Page 23 of No Promises, No Lies

I don’t like it.

I shouldn’t be surprised to see the lean tattooed male making himself at home in the office, but my jaw clenches in irritation when I find him there.

Rory.

I wish I never knew her name.

Those blue eyes, wild and full of fear, yet, still defiant.

The smattering of freckles across a perfect little nose.A figure skater. What was she doing with the Russian Bratva? The question is driving me crazy. And as tiny and breakable as she is, she seems less inclined to help fill in the blanks.

I pass by Koen without a word, rounding the desk to pick up my empty glass and pour out some more whiskey.

“We need to talk.” My brother’s voice holds his usual tone, warning he’s in no mood. He waves his glass at the open door behind me and narrows his eyes—green, like mine, but darker.

I turn, shutting the door, even though I know it’s just Liam here. “So talk,” I grit out, keeping a tight grip on my simmering temper, as I face him.

“Did you take care of the girl?”

My jaw flexes at the mention of Rory, but I work it into a twisted smile when I feel my brother studying me.

“Jimmy’s that paranoid? He called you in to make sure I take care of business?” I scoff, crossing my arms to deal with the increasing tension I feel building up in my muscles. When will the prick learn I outrank him? I may have been away from the family business for a couple of years, but my position is stillmine. Here waiting for whenever the fuck I want it back.

Koen’s face remains unchanged. My brother is hard to read at the best of times. “She’s not some damsel in distress, Aidan; she’s a witness. A loose end. And one we can’t afford…youcan’t afford.”

I grind my teeth. It wasn’t enough that letting Rory live could stir up shit with the Bratva—it could also throw a major wrench into my hockey career. I’m already skating a thin line this season, balancing the two. I can’t afford a single setback.

I know this, but yet... “She’s an innocent Koen. You want her blood on your hands?”

Koen laughs. It’s cold, and the smile doesn’t touch his eyes. “She’s a dancer at Elements, aBratvaclub. The girl isfarfrom innocent. Besides, even if you let her go, the Russians would just as soon put a bullet in her skull, assuming she either talked or turned.”

I’m quiet for a moment—thinking. He’s not wrong. I’m well aware Rory is a dead girl walking, whether I handle her or let the Russians clean house.

“She’s a complication.”

“She’smycomplication,” I growl back. “Mineto handle.” I’m not sure when I got so territorial over some girl, and the thought unsettles me. I snap my jaw shut.

Koen stares at me for a long while. I meet his eye, not yielding to his play for dominance. “The Russians are up in arms over the attacks. So far, we’re in the clear. They don’t know who hit them. The plan is working. But if you let the girl live, it will all be for nothing.” I bristle at his words.

Like I need a reminder.

Koen stands and I straighten to my full height as he comes closer.

At six-foot-three, I have a solid inch on my older brother. Koen might be the heir, and with our father now dead, he’s the new boss of the Irish. But he and I both know when it comes down to it, that means nothing to me, and nothing to him.

“Take care of it Aidan. We won’t survive a full-on assault by the Bratva right now. If it gets out the Irish were behind the break-in at the club...” He trails off, shaking his head. With our father barely in the ground, Koen’s rule is new, which makes it vulnerable. Not all the Irish clans in the city have bent the knee yet to their new king.

“Word on the street is Adrik has gone postal over the raid. Bratva are out there dropping Romanian and Polish Mafia left and right.Dropping bodies.I’ve never seen the Russians so wound up.” His ever-present frown deepens before he finally stalks past me. He reaches for the door, his hand pausing on the handle with a final look back.

“Handle it, Aidan. Or I will.”

I let him have the last word and watch as he disappears into the hall. Once I hear the rumbling sound of the motor as he starts his bike, I let the sound fade away before chucking my whiskey glass at the wall.I stare at the broken shards scattered across the floor like they’ll tell me what to do.

15

HOTSHOT

AIDAN

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