Chapter Seventeen
Aiden waited until Charlie’s breathing evened to climb out of his bed.
He pulled on a pair of pants and stopped at the door.
He was tempted to look back and see her there tangled among his sheets, her face relaxed in the way that only sleep seemed to be able to manage.
He didn’t. What he had to do to put the next stage of this shit show into motion required him to harden his heart against hurting her, despite what they’d shared in that hotel room mere hours ago.
There was no choice.
He just hadn’t expected the guilt to be quite so strong.
At this hour, the house was quiet and felt empty.
Maybe it was his conversation with Charlie, but it struck him that most of his siblings were gone, moved out and on, and that if he didn’t succeed, Keira would follow the same path and it would only be him and Cillian left of the O’Malley clan.
At least Cillian and Olivia were bound to fill the halls with children, though he didn’t think she’d be on board for seven kids, the way his mother had been.
And what about him?
Getting married was in the future—he couldn’t avoid it indefinitely—and after everything that their family had gone through, he’d have to make a politically advantageous marriage to solidify their power base.
Alliances could make or break them, and it was his turn to take a hit for the greater good.
His mind turned to Charlie, despite his best intentions.
He was enjoying the hell out of their time together, and she’d more than proven she could play the game along with the best of them.
She’d correctly read the situation with Mae—better than he had—and adjusted accordingly.
She’d offered him comfort and surrender.
She cared about his siblings, and his relationship with them.
But he wasn’t keeping her. He couldn’t.
Aiden padded into his office and shut and locked the door behind him.
It already bore marks of his father being back—papers that had been neatly organized, now scattered across the glossy desk, the bottle of expensive liquor now severely depleted, the very air more stagnant and cloying.
The latter was his imagination, but he caught a whiff of the cologne Seamus favored and gritted his teeth.
The man might as well have pissed on the carpet to mark his territory.
At least the burner phones were exactly where he’d left them—in the bottom drawer.
He pulled one out at random and considered it.
If they successfully removed Alethea and Mae from the New York equation, the new influx of territory would keep Romanov busy for years.
He’d have to work his way through the Eldridge operations and ensure that only those loyal to him remained, a time-consuming task.
Romanov might very well leave the O’Malleys alone for good and focus on issues closer to home.
But he couldn’t guarantee it.
The Russian was a slippery bastard. He could do the logical thing and worry about New York, but he was just as likely to assume that Aiden had lowered his guard, and then attack the O’Malleys instead.
They were only temporary allies, and with Romanov’s eye on Keira, that alliance wouldn’t last past Alethea’s fall.
Aiden refused to allow that to happen—which meant it was time to bring in the next wave of his plan—whether it would hurt Charlie or not.
He dialed the number he’d memorized as soon as Liam had tracked down the information. Despite it being well after two in the morning, the line rang only a handful of times before a gruff voice answered. “John Finch.”
“Hello, Agent Finch.”
Silence for a beat, and then two. “Who is this?”
“I’m surprised you don’t know. You’ve got my brother dancing to any tune you set, so I would assume that you’d have the rest of us down by now.
” Aiden fought to keep his tone cool and disinterested, fought his anger at this man for fucking with his family, and his anger at his brother Teague for getting caught up in such a desperate situation.
“Aiden O’Malley. Do I want to know how you got this number?”
It struck him that Finch might think Charlie had handed it over. The guilt circling Aiden’s throat like a vise tightened. His control wavered. “I have my ways.”
“I’m sure you do.” There was rustling on the other end as Finch settled in. “What is it I can do for you?”
He didn’t miss the fact that the man hadn’t addressed his comment about Teague.
He didn’t expect Finch to. It was one thing for Aiden to suspect it—it was entirely another for him to know for sure.
He could have told the fed that it was a lost cause.
He had more than enough information to incriminate his brother. That wasn’t why he was calling.
At least, it wasn’t the sole reason he was calling.
“It’s more about what I can do for you.” He didn’t wait for Finch to comment.
It didn’t really matter what the agent thought of this.
