seamus glanced at her. “Don’t look like I just kicked your puppy, girl. You might love fucking my son, but you don’t love him. Anyone with eyes can see that. Take the money and get something better than a bullet for your troubles.”
She swallowed past a suddenly dry throat. This conversation was like barreling down a winding road in the middle of the night with no headlights. “Are you threatening me?”
“I don’t have to. Someone else already has your number, don’t they? Neither of my daughters have been attacked in over a year, and you come along and, within days, there’s a drive-by. Coincidence? I think we both know it’s not.”