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“Undoubtedly. Lyanov has our backing though, and Moscow is far away from here.”
Was anything truly far away nowadays?
Unease settled inside me as the kitchen as a whole grew busier when the men waded in. Finn got his hand slapped when he tried to grab a brownie, and Declan burped baby Cameron while Brennan did something that made Camille turn bright pink. I didn’t even want to know why Savannah’s eyes were sparking with anger because whenever she looked like that and Aidan was in the vicinity, they tended to disappear.
It was amid that chaos that Cin shuffled closer to me. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
In the face of her confidence, I felt pathetic.
Did anything frighten this woman?
“Y-You weren’t to know—”
“I’m used to speaking my mind and I’m not comfortable around kids.”
“I’m not a kid,” I grumbled.
“You are to me,” she said simply, but it didn’t offend me, oddly enough. Mostly because I knew she didn’t make that comparison based on years on the planet but on experience.
There was no denying that I was a child to this woman as I easily fell into both categories.
“Is Maxim okay? Why wasn’t he lucid?”
“Do you care?” She tipped her head to the side. “You seemed scared when I spoke of him.”
“No. I was confused. H-He’s a friend.”
“A friend.” She smirked. “Do mobsters have friends?”
My scowl was immediate. “You shouldn’t judge people you don’t know. The O’Donnellys didn’t have to bring me into their family, but they did. I’m here. I’m safe. I wasn’t before. They saved me from people who’d have hurt me, and they protect me. I don’t like that you’ve disrespected them twice now. And while you’re under their roof too.”
Cin’s brows rose but she conceded, “I worked for the government.”
“So? They’re not exactly the good guys, are they? The newspapers prove that!” I scoffed, shoving a piece of hair behind my ear before I demanded again, “Why wasn’t Maxim lucid?”
“Because he got injured trying to rescue my friend.”
I stiffened. “How badly?”
“Bad.” Her stare was intense. “He was worried about you. That was why he was babbling.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“I don’t know.” She shot me a grin. “Mostly, I suppose, because it was strange. I appreciate the strange things in life. Punishment via butchery is new to me. It’s very medieval. And considering he routinely does this for a girl who isn’t even related to him makes it even more curious.”
“Maximismedieval,” I rasped. “Why was he worried about me?”
“He thought he was dying. He wasn’t but he didn’t know that at the time. He seemed to think that he was leaving you alone to face the lions, but from what I can see, the lions are biting at his door, not yours.”
“Where is he?”
“He’s in New York now after his men arranged an evacuation for him.”
“From the head of the Bratva in Moscow?”
“Yes.” She hummed. “He was in a small, private hospital, hiding out from theKrestiy Otetsthe last I heard. What are you to him?”
“I-I, nothing, really.”
