Chapter Ten
Aiden kept his hand on the small of Charlie’s back while he guided her through the crowd to where the Eldridge women had staked out the northern corner of the room, directly opposite the Romanov men.
Romanov had been certain they would show, but Aiden still breathed a slight sigh of relief to see the matriarch of the Eldridge clan, Alethea, sitting surrounded by her men.
Her daughters were nowhere to be seen, with the exception of her heir, Mae, who sat poised at her mother’s right elbow.
Alethea didn’t rise as he came to a stop in front of her, but she inclined her head slightly. “Aiden O’Malley.”
“I hope you’re enjoying your evening.” He nodded to Mae.
“Both of you.” Neither woman was beautiful in the traditionally accepted way, their features too strong, their bodies built for strength rather than model-thin, but they were striking.
He’d caught several of his men giving Mae long looks earlier, and he had made a point to tell Liam to keep them the hell away from her.
Alethea had made her fortune in the world dealing with the people even he avoided, and her daughter was no damsel in distress. When he’d asked Cillian to get him information on the family, it had come out that sadistic didn’t begin to cover Mae’s proclivities.
Mae was staring at Charlie like a lioness considering its next meal. “Who’s your date?”
“Mae, Alethea…I’d like you to meet my fiancée, Charlie Moreaux.
” He was every inch the welcoming host, even as he mentally cursed at the situation he’d created.
In all his careful planning, he’d never once stopped and considered what would happen if Alethea’s daughter looked at Charlie and saw competition.
I just put a fucking target on her chest. He’d known it was a possibility, going into this, but the reality of it had changed the second he got her into his bed.
It made him want her safe and as far away from the Eldridges as humanly possible.
It was his fault she was in danger to begin with.
Charlie didn’t seem to be suffering from the same distraction he was. She moved forward with a smile. “Pleasure to meet you.”
Mae glared at her outstretched hand, but Alethea beamed. “We hadn’t realized you were engaged, Aiden, but I can see why you’ve hidden her away. Look at you, girl, you’re so tiny and breakable. A woman like you doesn’t have to try hard to twist a man around her little finger.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.” Charlie’s smile didn’t waver as she extracted her hand. “I had to play dirty to get his attention in the first place.”
Tension rose, which was the exact opposite of what he’d wanted to accomplish.
It was vital to his and their plan that the Eldridges see Aiden as a potential ally and act accordingly.
If they were checking out the O’Malleys, they wouldn’t be looking over their shoulder at Romanov.
If Aiden and Charlie didn’t play this initial interaction correctly, all his plans would go up in smoke.
Antagonizing Alethea Eldridge was not on the agenda.
But he underestimated Charlie.
She laughed. “You know how these things are, though—easy come, easy go.”
Did she just…He shot her a look, but now wasn’t the time to haul her ass somewhere private to talk about how he felt about her changing the story without talking to him. “I wouldn’t have proposed if I wasn’t serious, Charlie.”
“I know.” She waved it away like he was an annoying gnat and winked at Mae. “I bet you know a thing or two about getting what you want. You don’t seem the type who takes no as a final answer.” She injected admiration into her tone, and the other woman relaxed, just a bit.
Mae examined her maroon nails. “I can be very convincing when provoked.”
“Oh, I’ll bet.” Charlie giggled.
What the hell is she up to?
Alethea cleared her throat, her eyes on something over Aiden’s shoulder. “Do you let your youngest sister wander unattended regularly?”
He turned in time to find Keira walking out of the women’s bathroom.
He was about to comment on the fact that the restroom was the one place he didn’t demand his men follow his sister when the door opened behind her and motherfucking Dmitri Romanov walked out, looking as pleased as the cat that ate the canary.
Fuck. That was not part of the goddamn plan. “Ladies, excuse me.”
“Aiden.” All warmth had disappeared from Alethea’s voice, leaving no doubt that this woman had more than earned her reputation as one of the scariest players in the underground game in New York.
The fact that Romanov had the balls to cross her baffled Aiden. The Russian didn’t seem the type to act without a reason, but hell if he could figure out what it was—even while working with the man, and with all Cillian’s hacking skills.
Alethea’s blue eyes were just as cold as her voice. “It seems we may have an interest or two in common.”
