Page 70 of Weaponized

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“But, I assumed—”

“That was my intent when I went to his house, but someone else got to him first. Their version of the story wasn’t very flattering.” It’s not even lunchtime yet, and I feel like it’s already been the longest day of my life. I’m exhausted, but I tell him everything about what happened with Luca. Rowan has pulled his arm from around me and is now sitting with his hands clenched on his thighs, glowering. He is grinding his teeth so hard, I fear they may break.

“This next part is going to be hard for you,” I warn him.

“Go on,” he grits out.

I walk through my morning. I tell him about Margaret, the photos, Gianni, and Victor. He jumps to his feet and paces the room, hands on top of his head. It’s as if he wants to keep his brain from exploding.

“For what it’s worth,” I tell him, “I don’t think Victor wants to hurt anyone but Da.”

Rowan stops pacing and crouches in front of me. “That wasn’t a chance you should have taken, G. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. He could kill you. Christ. This changes everything.” He pops up and resumes pacing.

I shrug. “Luca’s life is worth more than mine. He deserves to know.”

“What the fuck, G? No. Just no.” Rowan’s voice rises and he towers over me. “That’s utter bullshit. He was lucky to have you. I’m sure the dumbass will figure that out at some point.”

“He isn’t wrong about me, Row. I’m not a good person. You don’t understand.”

My brother crosses his arms over his chest. Waits. I’m drowning in the silence. I’m so sick of all the secrets.

My voice is hoarse as I tell him about some of the horrible things I’ve done. How I was trained not only in foreign languages and martial arts, which he knows, but also in more intimate arts. More than flirting. So much more. Before I can even get the details out of my mouth, my brother stops me.

“I didn’t… I should have… Shit. I am so sorry I failed you. So, so sorry.” His voice is anguished.

“No, Rowan. No! None of this is your fault.” I hate to make another person hurt because of me. Rowan couldn’t have done anything to have stopped my fate. I know that.

“None of it is yours either. I don’t care how long it takes, but I will make sure you understand that.” My brother’s eyes have gone soft. “This won’t be your future, Gráinne. Never again.”

I shrug, needing to move on. I can’t take his pity. “We still need to move forward with your plan, Rowan. Da doesn’t know about my breakup yet. We can still invite him to a meeting with Victor, even if it’s just a setup.” I need to focus on what we can control. I hate feeling so vulnerable. My brother must see it on my face.

He nods. “We need to go over a few things again.” He’s all business now. “I have no idea if Victor will want an alliance with us now. He will likely try to kill Da, which is actually a good thing. But if he doesn’t succeed, and if Da finds out what you told him—how you helped the Larozzis with the Russian issue—shit.I’m going to need to arrange protection as long as Da is out there.”

Fantastic. I had worried that Victor might hurt me. I hadn’t thought Da might find out about our conversation before that happened. I was more concerned with him finding a way to harm Luca. I swallow the tight fear that climbs up my throat.

“Also, the day your asshole ex freaked out, called you names, and trashed his own house—”

“Don’t, Rowan.” I sigh. “Just don’t.”

“Don’t? He screamed at you and didn’t even give you a chance to speak? Trusted that asshole Abruzzi over you? Fuck him.” He pauses, takes a few deep breaths to calm himself. “Tell me again. He had the file? You saw that it was theoriginalone? And he said he knew about your specific conversation with Da?”

I nod. “I figure Gianni provided the file. He’s the only one who seems happy with this situation.”

“Yeah, well, until you kicked his ass, probably so. But, how often did you talk to Da? I mean, did you even tell him about that dinner? I thought you weren’t in touch with him.”

I think. Huh. I don’t recall. Wait. “Just once,” I tell my brother. “Da only called me once and it was while you were here. He asked about the dinner. I didn’t talk to him otherwise. He was oddly quiet.”

“Pfft. You didn’t even tell him anything. Still…how would they know that?” Rowan seems to be asking himself. He paces a few more times and then his eyes widen. “Fuck. We have to go.”

“What? Wait. Why?” I’m so confused at what is happening right now.

“Pack a bag. Leave your phone on the counter.” He is barking orders at me. He’s gone into command and control mode. I know better than to question him. He wouldn’t do this without cause. Good cause.

Within ten minutes, I’m sitting in Rowan’s car on the way to his place. “Row—”

He holds up his hand to silence me. Taps into his phone as he pulls out of my parking lot. “Hey. Yeah. I need you to get over to my sister’s place immediately. I left a key on top of the door of apartment 104—two doors down.” After a quick pause, “Check everything for bugs.Everything. She also left her cell phone on the kitchen counter. I need it checked for any kind of recording device, tracking device, any fucking thing that shouldn’t be there.”

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