Killian #3
She looks terrified and exhausted.
A girl who’s been running for so long she’s forgotten how to stop.
You’d think I’d take pity on her, but there’s no pity to be found on my end—as promised, I’m fucking furious.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I roar. “Didn’t I tell you to behave yourself? Didn’t I fucking tell you what would happen if you pulled this shit?”
“You’re not the boss of me!” she fires back, clutching her backpack to her chest. “I can do whatever I want! You don’t get it, you just don’t—”
“You’re right, I don’t get it!” I close the gap between us, getting right up in her face to chew her out. “I don’t get why you’re such a fucking headcase! I’m trying to keep you alive and you keep fighting it like you’ve got a death wish!”
“Leave me alone!”
“If I leave you alone, you’ll be dead within forty-eight hours! Is that what you want?”
“You think I care?!”
Her voice cracks in the middle, breaking off on the last syllable. The fight suddenly drains out of her, her shoulders slumping as even her large glasses can’t hide the tears glossing to the surface.
“I don’t care what happens to me,” she whispers. “All that matters is Eva. I have to save Eva.”
I stare at her, my anger faltering in the face of her anguish. “Who the fuck is Eva?”
Jhene shakes her head, pulling off her glasses to swipe at her eyes. She’s so damn small and pitiful, so fucking vulnerable it instantly pulls at what little heart I do have.
I grab her elbow and give her a light shake. “Tell me.”
“My sister,” she chokes out, shoving her glasses back on. “My younger sister. Fedorov still has her. I have to... I have to get her back. I can’t leave Brooklyn. I can’t go upstate and leave her behind.”
The entire situation clicks into place in a way it hasn’t before.
Jhene’s not running from me. She’s not being difficult just to be difficult. She’s trying to save her sister—probably the only family she’s got left—held hostage by the same monster who kept her in a cage.
My mind goes to Maeve.
My baby sister’s all grown up now, living in California with her husband and her fancy psychology degree. She’s a woman in her own right, building a career and a life that has nothing to do with the shithole we grew up in.
But in my head, she’s still the little girl with skinned knees and freckled, tear-streaked cheeks. Still the kid who used to hide behind me when our father came home raging drunk and looking for somebody to hit.
If somebody had Maeve—if they were hurting her—I would stop at nothing ’til I got her back. I’d fuck up anybody who stood in my way.
As defenseless as Jhene comes across, it’s obvious she feels the same about her sister. She’s willing to put her own life on the line for her.
The anger drains out of me, replaced by understanding. By a new sense of respect.
“Alright,” I grunt. “If they’ve got your sister… that’s to be addressed. You can’t do that by heading off upstate.”
She blinks up at me, confusion flickering across her heart-shaped face. “What?”
“You heard me. You’re staying. But you’ve got to trust me, girl.” I edge closer and hold her gaze hostage with only a few inches separating us. “I’m gonna help you get your sister back. But no more running off on your own. No more secrets. You got it?”
“You’re serious?”
“Wouldn’t make the offer if I wasn’t. What d’you say? We got a deal?”
Her teeth rake over her bottom lip in thought, then she slowly nods. “Okay… deal.”
“I mean it, girl. We do this together. That’s the only way.”
When she nods a second time, I jerk my own head, motioning it toward the entrance of the alleyway.
“Then let’s get the fuck outta here.”
We walk out of the alley side by side, her backpack slung over her shoulder and our bodies almost close enough to touch. The adrenaline’s starting to fade, leaving behind a fatigue that settles into my muscles.
I’ve made a decision that’s going to change everything.
Helping Jhene get her sister back means going up against Fedorov and the Bratva.
It means war.
People will probably get killed. Territories will be fought over.
The future of our families will be up in the air.
But thinking about the lengths I’d go to for Maeve makes it all make sense in my head. It convinces me I’m making the right call… even if the rest of the clan might not agree.
“Hey,” I say as we walk down the block. “You hungry?”
Jhene glances up at me, surprise flickering in her large dark eyes. “Hmm?”
“I asked if you’re hungry. Simple question.”
She’s quiet for a second, then the corner of her mouth twitches. Not exactly a smile—I’ve realized she doesn’t smile often, or really ever—but it’s close.
“Yeah,” she admits softly. “I’m pretty hungry.”
“Good. We’ll hit up that diner a few blocks down. You seemed to like the food last time we were there,” I reply, shoving both hands in my pockets. “But this time, you’re ordering your own damn food. You’re a big girl. You can make those kinds of decisions on your own.”
She almost rolls her eyes despite how, for once, she seems tempted to laugh. “I’ll give it my best shot.”