Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 100416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 502(@200wpm)___ 402(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
A familiar form detached himself from the shadows—familiar and wrong. Keira shot a look around and hurried over. “Mark? What the hell are you doing here?” She grabbed his muscular arm. “Get out of here before someone sees you. And you can tell Aiden to shove his rescue mission—”
“I’m not here for you.”
She froze, the pieces clicking together so quickly, it was a wonder they didn’t a make an actual sound. “Aiden sent you for the Eldridges.”
“For Mae,” he corrected.
It was right about then that Keira realized she didn’t know much about Mark at all. Liam was the one who had been friends with Aiden since forever. Mark was just Liam’s cousin who couldn’t adapt to civilian life after he got out of whatever branch of the military he’d been in and needed a job. Sure, Mark had been her babysitter more often than not for several years, but that didn’t mean a damn thing. He was a shadow. He sure as hell wasn’t a friend.
She removed her hand from his arm, but didn’t step back. “If you’re here with Dmitri’s permission, that’s one thing, but don’t think for a second of playing the Lone Ranger and fucking up our plans.”
He smirked. “You can let Romanov know that I’ll play nice… for now.”
Which was as good as saying he wouldn’t the second it suited him. She clenched her fists at her side and strove to keep her aggravation out of her tone. “If you do something that causes the Eldridges to escape, Dmitri will be the least of your concerns.”
Mark stepped close, towering over her. “Pay attention, little girl, because I’m only going to say this once—stay the fuck out of my way. You might be playing wifey to that Russian bastard, but that doesn’t make you shit. You’re not an O’Malley anymore, and that means I won’t hesitate to put you in your place if you get between me and my mark.”
If she didn’t do something to regain the power of this situation, that would be the end of it. Mark had never been a particularly nice guy from what she’d seen, but he looked seriously unhinged in that moment. Mae shot Liam. He hadn’t died, but it was a close thing. It stood to reason that Mark would want revenge.
Too fucking bad.
Keira stepped back, putting a reasonable distance between them, and raised her voice. “Pavel?”
Just as she’d suspected, he appeared from where he’d been lurking, monitoring the situation. Whether it was for her protection or because he thought she’d turn on Dmitri was irrelevant. She jerked her chin at Mark. “Remove this man from the house.”
Mark froze. “What the fuck did you just say?”
But Pavel was already moving, another man appearing behind him. She made a mental note to memorize the names of all the men in the house as they took Mark to the floor and pulled zip ties from somewhere to fasten his hands behind him and bind his ankles together. It wasn’t quick and it wasn’t easy—Pavel was bleeding from the nose by the end of it—but they managed. They flipped Mark onto his back, and only then did she approach again.
Keira leaned over and raked a glance over him from head to toe. “My husband will hold to whatever agreement he and Aiden made. I revoke whatever permission you had to be in this house before the reception, so you’ll have to find other arrangements. If you’re caught trespassing, I can’t be held accountable for the consequences—and you can relay that to my brother.” She straightened and nodded at Pavel. “Please see him out.”
They picked Mark up and strode away, his curses echoing the halls for several long moments after they disappeared from view. Keira turned away and picked a door at random, ending up in a small powder room. She locked the door and leaned against it. Only then did she start to shake.
Sheer bravado. That’s all her act had been—an act. She hadn’t known for sure that Pavel would appear and obey. He said he could be trusted, but that didn’t mean a damn thing until Dmitri confirmed it. It was a gamble that Pavel would do what she commanded even if it potentially counteracted Dmitri’s initial order.
Mark’s words played through her head. You aren’t an O’Malley anymore. It was nothing more than the truth, though a truth she hadn’t been ready to face. She still wasn’t ready to face it. Too bad she didn’t have any choice.
To distract herself, she pulled out her phone and sent a quick text. Kicked O’Malley man out of the house. Aiden will be pissed, but it was necessary.
Dmitri didn’t make her wait long for a reply. Noted. I’ll call shortly. Stay with Pavel. Quickly followed by a second text. Please.
She let her head fall back to rest against the door. This little breakdown couldn’t last long—Claudia would be waiting by now. She had to put on a smile and pretend everything was perfectly fine when all she really wanted to do was go to the nearest liquor store and buy the biggest bottle of vodka they had in stock. Her mouth actually watered as she spent several precious seconds imagining the taste of it hitting her tongue and the way it would burn her throat and warm her stomach, of the precious numbness that would spread in its wake, until she didn’t care about anything but her next sip.