Page 19 of No Promises, No Lies

12

THE GIRL

AIDAN

While Liam secures the girl, I pick up my phone to deal with the shit show that just blew up in our faces.

The Russians are furious. Which would have been all fine and motherfucking dandy if we had gotten what we came for.

The Russians still don’t know who hit them and for now, that’s good news. The bad news is we still don’t have the leverage we need. There was supposed to besomethingin Adrik Kostalov’s office we could use to broker a deal with the Bratva Pakhan.

And the girl.The girl was going to be a problem.

No witnesses, Aidan.

I storm into my office and immediately pour myself a glass of whiskey, pounding it down before pouring out another one. I sink slowly into one of the leather armchairs. Staring at the melting ice in the snifter. Willing myself to pull out my gun and put a bullet in the girl I’ve got secured down the hall.Why did Jimmy have to take off his goddamn mask?Once she’d seen his face, her death warrant was signed.

After hanging up with one of our soldiers, I scroll down to see several missed calls and texts from the douche weasel himself.The asshole wants to know if I’ve secured theloose end.I rise, slamming the phone down hard on the desk. This got too messy, too fast.

I shouldn’t even be here.

“Fuck.” I punch the desk hard enough to slice up my knuckles.

A sense of awareness prickles my skin and I look up to find Liam leaning against the door frame, watching me with a lopsided grin that’s just asking me to hit him.

“Any trouble?” I ask, lightly pacing behind the desk, referring to the girl.

Liam shakes his head. “She’s deceptively strong for such a little thing, but it didn’t matter,” he smiles. “Locker 3. She’s in the chair. Clothes are… on.” His brow quirks up questioningly.

I let out a grunt. Reaching into my desk drawer, I pull out a fresh bottle of whiskey. Usually, when we bring guys in forquestioning,we strip them. It serves a dual purpose. For one—practicality—it rules out if they’re wearing a wire. And two—the obvious—intimidation andaccess.

I take a long drink out of the dark bottle. Dragging out another glass to pour us each a drink. Sliding the glass across the desk to my younger brother.

He shrugs off the wall, sauntering forward with an easy swagger to grab his drink and collapses into one of the plush armchairs in front of the desk. “Koen should be here soon.”

I nod. The eldest of the O’Rourke clan. My hand grazes the rough stubble on my chin—while my mind races between thoughts.

“You wanna tell me what the story is there? Why you got agirlchillin’ in the lockers right now?”

I sigh with exhaustion, but tell him anyway. “We picked her up at Elements. She was in Kostalov’s office… saw both of our faces.”

The look he gives me is one of surprise, peering back toward the lockers. “She’sa stripper?”

I take another sip of my whiskey and shrug my shoulders. She doesn’t look like a stripper, but yet she was waiting in Adrik’s office, wearing only a sweatshirt and a tiny little skirt.I recognized her as soon as I saw her. The spicy skater from the rink the other day. What the hell was she doing moonlighting in a Russian strip club?

“She doesn’t look like a stripper,”Liam muses, sipping his whiskey.

I sniff. “And what do strippers look like, Liam?” With my glass, I hide the smile playing on my lips. We are the same, he and I.

“Hell, I don’t know Ace, not likethat—” He shakes his head. “Why bother to take her?”

I sigh again, knowing I’ll have to answer for it soon enough.And not to Liam.

Running the palm of my hand down my face, I go back over the events of the night. “Jimmy broke into Kostalov’s office and once he was in there, he took off his mask…” The masks were a back-up plan in case we didn’t find what we were looking for. If we’d have found it, I wouldn’t give two fucks if the Russians made us.

“Fucking Jimmy.” Liam huffs in his chair, shooting back some whiskey. Very familiar with our reckless, hot-headed cousin.

“He didn’t see her hiding, and she saw his face. When he found her, he wanted to shoot her right then, but I?—”

---