Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Killian
Seated at the head of the long rectangular table in his dining room, Killian let his gaze travel over his gathered family.
To his immediate right sat Brody, one of his cousins and his right-hand man.
From the moment Killian had stepped up as the head of the family, Brody had been by his side.
With a temper as fiery as his hair, Brody never could have taken Killian’s role, but he was smart as hell and never backed down from a fight.
Both were qualities their family was going to need in spades moving forward.
At the opposite end of the table was Reagan, her dark hair pulled back from her face and her dark eyes full of barely repressed fury. Even though he hadn’t yet told her about the events of the day, she clearly knew something was up and was prepared to do battle right alongside him and Brody.
Next were the twins, Lochlan and Tiernan, in the two seats down from Brody.
Both looked, as they always did, more entertained than angry.
When it came to doing the dirty work that often needed to be done to protect their family interests, Lochlan could be counted on to torture whatever information they needed out of a rival family with a smile on his face.
Tiernan was no less cheerful about his role of hunting down Lochlan’s prey.
The fact that they were nearly impossible to tell apart aside from the scar one of Tiernan’s ex-lovers had left him with only made them that much more unsettling.
Last, seated alone on the opposite side of the table from Brody and the twins was Murphy, the oldest of all of them by nearly a decade.
Despite that, he’d never wanted the top spot in the family, preferring instead to live a quiet life as far away from the ‘family business’ as he could manage.
He could be counted on to look at a problem from every possible angle and point out the flaws in any given plan, but Killian did his best to respect Murphy’s wishes to be left out of the… messier aspects of the business.
Unfortunately for all of them, this was an all-hands-on-deck kind of situation. And it was about to get very, very messy.
“Thank you all for coming on such short notice.”
He was well aware his voice was more formal than usual, earning him raised brows from the twins and a frown from Murphy. Brody and Reagan both simply watched him, waiting for him to share his news.
“This afternoon, I went to visit Richard Williams to tell him I was breaking off my engagement to his daughter. Nikolai Markov was there.”
“He’s in bed with the fucking Russians?” The low, deadly growl came from his right. His hand clenched into a fist atop the gleaming table, Brody’s expression moved to one of pure fury. “How did we miss that?”
“I don’t know. Most likely guess is they were both just playing their cards extra close to the vest. If anyone in Markov’s outfit had known, Lochlan would have figured it out by now.”
“Damn right I would have.” For once, Lochlan didn’t look amused. He looked just as pissed as Brody, likely because this incredibly vital information had somehow slipped past him.
Killian had absolute faith it wouldn’t happen again.
“Back up for a moment, big brother.” Reagan’s gaze zeroed in on him. “Why were you breaking off your engagement?”
“Weren’t you listening, Rae?” Sneering, Lochlan waved a hand in Killian’s direction. “He found out Williams is cavorting with the Russians behind our back.”
“No. He said he was already planning to break off the engagement. Why?”
Every gaze in the room locked in on him and it was only the years he’d spent training himself not to outwardly show any emotion his enemies could use against him that kept him from shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
“That’s the other bit of news I wanted to share with you. I’m going to be a father.”
Silence, so complete it felt as though the sound had been physically sucked from the room, greeted his announcement.
“Portia is pregnant?”
“Keep up, Loch,” Reagan said mildly, her voice deceptively even. “If it was Portia, he wouldn’t be breaking off his engagement. So who is it?”
It wouldn’t be Portia, anyway, because he’d never touched her. He’d meant it when he’d called their engagement a business arrangement. He’d never so much as kissed her, never mind had an opportunity to knock her up.
But there was no reason to get into the weeds on that front. Just like there was no reason to beat around the bush about the identity of the mother of his child when they’d find out soon enough. “Aria Elliott.”
It was, surprisingly, Murphy who spoke up. “Braden Elliott’s daughter?”
“Yes.”
“As well as Desmond and Sebastian’s niece.”
The reminder that Aria had not just one but two uncles who, although retired from the force, could still make their lives a living hell, had Killian fighting back a wince. “The one and only.”
Leaning back in his chair, Murphy let out a long, low whistle. “When you screw the pooch, you do a damn thorough job.”
“I’m aware. There’s the added complication that she hates my guts and doesn’t want to have anything to do with me.”
Reagan’s lips curved, but there was no humor in the gesture. “I like her already. Bring her to Sunday dinner.”
“Did you miss the part where I said she hates my guts?”
Reagan lifted a shoulder in a totally unbothered shrug. “Kidnap her if you have to. Or have Lochlan do it, he gets off on that kind of thing.”
Down the table, Lochlan sat up straighter, his eyes lighting with excitement. “Just tell me where and when, boss.”
It could be necessary, down the road. But for now, he was going to have to disappoint his cousin. “As much as I appreciate your enthusiasm, I can handle her just fine on my own. She’ll be here for dinner.”
“Good.” Reagan gave a sharp nod. “What’s her favorite food?”
“I don’t know. We weren’t exactly making small talk the last time I saw her.”
“I’m glad you can make jokes when we’ve just lost our one good prospect for the docks and found out he’s in bed with the Russians,” Brody ground out. “This is serious, Killian.”
