33. Tyran
THIRTY-THREE
TYRAN
Sienna’s stepfather and pretty-boy best friend left while she looked longingly after them. I had half a mind to drive her behind them, but my brothers were here and we needed to address this threat from The Obsidian Society. Aiden was able to dig up some information.
After several minutes, Sienna calmed down and put on a smile, exchanging civility with my siblings while they congratulated us.
It was slightly awkward after the entire tense exchange with her dad, but she didn’t bring it up and neither did they.
Aiden studied her with his usual calmness while Kyran surveyed her like she was a potential dessert.
I thought not.
Wrapping my hand around her waist, I pulled her to me while glaring at my twin and making it clear she wasn’t and never would be on the menu. The sharing days were long over.
“I made you lunch. It should still be hot and waiting for you in the kitchen.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re really going overboard with this food thing.”
I grinned, my gaze traveling down her body. She was still too skinny, but her coloring was already better. Soon, those soft curves from the early days would be back and I couldn’t wait.
“My brother, the chef,” Kyran remarked, teasing. “I had to see it to believe it.”
“But he’s a hot chef,” Sienna shot back, and I grinned like a fool. “Okay, off I go to eat. Do you guys want something?”
“I didn’t cook for them,” I grumbled.
She tilted her head, pursing her lips in an adorable pout. “You know how much I hate eating alone.”
I tapped her ass lightly. “Then wait for me. I’ll be there in a moment. We just have some business to discuss.”
“Okay, but bring your brothers too. It’s rude to eat and not feed your guests.”
“We’re used to his rude, ugly ass,” Kyran said, his face a mask of mocked sadness. The idiot must have forgotten we were identical twins when he called me ugly. Besides, did he not hear Sienna? She called me hot.
“He mistreats us,” Aiden added, deciding to play too. Damn idiots. “I wonder if he’ll starve our sister when she arrives too.”
My head whipped to my brothers. “Margaret and her Brady bunch are coming?”
“No, just Margaret and Luca,” Aiden said. “Apparently our sister put her foot down and demanded reprieve from all her kids.”
“I still cannot believe our independent, stubborn sister went and had so many kids.” I chuckled, then turned to Sienna. “You’ll like her, blondie.”
Now that I thought about it, Sienna’s stubbornness reminded me of our sister. Margaret grew up in our world, so she could be as ruthless as us, and that set her apart from Sienna, but both of them were fiercely loyal and independent.
“Okay, I’ll go see what we have and get it all ready so we can eat together,” she decided. “Should I get something ready for your sister and her husband too?”
“Who the hell knows when those two will show up,” Kyran drawled. “They get sidetracked so often. How do you think they ended up with all those kids?”
Sienna’s cheeks turned crimson. She wasn’t used to the openness that dominated the Callahan family.
“It’s the twenty-first century. Birth control exists, and I’m sure your sister knows that.” Before Kyran could have a smartass comeback, she added, “I’ll be in the kitchen.”
Then she disappeared through the door.
We waited until her footsteps faded away down the hallway.
“You didn’t tell her,” Aiden concluded.
“No.”
“Why not?” Kyran questioned.
“She still has nightmares. This would set her further back. Besides, it’s not like we know much, do we?”
“I was able to dig up some information,” Aiden said slowly. “It turns out the Marabella Mobsters have something to do with The Obsidian Society, I just don’t know what exactly.”
“So The Obsidian Society has dabbled in the criminal world,” I deadpanned. “That means we should be able to dismantle them.”
“Yes, but it’s a very loose connection,” Aiden explained, handing me the note that they left behind.
It had a serpent symbol on top of it. “Or at least its members ensure nothing can come back to them. This society has allegedly existed for two centuries, originating among elite Boston families during the Gilded Age. Publicly, they were philanthropists, patrons of the arts, donors to universities and hospitals. Privately? Power brokers. Fixers. Predators. They didn’t dirty their own hands.
They funded people who did. Entire criminal networks operated as extensions of their will while they attended galas and sat on charity boards pretending civilization existed because of them. ”
“How is it that they’ve never come up before?” I questioned.
Aiden shrugged. “We didn’t touch flesh trading. Sienna’s kidnapping and your determination to start killing the men who had a hand in it put us on their radar.”
“Well, fuck,” Kyran muttered. “I guess our bachelor’s gift didn’t help.”
Silence stretched while I considered how best to protect Sienna from this society. I wouldn’t give them a pass and stop eliminating them, but I would ensure they never got their hands on her again.
“Will you tell her father?” Aiden asked.
It was something I’d been struggling with since this whole thing with The Obsidian Society came up. He had small children, and his security probably had to be amped up in order to protect his family.
“I will once my ring is on her finger,” I said. “Until then, they’ll be here under my roof, so they’ll be safe.”
I didn’t want to risk that man thinking Sienna was his responsibility. She was mine and mine alone.
“Now, what else can we do to take this organization down?” I asked.
“So you’re not planning on stopping?”
“Not a chance in fucking hell,” I replied. “Those men would die for ever looking her way, never mind touching her.”
Aiden didn’t seem surprised, although he seemed somewhat annoyed. Well, tough. He’d do the same if his wife were in Sienna’s stead.
“I’ll keep digging, then,” Aiden stated matter-of-factly.
“You do that. And I’ll keep killing the fuckers that are a threat to Sienna and our family.”
“Okay, then,” Kyran declared. “Now that we got that behind us, let’s go eat with our soon-to-be sister-in-law.”