Page 174 of Fallen Rook

I was ready to start living. In the light. In truth. And by his side.

I was ready.

“Be safe, my rook.”

“Rook?” I cocked my head.

“That’s your chess piece.” He thumbed a floppy piece of hair from my forehead, even though it always fell back. “You’re the protector of your family, Enzo. But this time, I also need you to protect yourself.”

“I will,” I promised. “And when I come back…”

He held his breath.

“When I come back, Tom, you’re making an honest man outta me.”

Chapter Fifty

Enzo

I knew things were dire when I found Tiernan waiting for us inside the private plane, looking like the entire family had collectively pissed in his soup.

He never tore his ass from his precious Lila. Barely even went to work these days. All he did was serve his wife day and night. Especially since the revelation of her second pregnancy. I’d stopped attempting to figure out what business Lila had falling pregnant twice at the age of nineteen. Maybe she’d always been an old soul. Motherhood agreed with her. And I had a feeling this was her do-over, her redemption arc. Her chance to make right all the things that had gone wrong in our own childhood.

“You’re not with Lila?” I didn’t bother masking my surprise.

Tiernan flicked his wrist to check his Montblanc. “I allotted you idiots ten hours of my time, and only because I know it’ll upset your sister if one of you dies. I intend to get back to her before dinner.”

“God forbid my sister spends five seconds in this world not getting knocked up,” I muttered, falling into the recliner next to him.

“Tiernan.” Luca didn’t bother looking at him as he tore his way straight to the liquor. “I suggest you leave unless you wish to get your head blown off by not-so-friendly fire.”

“If there’s a way to salvage this, I’m going to find it.” Tiernan sprawled in his seat.

“Save yourself the field trip. There’s no way to salvage this.” Luca jerked open a whiskey and took a swig straight from the bottle. “The Bratva charter in the U.S. of fucking A. is as good as dead. Vegas will be lucky if I let it keep its lights on.”

Whoa, boy. I’d just boarded the delulu train to Unhingeville. So much for keeping myself safe for Tom.

“I told Alex about Slava, the FBI, his aspirations about Katya, and the botched operation,” Tiernan said, ignoring Luca’s temporary madness. “Explained why you had to kill his baby brother.”

“And?” Achilles’s lips pursed in annoyance.

“And while he understands why Slava needed to die, he insists you should’ve handed his brother over and let him do the honor.”

“Even if we were stupid enough to give our sworn enemy a heads-up, we were in a time crunch to save Tom,” I piped up. “You know, to help the man who actually helped us escape life in prison.”

“Alex doesn’t give a shit about your sugar daddy.” Tiernan waved me off.

“Was he the one who gave the order to kidnap Sofia?” Luca pinned Tiernan with a scowl.

Tiernan hitched one shoulder up.

“Your best friend is dead.” Luca jammed the whiskey bottle back into its cart. “He just doesn’t know it yet.”

The rest of the plane ride was spent putting together an IED. Explosives were Achilles’s forte, and he took great pains to ensure maximum damage. He stuffed the bottle with screws, broken razors, rusty nails, and glass. Before he screwed the cap on the small tank, Luca pushed a bottle of nitric acid into his hand. “Pour.”

We all watched my older brother, shocked.

Luca never showed enthusiasm for cruelty. He just did what had to be done.