Page 34 of No Promises, No Lies

AIDAN

The sound of glass breaking echoes throughout the room.

Rory has gone a sickly pale, staring at Alex like she’s seen a ghost.

Alex slowly sets Reagan down, who’s wise enough to return to her seat at the table in between Koen and Liam. The former leans forward in his chair, as interested as I am in this new development playing out before us.

Alex’s staring at Rory like he, too, has seen a ghost. He shoots nervous glances my way while an awkward silence hangs over the room.

“I thought you said you didn’t have anyfriends, Rory,” Koen taunts behind me.

My jaw is tense and I keep my eyes trained on the blonde who I don’t think has even blinked since Alex walked in.

“I don’t,” she practically whispers.

“Well, it certainly seems like you know ourfriendAlex here,” Koen hedges. “Or maybe you know him by his other name—Alexei?”

She flinches.

I sit forward.Oh yeah, she knows him alright.I flex my jaw, taking in this recent development.

If Rory knows Alex as Alexei, it means she had to have met him while he was doing business with the Russians. No one other than Bratva knows him as Alexei.

The thought hadn’t crossed my mind to consult him earlier. Alexei Ryan serves as one of our spies inside the Bratva. He worked his way up the ranks, and now he’s working for Adrik Kostalov himself. But the question is:how does Rory know Alexei?

My eyes shift to Alex. He senses it and meets my gaze, indecision dancing in his dark eyes.

Rory is silent, her pleading eyes on Alexei as she slowly shakes her headno. Mentally begging him to keep whatever secret she’s been working so hard to hide from us.From me.

I lean in, “Or maybe the question is, what doyouknow about Rory,Alexei?”

To Alex’s credit, he battles with himself for only a few seconds before finally spitting it out, solidifying what we already know is true. His allegiance remains firmly with the Irish.

“Rory’s a nickname—,” he speaks slowly, his voice soft and apologetic. I swear you could hear a pin drop in this fucking room. Alex lets out a deep breath that sounds an awful lot like regret, not breaking his gaze with the girl frozen across the kitchen before he continues, “—for Aurora.”

Koen and I exchange a look; both of us wondering why he was so nervous to tell us that.

“It’s a pretty name, Alex, but it’s hardly a revelation.” I lean back, annoyed. Alex is practically a brother to me, but he’s wasting my time. His next words stop me in place.

“Her full name is?—”

“No… no… no… Alexei, no…” Rory, or should I say,Aurora, begs from across the room.

“—Aurora Kostalova.”

He says nothing else. He doesn’t have to. Kostalova… she’s a fuckingKostalova?

Everything happens at once.

My gaze slides back to Rory, my expression darkening.

Her blue eyes rocket back to mine. If I thought I’d seen fear in her expression before, that was nothing compared to what I see there now.

I’m barely even out of my seat before she takes off. Running past Alex, racing for the elevator.

I chase after her but take my time, knowing full well she won’t be able to get out of the loft. I activated the exit code myself in anticipation of a situation such as the one we now find ourselves in.“Where you running off to Angel?” I shout. “This game is only just getting started.”

She slides into the door, smashing at the button with her fingers. When the code screen appears, she howls in frustration at the little screen. Smacking it several times with her palm. She sees me coming from the corner of her eye. The scream she lets out is blood curdling and I feel it under my skin.

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