Page 67 of Shattered Veil
He sees her as fragile and vulnerable. I see her as strong and taking control of her life. Pushing away the fear. Not letting that prick win.
“I just want Snow’s ransomware code.” I look around the room, knowing my brothers trust me to keep them safe this way.
“Then what?” Eoghan asks, crossing an ankle over a knee. “What are you doing with Iceman after you get what you want from him?”
“We kill him,” Lachlan sneers. “What do you think?”
My stomach twists because Lachlan killing Snow is the force field that will keep Ella and me apart forever.
“I don’t think that’s necessary,” I immediately argueout of the ache in my body to make Ella mine.
Lachlan stands to his full height. “You hired a madman with cyber skills that could decimate us. And you’re screwing his daughter.”
Anger floods my veins, but I keep my cool. It’s my signature position in this family as the smart one, the sane one. Just as they fear Corvin Snow after seeing what he did before Christmas, they secretly fear me as much.
Mafia families are notorious for infighting. Some dons put hits on their own brothers.
We’ve never come close to falling apart like that until women came into our lives. Eoghan stood outside this very office last month threatening to disappear with Jillian.
Fuck, it’s in our blood to bond so viscerally with a woman once she gets her hooks into us. I thought I was immune. And never more wrong about anything in my life.
“I’m insulted you think I can’t protect us. His virus hit us. It hit everyone. Your damn credit cards didn’t work because of the shitty banks. Unless we want to start our own bank...”
“Nooooo,” Eoghan groans.
“Exactly. I’ll deal with Corvin, and as far as his daughter—”
“Balor,” Kieran interrupts.
“What?” I stop talking because he’s in charge.
“I know you can protect us. But being overconfident is a blinding mistake we can’t afford. We all have faults. No one here is perfect.” He turns his glare at Lachlan. “You think you are, Lach. All those scars on your body say otherwise.”
“Kieran,” I keep fighting.
“I’m sorry, Balor,” he says in his savage tone. “We kill Snow once you have his code. He’ll be a liability. Lachlan,he’s yours.”
I feel like a wall of bricks just fell on me. Any thought of making Ella mine has gone up in flames and Lachlan is holding the fucking can of gasoline.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Ella
Breezing through my apartment before leaving for work on Friday morning, I open the front door and trip over a ginormous box.
“Son. Of. A. Bitch.” I peel myself off the hallway carpet.
Glancing up and down the corridor, I twist around and look for a label on the box. Surely someone left this at the wrong apartment. I’m not expecting anything.
Or is it for my dad? More of his secrets that will get him into trouble.
I don’t see any shipping labels on the box. In fact, it’s in rather pristine condition. Like, no way did this go through the postal system.
It’s also not taped shut. Just folded closed. My heart swells, thinking it’s a box of puppies or kittens. I yank open a flap, disappointed when I don’t see any sweet furry faces looking up at me and crying out for love.
After the last few days, I can use some puppy kisses or kitten cuddles.
The box is packed with clothes.