67. Blades & Betrayal
67
BLADES & BETRAYAL
RORY
A fter about ten minutes of fruitless banging and throwing myself into the closet door, to no avail, I realize Aidan’s same bag of old hockey equipment is lying feet from me. He must have thrown it back in here after I left. Digging through it, I find my favorite pair of old hockey skates.
Gripping the skate tightly in my hands, I go savage on the closet door, the thick wood taking the brunt of my rage and the pent up frustration that has been building for weeks. I focus my attention near the doorknob, working to create a hole big enough for me to reach through and unlock it from the other side, when the door suddenly opens.
Mid-swing, I fall through the open doorway, both Liam and I screaming as he lunges to catch me while avoiding the blade I’m bringing down like a hammer.
We land in a heap on the floor.
“Goddamn girl, Aidan said you were crazy but?—”
“Where is he?” already halfway to my feet, skate in hand, ready to fight.
“He’s already gone,” Liam sighs, “and Alex and I are under explicit instructions to keep you here.”
I reel on him, the skate already out of my hands, flying over Liam’s head while he ducks dramatically before it lodges itself into a framed picture of Aidan skating in his Breakers uniform, glass shattering to the floor, fury drowning out the hurt.
Liam straightens, twisting behind him to catch sight of the skate half stuck in Aidan’s head before whipping back to me, “No need to draw the claws, little lion, just following orders.” He holds up his hands, feigning innocence as he scans over me, searching for the second skate I might have hidden behind my back.
Ignoring him, I sprint to the elevator and skid to a stop in front of it. A familiar keypad pops up when I hit the bottom and I let out a screech of frustration, turning to find Alexei watching me calmly from a few feet away, one eyebrow raised.
Liam appears, looking a little rough for wear, exchanging a look with Alexei.
“Open the door,” I demand, staring them both down.
“You know we can’t do that, Rory,” Alexei says, while having the audacity to look apologetic.
“Open the fucking door!” I slam my hand up against the keypad and the lights flash, but the door remains shut tight.
“He’s a big boy Rory, he’s made his decision…”
“He made the wrong decision. It should be me we’re trading for Reagan. Me,” the last word breaks on a sob.
Alexei steps forward, braving my fury and dodging my fists to drag me into a hug. I cry into his hard chest.
“Let me go after him,” I plead, my voice cracking.
“No can do, Princess,” Alexei says, trying his best to soothe me by running his hand down my hair. “He’d kill us.”
I pull out of his grasp, staring up at him with red-rimmed eyes. “He can’t kill you if he’s dead.”
“Oh, he’d find a way,” Liam grumbles, dismissing me as a threat and plopping down in a heap on the sectional. “He’d come back from the dead just to flay my ass.”
I roll my eyes before cracking a little smile, knowing Aidan would do just that. And then the hurt sets in again. I shove out of Alexei’s arms.
I storm back down the hall I came from. “Leave me alone,” I warn over my shoulder when I sense Alexei following me, my tone cold but broken.
Once out of their line of sight, I double over, hyperventilating and trying to pull myself back under control. After what takes embarrassingly too long, I finally catch my breath. Finding myself outside of Reagan’s door, I straighten, twisting the knob, and slipping inside.
Reagan’s room is neat and tidy, decorated with warm wood, creams and golds. And cold.
Seriously, it’s freezing in here.
I rub my hands over my arms, feeling a cool chill against my skin. Following the draft leads me to the window. The open window.
No way. I peer out and see a winding fire escape that twists and turns all the way to the ground.
Immediately, I turn, eyes scanning over the room. No signs of a struggle—no one heard anything… The made bed, the dresser, the desk…
I make my way toward the closed bathroom door when something on the light pine desk catches my attention.
Lifting the note with delicate fingers—as if it might disintegrate—my eyes scan over the words, heart pounding with greater intensity the further down I go. Cold trails up my spine when the realization sets in.
Cole DeLuca never had Reagan .
Because Reagan ran away. Climbed right out her own window. Tired of suffocating to death in her brick tower. Which means… Aidan is about to sacrifice himself for nothing…
Cole lied.
Frantically, I tear into my pocket, fumbling for my cell, and dial Aidan’s number. My hand covers my mouth when it goes straight to voicemail.
All this time and nobody thought to check her room. Fucking men.
Clutching the letter tight in my hand, I storm back out of the bedroom only to freeze at the chaotic scene I find taking place in the living room.
Armed men, dressed in black, fill the previously quiet space. Broken glass from the shattered windows glints up against the fading sunlight, spread all over the hardwood, crunching under the men’s boots.
I linger under the archway. They haven’t seen me yet. My eyes scan the scene, spotting Liam and Alexei, both bloody and on their knees, hands bound behind their backs. A large blonde Russian has Alexei’s shirt tight in his hold, the muzzle of his gun digging into his skull.
“I swear to God, if you don’t tell me where my fucking sister is, you’re going to experience pain beyond your worst nightmare. You thought we hurt you before,” he laughs, the sound dark, “that’s nothing compared to what I’ll do to you this time. And when I finally allow you to die, it will be the sweetest relief you’ve ever known.”
“Niko,” I breathe out. My voice is a sharp mix of shock and reprimand.
My brother’s head shoots up, his icy eyes locking onto me. He looks me over from head to toe before dropping Alexei roughly to the ground. With his hands bound behind him, he lands painfully, on his face and I wince.
