Page 37 of No Promises, No Lies

AIDAN

My mind is racing, and I can feel both Koen’s and Alex’s eyes on me as I storm down the hall and cross into the living room. Collapsing into the recliner, I absently rub my bandaged forearm.

“This is not good.” Koen’s hard gaze lands on me.

“If that wasn’t obvious…” I mutter. Leaning forward, I pull my hand down my face.Fuck,I need to sleep.

Liam pops his head out of the kitchen at the sound of my voice. “Remember, we have practice in an hour.”

I let out a low growl of frustration, burying my face in both my hands for a second. “Yep—right—okay.” I roll my shoulders back, like I can shake off this exhaustion, before turning toward Alex and Liam. “Let’s make this quick.”

I’d been out of this shit for so long I forgot how much of a toll it took on my life. I’ve been burning the candle at both ends over the past couple of weeks, trying to keep up with the team while dealing with all of this on the side.

The death of a boss was a dangerous time in the mafia world. A period of instability, transition of power—it was the perfect time to take advantage. After our father’s death, so many things had gone awry. Shipments had gone missing, productwas destroyed—raids like the one on Kostalov—gone wrong. I’m starting to think there could be no explanation other than sabotage…

“Kostalov has a daughter?” Koen asks.

I shake my head, still stunned at the development. “No wonder Adrik has his men out there, tearing this city apart after we hit Elements. We stole the man’sdaughter. We keep this in-house for now,” I say, looking each of my brothers in the eye.

They dip their chins in agreement, understanding what’s at stake.

“Guess you found the leverage in Kostalov’s office, after all,” Liam muses.

“A heads up would have been nice.” I glare at Alex.

Alex’s hands go up in self defense. “I sent you in for Adrik’s ledger, not his daughter! I didn’t even know she was missing! Adrik’s had me overseeing all the new guys he brought in for the Cartel this week.”

“Why doesn’t anyone know about her?” I direct my question to the group, but zero in on Alex as I amend my former question. “Why didn’tweknow about her?”

“Hey, you saidneed to knowonly. That means intel on shipments, changes in Bratva leadership, locations and deals. If I revealed information about Kostalov’s daughter, it could easily be traced back to me.”

“I don’t get it.” Koen leans forward, his hands clasped together in thought. “Why keep his daughter a secret?”

Alex gives him a look. “Obviously, to avoid a situation such as the one she’s found herself in now; to keep her from being a target—like Reagan is.” We all sit a little straighter at the mention of our sister. In danger all her life for the last name she had no choice in.

Reaganhatesthe fact she requires an escort nearly everywhere she goes. But with that fiery hair of hers, there’s no hiding her in plain sight.

“Find anything?” Liam had been working on fact checking Rory’s original story. Back when I was still hoping for her innocence. Now that we have the new facts, I’m sure he’s already begun trying to piece together the puzzle.

Liam nods,pulling out his laptop. “Aurora is the product of one of Adrik’s extramarital affairs. She and Niko are half-siblings. When Adrik found out about the baby, he sent his mistress away to raise her.” He pauses for a bit, reading through his notes. “In Canada. He kept them comfortable, so long as Rory took figure skating lessons.”

That last bit needles me a little. Growing up in hockey, you could always tell the kids that were there because they loved it versus if their parents willed it. The videos Liam and I watched last night of some of Rory’s competitions showed off her skills. Bratva princess or not, the girl was talented. But I wonder how much of a choice Rory had in it all.

“So what changed?” Koen asks, thinking along the same line as me. Something had to have changed for Adrik to expose his daughter like this after all this time. “Why bring her back to Boston? Why now?”

Liam’s jaw clenches. “I don’t know yet, haven’t gotten that far.” He types something into his computer and shakes his head again.

Alex clears his throat, earning all of our attention. His voice is low and so we all lean in slightly to hear it.

“I don’t have all the details but—” he hesitates, clearly a little conflicted on sharing. “—there was a hit on the mother. The two were compromised somehow. Someone found out about them and tried to take them out. Maybe for revenge on Adrik, butno one ever claimed responsibility. Adrik moved Rory into the mansion full time a little over a year ago, for her safety.”

“Shit.” Liam’s eyes are on the floor.

Koen’s silent.

“Was she there?” I ask Alex. “Rory?”

“For the hit?” he asks.

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