“I’m aware.” And getting really fucking tired of repeating myself. “But thankfully we haven’t signed any contracts with Williams, so it should be a clean break.”
“Unless he decides to make trouble.”
“If he knows what’s good for him, he won’t.”
Brody shook his head. “He’s got the Russians on his side, he might be feeling brave. We can’t let our guard down.”
“Fair enough.” Casting his gaze down the table, he locked eyes with the as-yet silent twin. “Tiernan, keep an eye on Williams. There’s always the possibility he’s in bed with others as well.”
Tiernan inclined his head in acknowledgment of the order. “What about your ex-fiancée?”
“I doubt Portia knows anything.” But then, he wouldn’t have expected this level of betrayal from her father, either, so clearly his radar was off where the Williamses were concerned. “But I’ll call Boone, see if he wouldn’t mind babysitting her for a bit.”
At that, Tiernan’s brows rose. “You must be really worried if you’re calling in the bikers.”
“I am,” he confessed, though it grated to say it out loud. “This has blindsided us, and I’m going to be… preoccupied with planning another wedding and preparing for the baby. We need all the hands and eyes we can get. And I trust Boone to keep her safe as well if anything does happen.”
“Not questioning you, Kill. Just observing.”
“I know.” And because it was them, he let some of the exhaustion he was feeling slip through.
“I’m more sorry than I can say that I missed this, and that I’ve further complicated things by bringing the Elliotts into the mix.
I would understand completely if you’d all rather I step aside and let Reagan take the reins. ”
“Absolutely not.” Dark eyes blazing with righteous fury, Reagan glared daggers through him. “We don’t kick our own to the curb because they fucked up, no matter how royally they might have done so.”
Relief loosened some of the knots in his stomach. Even more so when the others nodded along with his sister’s declaration. “I appreciate it. You should all get going. I’ll see you Sunday night for dinner.”
They took their leave, each of his cousins stopping to clap him on the shoulder with a mixture of sympathy and congratulations. Until it was just him and Reagan left at the oversized table.
“I suppose news such as this calls for a drink.”
He watched her rise, her movements stiff, and bit back a sigh. “Go on, then. Let me have it.”
Glancing over from where she stood at the wet bar pouring them each a generous glass of whiskey, Reagan raised a brow. “And what, exactly, is it that you think I should be letting you have?”
“I fucked up. With Williams, with Aria.”
“Aye.” Setting one of the heavy crystal tumblers on the table in front of him, she took Brody’s usual seat, her expression carefully guarded. “But you’ll take care of Williams and find us a new prospect for the docks. And I have no doubt you’ll win Aria over sooner rather than later.”
“So why are you so pissed?”
“You didn’t tell me.”
No, not pissed, he realized too late. Hurt. It was there in her eyes, just the faintest glimmer of it she let shine through. “What do you mean? I just told you all I know.”
“You didn’t tell me about the baby, about breaking off your engagement. I had to find out with the rest of the family. I’m your sister, Killian. That’s supposed to mean something.”
“Ah, hell.” Raking a hand through his hair, he blew out a breath. “I suppose that makes me a bit of an asshole.”
“More than a bit. We’re supposed to be a team. But we can’t be anything if you’re keeping secrets.”
“It wasn’t like that, Rae, I promise.” Leaning forward, he laid a hand on her arm, let the vulnerability he’d never show to the rest of the family come to the surface.
“But you’re right. You should have been my first call, and the only defense I have is that I was so caught up in the shock of it all I wasn’t thinking straight. Forgive me?”
“Of course I do. But I reserve the right to be pissed at you a little while longer.”
“Fair enough.”
They sipped their whiskey in silence for several long minutes before she spoke again. “She was the one from that night, after Braden’s wedding. When you came home looking like the cat who’d just swallowed the canary whole.”
“Aye, she was.”
“Good.”
Pausing with his glass inches from his lips, he raised a brow. “Good?”
“Yes. I’ve seen you countless times after countless one-night stands or nights at the clubs. But I’ve never seen you look like that.”
“Like what?”
“Happy.”
The simple response shocked him into silence for a long moment. “I’ve been happy before, Rae.”
She shook her head, her jaw setting in that stubborn way she had. “Not like that. You were… glowing.”
“I was absolutely not glowing.”
“You were.” Sounding much more chipper now, she grinned over the rim of her glass.
“Walking on air, floating on cloud nine. If there was a cliché for happiness, you fit the bill that night. But then you came home the next morning and I knew something had gone wrong. All that happiness was just wiped right out of you again. I always wondered what happened.”
There was no point in keeping secrets now. “I found out she was Braden’s daughter. And once she found out who I was, she couldn’t stand the sight of me.”
It hurt, even now, to remember the venom dripping from her voice when she’d call him a “fucking mob boss” as if that was all he was, all he could ever be.
Sometimes it seemed as though he was fighting a losing battle, trying to get his family free of their illegal ties so they could be more than just criminals.
But now he had an entirely new reason to fight, didn’t he? The son or daughter the universe had seen fit to gift him. His child deserved the chance to grow up without that shadow of who his father was and what he’d done.
So he’d give him or her that chance. Even if he had to burn the city he loved to the ground in the process.