“Sestrichka! Little sister .” Niko rushes forward, embracing me. He pushes me back again until I’m at arm’s length, checking me over for any sign of injury, any hair out of place. He cups my face, and I’m all too aware of the gun he still holds in his other hand.
“Brother,” I reply to him in Russian, “what are you doing here?” My gaze trails over Liam and Alexei. One of Niko’s men shoves Alexei’s shoulder after Alexei spits near his shoe. Liam’s eyes are on me.
“Rescuing you,” Niko replies, his eyebrows rising at my perfect Russian. A half a breath later, he seems to remember where he is, stalking back over to the Irish, and without warning, pistol whipping Liam.
I shout out in protest, hurrying over to intervene. Niko’s jaw is tight with rage as a blue fire blazes in his eyes. “The fuck are you looking at, mick? You don’t look at her.”
“Niko! Stop!” I worm my way between Niko and Liam protectively. Niko’s men step forward, guns raised but hesitating, eyes flickering to their boss before touching me.
My brother’s furious eyes shift off of Liam and onto me.
“They didn’t take me Niko, I came to them. They protected me from Papa—from Matteo.” Reasoning with him, “They kept me safe.”
Trusting Niko is still too new and I watch him warily, uncertain what he’ll do—always a wild card. Slowly he looks between me and my two Irish brothers-in-law. How I put myself between him and them. Confusion clouds the fury in his eyes. “You married one of them?” His gaze hardens, glaring at Alexei again. “They made you.”
I place both hands on his chest, trying to push him away from the very vulnerable Irish at my back before he takes them both out in a blind rage. Shaking my head, I try to pull his attention back down to me, “No, no—they didn’t. I chose—I did. I wanted to marry him.” My brother is still trying to nudge me gently out of the way so he can get to Liam and Alexei, but I dig in my heels, refusing to budge. “Niko, listen to me.” He’s half past me already. “Niko,” I’m desperate now, my tone frantic as I catch him raising his gun, “YA lyublyu yego!”
My brother stills.
The room is so silent you could hear a pin drop. Nobody moves. I swallow nervously, keeping my eyes on my brother as he slowly turns his gaze to meet mine. “What did you just say?”
“I love him.” My voice shakes, but there is a certainty to it. I stare deep in his eyes, forcing the truth into his thick skull. “Aidan,” I add, in case there were any question, ignoring Liam’s slacked jaw, dropping to the floor over my brother’s shoulder.
Niko’s eyes narrow. But I’ve run out of patience with the situation. I reach for his gun, intending to disarm him, but he simply lifts his hand out of my reach. I jump pathetically, still intent on grabbing it.
“Jesus Christ, Sestrichka.” Shaking his head, “Did no one teach you the proper way to disarm a man?” He lowers his hand back down, gun facing straightforward, though not directly at me. Niko grabs hold of my wrist and forces my hand around his. “You hold the wrist and grab the gun at the same time. Try it.” He releases my hands but leaves his gun in the same place.
I blink up at him in confusion.
“Aurora,” he huffs impatiently.
I move quickly, slamming one hand down on his wrist and swinging with my right to twist the gun out of his grip. The ghost of a smile appears on his lips and he nods approvingly. “Khoroshi. Good. ”
I’m too busy admiring the gun I’ve wrestled out of his grip to prepare for him plucking it right back out of my hands, taking it back.
“Hey!”
“We’ll work on that.” He considers me before holstering his gun at his waist and nodding at his men to stand down. For the first time since I’d caught sight of them, they lower their weapons, relaxing their stance.
Reality catches back up to me and I remember the letter I’d stuffed into my pocket. I grab hold of my brother’s arm. “Niko! You have to help me. Aidan’s on his way to meet Cole DeLuca. I have to warn him… It’s a trap.”
Niko regards me for a moment before admitting, “It is, but it’s too late to warn him. The Italians already have your—husband.” He arches a brow at me skeptically, still searching my face for any sign I’m lying. “They shot Koen and took Aidan.”
“The Irish boss lives,” Niko adds quickly as both Liam and Alexei give a start at his words. “They both do.”
“For now,” he adds with a shrug.
“Fuck,” I say, half under my breath.
“What about Reagan?” Liam practically begs.
“Who’s Reagan?” Niko asks, turning.
“Fuck you, Niko, I don’t have time for games. Just tell me Reagan is okay.”
My mouth twists uncomfortably as I start to open my mouth, Reagan’s letter burning a hole in my back pocket.
Niko’s deep in thought, “The O’Rourke, girl?”
“Yes,” Liam growls impatiently, “our sister. Is she alive? Where is she?”
Niko shrugs noncommittally, “I don’t know. We never had her.”
“The Italians did?”
Niko shakes his head, “Nyet. It was a bluff.”
I dig the now crumpled stationery out of my pocket and hold it up. “I found this. No one took Reagan, she just wanted some space. She left…”
Alexei looks to the ceiling and Liam gives me a blank stare, but I don’t have time for them. I turn my attention back to my brother.
“Where’s Aidan? Tell me he’s still alive, Niko, please.” I plead with him and his blue eyes cloud with concern at my distress. “Last I heard, yes. He’s alive but—” he looks at me, his face tight.
“But what…” I urge him on.
“He’s at the mansion. Adrik has him.”