Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 89032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89032 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 445(@200wpm)___ 356(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I push back from the table and rise to my feet, hands clenched into fists. “What are you all doing?”
Dad looks surprised. “I don’t understand what you mean.”
“This war doesn’t have to happen.” I gesture around at them. “We could have found a way to slow things down, but I’ve been aggressively pursuing the Russians. I’ve been doing it to protect my wife. But you’re all acting like this is in the family’s best interest.”
Silence falls again. I know what I’m saying. They don’t want to pin the blame on me, but I can’t act like I’m not the one antagonizing the Morozovs. I killed Fyodor. I threatened and nearly shot Taras in the head. Yeah, they made two attempts on my wife, but under other circumstances, that could be considered a mild response to what I’ve done so far.
“Brother, we’re on your side,” Declan says simply.
“They tried to blow up your wife,” Seamus points out. “She’s one of us now. You think I’m going to let that slide?” He snorts, shaking his head. “Fuck that. The Russians burn. Nobody touches my family.”
I stare at them. Finn’s nodding and even Dad seems like he agrees.
“I didn’t expect this,” I admit, sinking back into my chair. “I just assumed I had to handle this on my own.”
“Nah, bro, you’re not alone.” Finn nods and raises a glass in a salute.
I sit back and listen as they discuss war plans. They talk about gathering weapons, body armor, and ammunition. There are crews to build, men to train, territory to defend. Bribes will have to be paid out in enormous sums to the police.
At the end of it, I feel overwhelmed by their support. I never imagined they’d be on my side. All this time, I had assumed it was me against the Bratva. My job to clean up my mistake. My sins and my failures.
But I’m not alone.
“You’ve done pretty good so far, all things considered,” Seamus says once the meeting is over. Declan and Finn remain behind at the pub to drink while Dad gets straight into a car to head home. We walk together toward where I’m parked under a dim street light. “Seriously, the Morozovs have been looking for an excuse to start shit for a long while. What happened with Yuri is basically just a pretext.”
“He was the Pakhan’s nephew.”
“Eh, so what? He was a stupid shit.” Seamus slows and stops, his lips pulling into a vicious smile. Sometimes I forget that my brother is as ruthless as I am, only better at feeling emotions. “I actually have a present for you.”
“What’s that? It’s not even my birthday.”
“My boys intercepted some rumors you might be interested in.” Seamus crosses his arms, smile fading. “Russians got a shipment coming in. Allegedly, it’s coming from the cartels. Which means big drugs.”
“How much do you know about it?”
“We’re chasing some leads, but I was thinking you might want to be involved in taking it down. I figured you’d come up with a way we can turn it to our advantage.”
“Aside from stealing it and selling it?”
“If that’s the play—” He shrugs, brushing his shoulder. “I’ve got my guys waiting and ready. You know the customers can’t ever get enough.”
“You know I’m not usually a team player.”
“We can work around that.” Seamus nods and lightly squeezes my shoulder. “You’ve been on the outside for too long, Cormac. It’s time to come back.”
I shake my head. “I never went anywhere.”
“You know that isn’t true. You pulled away into your own little world a while ago. Ghosting became your whole life. But ever since you got married, you seem… different. More grounded. More open. I don’t know, it’s hard to say. But I think you’re ready to come back, that’s all.”
He lets me go and turns away. Something grinds in my chest, a strange fluttering. It’s my heart, but it’s something else. An emotion.
I want to be a part of the family again. More than just their creepy, psycho killer brother. It’s never been easy for me, and maybe Seamus is right. Maybe I really have been digging myself deeper and deeper into the darkness in my soul.
“Send me the details on the shipment,” I call as he walks away. “We’ll take it down together.”
He waves a hand. “Glad to have you back, brother.”
Chapter 35
Bianca
Istare in at the strange shrine room, trying not to look at any one object in particular, but taking them all in as a whole. It’s total chaos. Strange pieces of a life I barely remember. Seven years, and this is all I have to show for it. An obsessive psycho stalker’s idea of what’s important, or at least of what’s not important enough that I wouldn’t mind if he stole it.
Everything in here is me. It’s perfectly preserved and strangely catalogued. I bet Cormac could tell me where he was when he touched each object for the very first time and who had to die for them to end up here.