22. Kostalova
22
KOSTALOVA
AIDAN
M y mind is racing, and I can feel both Koen’s and Alex’s eyes on me as I storm down the hall and cross into the living room. Collapsing into the recliner, I absently rub my bandaged forearm.
“This is not good.” Koen’s hard gaze lands on me.
“If that wasn’t obvious…” I mutter. Leaning forward, I pull my hand down my face. Fuck , I need to sleep.
Liam pops his head out of the kitchen at the sound of my voice. “Remember, we have practice in an hour.”
I let out a low growl of frustration, burying my face in both my hands for a second. “Yep—right—okay.” I roll my shoulders back, like I can shake off this exhaustion, before turning toward Alex and Liam. “Let’s make this quick.”
I’d been out of this shit for so long I forgot how much of a toll it took on my life. I’ve been burning the candle at both ends over the past couple of weeks, trying to keep up with the team while dealing with all of this on the side.
The death of a boss was a dangerous time in the mafia world. A period of instability, transition of power—it was the perfect time to take advantage. After our father’s death, so many things had gone awry. Shipments had gone missing, product was destroyed—raids like the one on Kostalov—gone wrong. I’m starting to think there could be no explanation other than sabotage…
“Kostalov has a daughter?” Koen asks.
I shake my head, still stunned at the development. “No wonder Adrik has his men out there, tearing this city apart after we hit Elements. We stole the man’s daughter . We keep this in-house for now,” I say, looking each of my brothers in the eye.
They dip their chins in agreement, understanding what’s at stake.
“Guess you found the leverage in Kostalov’s office, after all,” Liam muses.
“A heads up would have been nice.” I glare at Alex.
Alex’s hands go up in self defense. “I sent you in for Adrik’s ledger, not his daughter! I didn’t even know she was missing! Adrik’s had me overseeing all the new guys he brought in for the Cartel this week.”
“Why doesn’t anyone know about her?” I direct my question to the group, but zero in on Alex as I amend my former question. “Why didn’t we know about her?”
“Hey, you said need to know only. That means intel on shipments, changes in Bratva leadership, locations and deals. If I revealed information about Kostalov’s daughter, it could easily be traced back to me.”
“I don’t get it.” Koen leans forward, his hands clasped together in thought. “Why keep his daughter a secret?”
Alex gives him a look. “Obviously, to avoid a situation such as the one she’s found herself in now; to keep her from being a target—like Reagan is.” We all sit a little straighter at the mention of our sister. In danger all her life for the last name she had no choice in.
Reagan hates the fact she requires an escort nearly everywhere she goes. But with that fiery hair of hers, there’s no hiding her in plain sight.
“Find anything?” Liam had been working on fact checking Rory’s original story. Back when I was still hoping for her innocence. Now that we have the new facts, I’m sure he’s already begun trying to piece together the puzzle.
Liam nods,pulling out his laptop. “Aurora is the product of one of Adrik’s extramarital affairs. She and Niko are half-siblings. When Adrik found out about the baby, he sent his mistress away to raise her.” He pauses for a bit, reading through his notes. “In Canada. He kept them comfortable, so long as Rory took figure skating lessons.”
That last bit needles me a little. Growing up in hockey, you could always tell the kids that were there because they loved it versus if their parents willed it. The videos Liam and I watched last night of some of Rory’s competitions showed off her skills. Bratva princess or not, the girl was talented. But I wonder how much of a choice Rory had in it all.
“So what changed?” Koen asks, thinking along the same line as me. Something had to have changed for Adrik to expose his daughter like this after all this time. “Why bring her back to Boston? Why now?”
Liam’s jaw clenches. “I don’t know yet, haven’t gotten that far.” He types something into his computer and shakes his head again.
Alex clears his throat, earning all of our attention. His voice is low and so we all lean in slightly to hear it.
“I don’t have all the details but—” he hesitates, clearly a little conflicted on sharing. “—there was a hit on the mother. The two were compromised somehow. Someone found out about them and tried to take them out. Maybe for revenge on Adrik, but no one ever claimed responsibility. Adrik moved Rory into the mansion full time a little over a year ago, for her safety.”
“Shit.” Liam’s eyes are on the floor.
Koen’s silent.
“Was she there?” I ask Alex. “Rory?”
“For the hit?” he asks.
I nod.
“Yeah, she was home from school on holiday, a couple of weeks before graduation. But she was supposed to be at the rink. It was only luck that Rory survived it. She spent weeks in the hospital.” He looks between us before uttering the words, “Car bomb.” My jaw clenches. Our father was killed the same way.
“That’s a tough go,” Liam whispers, his eyes on me.
“Yeah, but most mafia kids have similar sad tales.” Koen shakes his head, reminding us not to feel bad for our enemy. “It only makes her more valuable as a bargaining chip. Adrik clearly cares for her.” He levels a glare in my direction.
That’s fair. “It’s not like I knew I was bringing Aurora Kostalova into our family home, Koen.” I turn back to Alex. “How close are she and Adrik? Would he have confided anything in her?”
It’s been weeks since the hit on our father. Alex hasn’t been able to turn up any concrete evidence to prove it was Adrik, other than Declan O’Rourke’s death being advantageous for the Bratva.The skin trade within the city, which our father was firmly against, had exploded in the wake of his death. Hockey season’s right around the corner and I need this shit wrapped the fuck up.
“I don’t know.” Alex shrugs. “I’m hardly ever allowed in the house and they’re never out in public together. She never talks about him. They could be, but it’s hard to say. Adrik’s a hard guy to read.”
He’s got that right. Adrik’s most dangerous quality is that no one ever knows how he’s going to react. When you think he’s going to bob, he weaves, and when you think he’s about to weave, he blows all of it to pieces.
Koen stands up, checking the time on his watch. “Aidan, you keep working her over. If she knows anything, we need to get it out of her.” He swings his head in Alex’s direction. “It’s good to finally know what the fuck you do for the Russians, Alex. But we did say ‘ need-to-know’.”
Getting Alex as far as we have into the Bratva has been no simple task. When his mother died, our parents took him in, raising the lad right alongside us. But around the age of fifteen, his father suddenly made an appearance. Fresh off the boat from Russia, he took his son away from the Irish, ensuring the Bratva would toughen him up.
But Alex’s loyalties remain with us, and he’s happy to play both sides of the coin. It’s a risky job, should his duality be discovered.
Koen continues, “I will see what kind of deal we might extract from Adrik using our little bargaining chip.”
I nod in agreement, though my thoughts are elsewhere.
“Aidan and I need to get the fuck to practice before Coach benches both our asses.” Liam closes his laptop and starts herding me toward the door.
“No one goes into that room until I get back.” I don’t move until each one of them agrees.
Aurora Kostalova is mine .
Mine alone to deal with.