15. Hotshot
15
HOTSHOT
AIDAN
B efore long, Liam appears in the doorway. He looks from the broken glass and back at me with a frown. “It’s four a.m.”
I nod absently. One thing I love about Liam—he knows when to keep his mouth shut. “Call Ryan.”
I haven’t been involved with the family business for a few years. Both Liam and I have an early morning practice at the Edge. There are a lot of new and unfamiliar faces, and right now, I need someone I trust .
Alex Ryan and I go back—way back. He might not have the O’Rourke name, but he’s as much my brother as Liam and Koen are.
Koen talks a big talk, but he won’t interfere in my business. But I wouldn’t put it past Jimmy and his crew to come here and take care of things themselves.
If Liam wasn’t on the Breakers alongside me, I would’ve preferred to leave him in charge. But Ryan will do.
We make it to the rink just in time, after I made sure Ryan had explicit instructions not to go anywhere near the lockers or the girl.
Rory .
Leave it to Coach to call an early morning practice the day after an Irish raid.I’ve been lucky so far in that my associations haven’t impeded my hockey career. While I’ve done my best to keep it quiet, the few guys in the league who hail from Boston know exactly who I am.
And what I’m capable of.
Only my reputation has kept them from running their mouths to the press, although there has always been speculation. The media may have taken a turn for the negative after last season, and if I can’t turn it around, I’m facing a trade deal or worse— no deal at all .
While I trust Alex with my life, I put the fear of God into him before we left. No one gets in the warehouse, and no one goes out without my say-so.He doesn’t even have to know why, or whom, I’ve got back there.Ryan—being Ryan—doesn’t even ask.
The locker door is well and truly barred shut. Stronger men than Rory have tried, and failed, to escape the Irish lockers. She isn’t going anywhere.I try to push the girl out of my head.
It’s only a matter of time before Jimmy figures out exactly where I stashed the girl and takes matters into his own hands. He blew up Liam’s phone until five a.m., presumably because he passed out. But I know he won’t let it go. The Russians don’t know who hit them, and they’re pissed the fuck off about it. We can’t afford any loose ends; I can’t afford any loose ends.
Coach homes in on my distracted ass like he has a radar for these kinds of things.
“O’Rourke! Get your shit together or get off the ice!” Coach shouts as I hit the post on what should’ve been an easy pick up. “Run it again.”
I circle back into the lineup and wait my turn to run the drill again.
“Try not to fuck it up this time, hotshot.”
I don’t turn around; I know exactly whose smug ass voice is in my ear. Dex Lewandroski, the Breakers’ second line defenseman, has every reason to get in my head. He’s been after my first line spot since he signed with the team last spring. Not today, Dex.
I launch forward, my blades cutting hard into the ice as I round the turn. I surge down the ice, deke past the defenders, fake out Brooks, and sink the puck top shelf, upper right corner.
Skating back past Lewandroski, I can’t help but give him a little chin lift. Fuck you, asshole .
Through no small miracle, I hold my own for the rest of practice. I’m a mess of sweat by the time we hit the showers. I linger in the hot water, letting it pour over my head as I play back the events of the last 24 hours.Eyes heavy; I really need some fucking sleep.
I’d thought I was free of this shit, having left the family business behind to pursue hockey instead. But just as soon as I thought I was clear, they dragged me right back.
No one expected the hit that took out our father—and Alex’s uncle—Declan O’Rourke. And no one was talking about who had done it. Nothing in this world would’ve stopped Liam and me from returning to support Koen and to make those responsible bleed.
No one touches family.
The hot water soothes my aching muscles, the new bruises a small price to pay. Trying to balance the family with hockey was never part of the plan, and I was already on thin ice. I need to stay focused. There are grave consequences on both sides if I don’t.
Stay distracted in hockey and lose the league—everything I worked for. Get distracted in the mob—and lose my life.
I just need to keep my head on straight. First things first, figure out what the fuck to do with my little complication.
I throw open the locker door with a clang. After catching a few hours of sleep on a couch at the warehouse, I’m itching to force some answers out of Rory. I’m hoping several hours alone in the lockers have loosened her tongue. I need to know who she is and what the fuck she was doing with the Russians.
She’s on the floor, knees curled to her chest. At the sight of me, she presses her back against the wall. Her eyes snap to the gun in my hand.Dark circles ring her pretty blue eyes.
Good. Easier to break.
I lunge forward, dragging her up. She tries to resist, but it’s no use.
