Page 68 of Then We Shatter

Grace seemed nice enough when we met at the restaurant, but I’m not sorry for planning her abduction. And to be fair, abducting is too strong a word. I’m just luring her away from the party at the Moncrief estate for a wee while. It’s only right that I share in Kitty’s birthday celebrations, and Grace is my entry ticket. I just hope Duke sees it that way.

I’m all dressed up in a tux and Patrick is being his usual irritating self on top of my head while I loiter around a quiet industrial estate. I’ve chosen a location only a few minutes’ drive from the party I haven’t been invited to. It’s a small comfort that the Griffins haven’t been invited either. Vasili’s enemies aren’t welcome even though the pakhan himself is staying in Russia for his niece’s weekend of celebrations. It’s as if he thinks someone would try to kill him. That would definitely be me.

The longer I wait for Grace to show, the more time I have to question my sanity. My family think I’m enjoying a little road trip, but it’s Shelley who’s driving the car they’re tracking, and it’s her scenic photos I’ve been uploading to the McConkey group chat. If my heart is pulling me home, it’s not to Las Vegas.

Any second thoughts I might have are swept away by a Mini Cooper’s headlights. Not wanting to alarm Grace, I rest against a wall, casually holding a large cake box. The cake is the minor crisis I’ve engineered to draw my victim away from the tight ring of security around the estate. The top tier of Katarina’s birthday cake mysteriously went missing in transit, and Katarina has sent Grace to fetch a replacement.

It’s the only part of my plan I’ve shared with my princess, which was by text because she’s intent on our conversation at the restaurant being our last farewell. As far as she knows, the ruse is to collect my birthday gift. Little does she know the gift is me.

I’m hoping Grace won’t recognize me from the restaurant and take fright, but almost as soon as she pulls up, she’s shifting the Mini into reverse. Fortunately, I’m too quick and she’s too panicked to select the right gear.

I pull open a door and fold myself into the passenger seat, setting the cake box and gift bag on my lap. “Don’t rush on my account,” I say but, despite my best roguish smile, she recoils. “Do you not want the cake, Gracie?”

She swallows back a gulp of horror. “It’s you again. Katarina’s hairdresser.”

“To be honest with you, I tend to mess up her hair more than I do style it, but yeah, that’d be me.”

“Why are you…?”

I swear I see the moment her soul leaves her body. I’m not disguising my Irish accent tonight. I don’t know how much an interior designer knows about the criminal underworld, but even if she doesn’t know who I am, she knows what I am.

Grace trembles so much I’m worried she won’t be able to drive. “What do you want?”

“A ride to the party would be grand.” I tip my head to the road. “We need to get going. We don’t want to miss the celebrations.”

I’m mildly impressed when she puts the car in park. “No.”

I can see why Duke likes her. She’s not Katarina’s level of gorgeousness, but she’s pretty, and her black crocheted dress shimmers with gold thread in the moonlight. Plus she’s got grit.

“You’re not on the guest list and you won’t be allowed in,” she adds, continuing to resist despite the quake in her voice. “Please, get out.”

My lips thin. Grace needs to know this isn’t up for negotiation. “Please don’t make me do this.”

Her expression falls. “Do what?”

Grace flinches when I slip my hand inside my jacket, but I shoot her another of my devastating smiles before pulling out my cell phone. “Let’s talk to Kitty.”

I make a concerted effort to relax my jaw. I’m far from confident Katarina’s going to answer my call, but my valiant efforts to get my gift to her have paid off because her voice is softened with a mixture of need and regret when she answers.

“Hey, Shorty. Did you see Grace?”

“I’m looking at her right now.” I wink at Grace. “We’re on speakerphone, so no dirty talk.”

“You should be so lucky,” she huffs, but there’s a catch in her voice. “Hi, Grace. Sorry for the surprise. Shorty’s insisting on giving me a birthday gift and you’re the only one I’d trust to pick it up. We won’t get another chance.”

Grace has brought her tremors under control now that Katarina has entered the conversation, and she even manages a little attitude. “Shorty here wants me to–”

I cough. Loudly. “Two things, Gracie. Firstly, only Katarina gets to call me Shorty. You can call me Kill, Killi or Killian.”

“And your second thing?” Katarina jumps in. “What the hell are you up to, Killian?”

“Since I’m all dressed up with nowhere to go, Gracie’s kindly offered to give me a ride. I thought I’d give you your gift in person.”

“I didn’t offer,” interjects Grace.

There’s silence on the other end of the line.

“Listen to me, Kitty. I’ve got my wig and a pair of sunglasses,” I tell her. “And with Gracie vouching for me, security won’t look at me twice. I promise I won’t speak to anyone else. I just want to see you.” When I still get nothing, I add, “And I intend to see all of you. Tonight.”