The only thing that mattered was him acting how Aiden needed him to.
“There’s going to be a showdown of sorts between the Eldridges and the Romanovs on October twelfth.
” He rattled off the specific location. “It might look like a deal gone wrong, but I think you’ll find it’s much more intriguing. I suspect you’ll want to be there.”
“Hmm.” He didn’t sound the least bit impressed. “And what do you expect in return for this tidbit of information?”
“I expect you to back the fuck away from my brother.” It came out harsher than he meant it to.
Finch sighed. “Look, kid, even if your brother was an informant, that deal would be between him and the fed who works with him. You making a deal has nothing to do with that.”
That was about what he’d anticipated, but frustration still reigned supreme. Aiden drummed his fingers on the desk, staring at the closed door. Part of him had hoped it wouldn’t come to this. He’d known better. “Your daughter is very beautiful.”
“Leave her alone.” All tiredness was gone from the man’s voice. “She’s been through enough, and whatever problem you think we have is between us.”
He’d fully intended to throw their physical relationship in Finch’s face, but Aiden couldn’t do it. He’d had every intention of seducing her to hurt her father, but that motivation had changed the first time she touched him. He wanted her for the sake of her, not because he wanted revenge.
But he still wanted revenge.
“Did you know we attended a poker game with Alethea and Mae Eldridge tonight?”
This time, the silence stretched on for almost a full minute. “You’re going to get her killed.”
Over my dead body. But he didn’t have to let Finch know how invested he was in Charlie’s safety. If the man wasn’t worried about his daughter, he wasn’t going to be motivated to do what Aiden wanted. “She’s assured me she can handle herself.”
“You know as well as I do that she’s in over her head. My girl is capable, but she’s a small fish in an ocean of sharks. Send her home, Aiden.”
“I don’t think I will.” He knew damn well that he’d have to let her go at some point.
But not yet. “I strongly urge you to be on that dock on the twelfth. Have a good rest of your night, Agent Finch.” He hung up and systematically dismantled the phone.
He doubted that Finch’s phone was tapped, so there should be no recording of that conversation, but he still wasn’t going to leave that burner phone for a second use.
Finch knew how to get a hold of him if he was so inclined.
The office door opened, and a sleepy-looking Cillian strode in. He was dressed much the same way Aiden was—a pair of pants that had obviously been hastily thrown on and nothing else. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing that can’t wait until morning.” He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was morning, albeit early enough that everyone should be asleep.
“Wrong.” Cillian dropped into his customary chair across from Aiden. “I’ve been patient while you danced around this, and while you plotted and schemed and left me in the dark. Now you’re going to tell me everything, and you’re going to do it now.”
He’d had every intention of looping Cillian in at some point, but he raised his eyebrows at the underlying threat in his brother’s words. “Or?”
“Or nothing, you asshole. You’re my brother, and while I might not fully support every move you make, I can still appreciate the direction you’re taking this family.
” He took a deep breath, and when he spoke again, his tone was more subdued.
“But if you’re doing something that’s going to bring Romanov down on us, I’m getting Olivia and Hadley out of town until the smoke clears.
So you will tell me. You owe me that much. ”
Aiden could argue that Cillian wasn’t in charge so he was on a need-to-know basis, but that was something their father would do. Seamus O’Malley believed that he owed no one anything and that everyone else was responsible for jumping through hoops to keep him happy.
Once, he’d thought that emulating his father was the best way to go about things.
These days, he knew better.
The strength of the O’Malleys—of Boston as a whole—was in their family connections.
Aiden was good, but he wasn’t the end-all, be-all.
Pretending he was a god and everyone else was under his control was a good way to end up like Seamus had—with his entire family ready to chew off their own arms to get away from him.
Charlie was right. It was time to start to mend the relationships he had with his siblings—and to ensure his with Cillian didn’t get broken in the first place.
Aiden stood and grabbed the bourbon bottle that his father had already helped himself to. He set two tumblers on the desk and poured a healthy dose into both. Then he sat down and told his brother everything.
* * *