I drop her back into the bolted chair in the middle of the room. She lands with a groan and then freezes when I move in on her, stopping inches from her face. I’m so close I can smell her flowery scent, salty with the tears she’s tried her best to hide from me.
I use the tip of my gun to push an errant strand of hair out of her eyes. She shivers at the touch of the cold metal against her skin. I trace the barrel down the side of her cheek and watch as the tip of it pulls against her bottom lip.
There’s no crying, no pleading; she doesn’t beg. My gun digs into the hollow of her cheek, and Rory just scowls at me. The blue-gray in her eyes shimmer in the bright overhead light like polished silver.
“Tie her hands.”
Liam lingers in the doorway behind me. I don’t need to look to know he’s there. Without a word or argument, he circles around behind the girl.
To her credit, Rory doesn’t take her eyes off of me or my gun when he drops to a crouch behind her. Pulling her wrists together, he pulls out a pair of handcuffs and cinches them tight. She winces as the metal pinches against the already-abused wrists.
I crouch down until I’m at eye level. “Who are you?”
She blinks wearily at me. “I already told you?—”
“You told me nothing,” I cut her off, scowling at her. She’s got to give me something. “People don’t accidentally stumble into the Russian Pakhan’s office. You know something.”I nudge her head again with my gun. She’s afraid of it, but not the normal kind of afraid. Any other girl off the street would be in tears right now. Rory’s panic has ebbed away into anger. Her eyes darken to a stormy grey. She lifts her chin, holding my gaze.
“Rory Collins. Grew up in Canada. Graduated from Northwood Academy. I came to Boston to train with Karina Valgova and the Boston Belles, both of which you already know train out of the Breakers’ practice pavilion. You can check it.”
Her sass pisses me off. “Oh, I will.” I yank her up. “But until then, we’re going on a little field trip.” I shoot Liam a look, letting him know to go ahead and fact check the information Rory just spat at us.
I want to push her more, but Koen called a few minutes ago. A new shipment is coming in, and the warehouse will be buzzing in only a few hours. Rory can’t stay here.
A few of our guys have already arrived, prepping for the delivery.
I drag Rory out of the lockers alongside me as we walk down the hall. Her head darts back and forth, noticing the new guys. Her eyes plead with them for help, but she doesn’t call out, yell , or scream, realizing too soon there’s no help for her here.
They’re all on the O’Rourke payroll.
We step outside and her eyes close tight against the bright sunlight. I nudge her forward, opening the door to Liam’s SUV, and push her inside. With her hands bound behind her back, she has to shuffle awkwardly across the car seat.
Sliding in beside her, I watch as she stiffens in my close presence and then inches a little further away to put as much distance between us as she can.
Liam’s at the wheel, and in another moment, we’re on the road.
Pulling out my phone, I read over some new intel coming in after the hits we made on the Russian properties.Adrik has been rapidly expanding through the city, encroaching further and further into our territory. What we haven’t been able to figure out is where the fuck the money is coming from.
All signs continue to point to Adrik as the one who ordered the hit on our father. But I don’t have my smoking gun yet;The one we need in order to light them the fuck up. If I can prove the Russians are responsible, there won’t be a safe place in the city for them to hide.
I’ll take them all out.
Starting with the Kostalovs.
My frown deepens when I read the update I get from Jimmy. The Russians have not taken our hits lying down. Oh no, quite the opposite. They’ve been on an absolute rampage for the last eighteen hours, forcing us to pull in most of our guys, especially since the Italians appear to be helping the Russians. An unlikely turn of events none of us planned for.And one I’m still trying to figure out.
The relationship between the major players of the city has only been growing more tense as both the Italians and Russians are making plays to expand their territories. There are no alliances. The city is on the edge of war.
Stealing a glance to the side, I find Rory staring listlessly out the window, fighting sleep. She probably didn’t sleep at all in the lockers. I hold back my questions despite the prime opportunity to grill her on her story.
It’s not long before we pull into the underground garage of our destination.Opening the door, I escort the little Bratva mystery to the elevator, nodding at security as we pass by. She makes eye contact with him but stays quiet.
I’m not worried. He’s ours too.This entire building belongs to us.
We ride up in silence to the top floor. The private elevator opens right into the loft with a turn of my key.
Koen is lounging on the sectional. He sits up, a look of confusion on his face as I walk Rory right past him toward the bedrooms.
The loft is ours. The four O’Rourke siblings: Koen, Liam, Reagan and me.
And until I get what I need out of her, Rory will stay here.
Where I can keep an eye on her.Where she’ll be safe .
Safe from everyone but me.