This was exactly what he’d hoped to accomplish, but he felt no victory at getting into bed with the Eldridges. Even if it was a lie. “It would seem so.”
“Come see me soon. We’ll discuss things in private.” Her gaze flicked to Charlie. “Bring your fiancée. My Mae has taken a charm to her.”
That only served to make him want to haul Charlie’s ass as far away from these two as possible.
He smiled instead. “It would be my pleasure. Enjoy the rest of the party, ladies.” He looped his arm around Charlie’s waist as they walked away, and he could actually feel both the Eldridge women’s gazes pinned between his shoulder blades.
He pulled Charlie closer. “What the fuck was that?”
“Playing a part, Aiden.” She sounded as sweet as pie. “That’s what we’re doing. I got you what you wanted.”
Before he could respond, she waved at Keira and stepped away from him to go talk to her.
He surveyed his sister, looking for signs of shakiness or fear or something that a normal person would feel after having been cornered by Dmitri Romanov in the bathroom.
She lifted her hand to brush back her long, dark hair, and Aiden froze.
A giant-ass diamond glinted on her ring finger, and that sure as fuck hadn’t been there earlier.
Cillian stepped up next to him and crossed his arms over his chest. “Tell me something.”
He didn’t look over. “Now isn’t the time.”
They both spoke so low, someone would have had to practically be on top of them to eavesdrop. “I think it’s the perfect time.”
Obviously, his brother wasn’t going to let it go. He clenched his jaw. Was anyone going to do what they were supposed to tonight? “What?”
“If you’re so determined to marry Keira off to Romanov…why the hell are you so pissed that she’s wearing his ring?”
Aiden finally looked at his brother, finding too much knowledge on his face. So he’d figured it out. Damn. “We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”
Cillian gave a short nod. “Excuse me. Dmitri wants to see Hadley before it’s her bedtime.
” He never let the other man near Olivia and his stepdaughter without being there.
Aiden didn’t blame him, though one of the few good things he could say about Romanov was that he seemed to genuinely care about his niece.
Then again, he seemed to do and say a lot of things. None of it could be trusted.
Olivia might claim that her half brother always kept his word, but Aiden couldn’t risk believing that.
His only job was to provide for the O’Malleys and expand their power.
He couldn’t do any of those things with Romanov in his way.
He’d crossed the O’Malleys too many times, and now he had to be removed as a threat.
Aiden sat at an empty table and monitored the interaction between Cillian and Romanov.
Olivia was tense, but the year and a half she’d been living with the O’Malleys had gone a long way to repair her relationship with Romanov.
She still didn’t like him, but he hadn’t crossed the line she’d drawn in the sand when it came to her daughter.
Romanov went down on one knee, bending his head to speak at Hadley’s level.
The little girl was the spitting image of her mother, her skin hinting of the Middle Eastern descent she’d inherited by way of her maternal grandmother, her hair a wild riot of dark curls.
She was a solemn child, and she was serious in the extreme as she spoke to her uncle until he pulled a floppy bunny from his jacket.
He couldn’t have had the thing the entire time, but he managed to make it look like a magic trick.
Hadley’s trill of delight could be heard even halfway across the room.
“Cute.” Charlie sank into the chair to his left, her attention following his.
“Yes, it is.” He looked at her, searching for any signs of doubt or softening. “Still on board?”
She frowned. “Why wouldn’t I be? Even monsters have soft spots.
That doesn’t make them less monstrous. He could cuddle his niece and turn around and order a person’s death without blinking.
” She shook her head. “No. The kid’s young enough.
She’s got a good mom. She’ll be fine if her uncle disappears off the face of the earth. ”
Aiden didn’t ask whether she was looking for Romanov to end up in prison or six feet under. He didn’t have it in him for a fight—not here, not now. “It’s almost time for food—and toasts.”
“Toasts?”
He shrugged. “It’s part of the process. We’ll have a meeting to hash out the details and argue to a standstill about which ceremony will be performed.”
She stared. “You’re serious.”
“The Romanov family is Eastern Orthodox. We’re Catholic. They might not seem that different to an outsider, but they are—and neither family will be happy about compromise.”
Charlie didn’t look any more convinced. “You’re not actually planning on letting Keira marry that piece of shit, so why does it matter?”