Page 111 of No Promises, No Lies

My eyes find Rory’s, watching me through the car window, blue eyes bright with worry. But I know Rory is not who Koen is talking about.

“I need you.”

“I’m coming.” I wrench the driver's side door open and rocket myself into the car, putting it into gear before I’ve fully shut the door. I spot Liam on his way to his own car and pull up beside him, motioning with my eyes to get in. He hops in the back without question. Koen’s still on the line, the phone pinned between my ear and my shoulder. I can feel Rory’s eyes on me. She braces herself as I take a sharp turn out of the parking garage without slowing.

“How?” I growl, shifting into high gear, merging onto the highway.

Koen sighs, “I don’t know. I thought we had everything locked down. One minute she was here and the next she was just—gone.”

“The cameras?” I ask.

“Nothing.” Koen swears, and the distinct sound of his fist hitting something hard comes through the line. “I don’t know how they did it. Alex was watching. They had to find a blind spot, they had to know where the cameras were, they had to?—”

“We’ll get her back.” My jaw clicks, thinking about my sister in the hands of those Italian or Russian savages. Koen is right to be panicked. Through everything, the most important thing was always the family.Keeping the family safe.

“How far out are you?”

I glance at the speedometer, pushing well past 100mph, then look for the next exit to get a sense of time. “Ten minutes.”

“Good.”

66

I MUST NOT TELL LIES

RORY

Koen’s pacing the length of the living room when we arrive. The flash of relief in his eyes at the sight of us is gone in an instant, replaced with a hardened expression. Alexei sits as still as stone on the couch. Liam’s beside me, clenching and unclenching his fists. I can practically feel the violence emanating off of him.

Aidan filled me in on the ride over. Somehow—someway, the Russians got Reagan.

Still holding Aidan’s hand, I squeeze it. His body is deathly still and hard. Gone is the sweet boy who just wants to play hockey. Only the Irish’s deadliest enforcer remains. I can’t help but feel like this is all my fault. If the Irish weren’t protecting me, Reagan wouldn’t be in danger right now.

“It’s not your fault,” Aidan’s voice pulls me out of my mind, reading my thoughts. “We all chose this life. We know the risks. We accepted them,” his jaw tight. A quick glance about the room shows all four brothers’ eyes on me, guilt and concern on their faces as they all give me various degrees of reassuring nods. It doesn’t make me feel better, but my heart warms in my chest.

Aidan directs me to the couch, and I take a seat near the end before he turns his attention to the Irish boss.

“Any contact?”

“We’re about to,” Koen holds up his phone. His grip is so tight I’m surprised by the thing’s durability. Koen hits the call button, switching it to speaker and the resounding rings echo throughout the high ceilings of the near silent loft.

“DeLuca.” I sit up straighter at the sound of Cole’s cool voice coming through the other end of the phone.

“Where’s my sister?” Koen growls.

There’s a pause on the other end before Cole responds, his voice devoid of all emotion. “Koen, always a pleasure…Where’s my cousin?”

I freeze at the mention of Matteo, my eyes darting back and forth, torn between watching Koen and Aidan’s reactions. Aidan joins Koen by the phone, making it easier to watch them both.

“Do you have her? Or was it that son-of-a-bitch Kostalov?”

Cole hums lightly, sounding amused, “The Russians don’t have your sister.”

Koen’s grip tightens on his cell, his knuckles turning white. “Stop fucking around DeLuca. What do you want?” he bites out. Aidan listens intently, his arms crossed, the muscles in his arm flexing.

Cole just laughs. The bastard knows he holds all the cards here. “I think it’s obvious what I want, O’Rourke. I’m owed a particularly pretty Russian bride.” Koen’s eyes meet Aidan’s. “I want the girl back.Aurora,” he purrs, his Italian accent rolling over the r’s in my name.

Violence flashes in Aidan’s eyes. There isn’t a moment of hesitation before Koen responds, “Not going to happen.”

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