Chapter 37
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Killian
Iam on a desolate road with Mickey, the first hints of dawn just beginning to cast a pale light over the horizon.
“You sure this is a good idea?” Mickey’s voice cut through the stillness, thick with a mix of curiosity and rising unease.
“It’s the only way I can get what I need,” I reply, my voice steady but my heart racing beneath the weight of uncertainty.
“He’s going to kill us both on the spot if he’s suspicious,” Mickey huffs. “You sure he will buy it?”
“I know what will get him to agree,” I shoot back, the words sharp.
The sun is just beginning to claw its way above the horizon, casting shadows against the cobblestones near an abandoned pier.
The air is thick with tension as seven men form a grim line in front of us, their guns trained on our chests like vipers ready to strike. In the center stands their commander.
Mickey and I approach, hands raised, lifting our shirts to reveal nothing but skin—no weapons, just our hearts pounding in our throats.
“This better work out,” Mickey whispers, his voice barely audible over the sound of my own heartbeat.
“You didn’t have to come,” I remind him. “This is my battle.”
“I’m not sending my little brother into the trenches alone,” he counters. “Your battle is my battle.”
“Well, well, to what do I owe the pleasure of Mickey and Killian Boswell wanting to speak to me?” His smile is like a snake’s, showcasing his diamond tooth gleaming in the dim light. The closer we get, the more I feel the weight of my decision pressing down on me.
“I hear you’re looking for me,” I reply, my confidence radiating. “Here I am. Although, a phone call would have sufficed. No need to send out your goons to hunt me down.”
He sucks in his teeth, a low, dangerous sound that echoes threateningly through the air. His lack of response is telling; it was his men who raided both my mother’s and Aunt Mauve’s homes.
“All that for a girl,” I continue, masking my anger behind a facade of calm. “I didn’t think you were the type to get attached.”
“A beautiful thing like that, who wouldn’t?” His eyes roam over me, calculating and cold. “I assume you returned her, got the Costello family to back you up against the Russians.” He says it like a taunt, a challenge, and I can feel the weight of his words like a personal attack.
I shake my head, slipping my hands deep into my pockets, the cold metal of a hidden weapon pressing against my palm. “We Romani need to look out for one another. Is that not the way?”
I have his attention now, his expression shifting to one of curiosity mixed with something darker. “You still have her.”
I nod, forcing myself to maintain eye contact. “I wasn’t planning on just handing her over so easily. If I’d known how much you wanted to keep her, I could have put something on the table from the start.”
“What’s that?” His interest is piqued, but the caution in his eyes is palpable.
“My intentions weren’t to help the Costello Family. My intentions were to overthrow them. If you give me the backing I need to do that, you can have the girl.”
He hesitates, doubt flickering across his features as he weighs his options. “I’m not getting mixed up in your mess over in the States.”
“You won’t have to,” I shoot back. “Send a few men out there, attack Costello’s men and warehouses. Make it look like the Russians are at fault. Let them kill each other. Once they’re both weak enough, then I strike.”
An impressive smile creeps across his face, but I can sense the gears turning in his mind.
He’s going to push back before he caves.
“You think I’d do all this just to get my dick wet?
I can take any woman I want. She was special because of her last name.
Pussy isn’t what gets me out of bed every morning. Money does.”
“Aside from the girl, what else would you want?” I press, seeming to grow impatient despite my inner calmness.
“I want to run some business through Providence,” he replies, his gaze piercing.
“That’s doable,” I agree. “But if you overstep, you’ll be the one put into a cage.”
He laughs, a sound that sent chills down my spine. “As long as that pretty Andretti is in there with me. She knows how to tire a man out.”
I fight to keep my face neutral, though the urge to punch him in the throat is overwhelming.
Was he lying to test my reaction, or had Liliana held back on what else happened to her?
Either way, I can't afford to lose focus.
I need to know how Nico snuck into Providence unnoticed to begin with, and I can only figure that out if he believes we are on the same team.
“So we have a deal?” I ask, my voice low and steady, a thin veneer of calm over the storm brewing inside me.
He steps closer, his hand gripping my shoulder with a possessive force. “You hurt my ego, Killian, and before I can agree to this, I do have to get even.”
At that moment, a sharp pain slices through my side.
“Killian!” Mickey shouts, stepping forward, but he stops short as the men surrounding us tighten their grip, guns shifting like a pack of wolves preparing to attack.
“I’m okay,” I bite out, forcing the words past gritted teeth.
Nico pulls the knife from my side, a cruel smile spreading across his lips. “Now we have a deal.”