Alexei paced furiously back and forth. He picked up a very large, very expensive-looking vase and heaved it over his head, smashing it against the far wall.

 

“Blyad'!” he cursed, his heavy voice echoing against the far metal walls.

 

Paul winced as a ceramic shard whizzed by his scalp.

 

“You’re surprised?” Vlad drawled. “This is what happens when you give people options. They think they can do whatever they want.”

 

“Might I remind you that you are the one who suggested I give him this option?” Alexei pointed out tersely.

 

“True,” Vlad admitted. “But I didn’t tell you to give him the extra time with the girl. You should have taken her immediately.”

 

“You speak up now; where were you yesterday with your wisdom?” Alexei asked.

 

Vlad shrugged, sensing now was a good time to be quiet.

 

“What about you?” Alexei suddenly asked Paul. “Any smart ideas?”

 

Paul wasn’t sure how to answer that, so he took Vlad’s lead and said nothing.

 

“Come on,” Alexei said, waving his hand. “Speak up!”

 

“Uh, are you sure he wasn’t at the bar when it blew up? Maybe he got hurt or something,” Paul suggested lamely.

 

Alexei let out an ugly laugh. “That would be funny. He is preparing to go to war with us, and he dies in the first battle.”

 

Paul laughed with him, secretly praying Ace was alive and was still going to go through with their plan.

 

“Where is William?” Alexei asked, suddenly turning to Paul. “He’s late.”

 

Paul stood up straight. “He should be here any minute.”

 

As though on cue, the side door boomed open, slamming against the metal wall. William strolled through looking like the cat that had eaten the canary.

 

“Why do you look so happy?” Alexei asked suspiciously.

 

“Because I found Niko,” he said with a nasty grin. “We finally got a bead on him somewhere in Massachusetts; he’s staying with an uncle on his mother’s side.”

 

Alexei finally began to smile. So what if he didn’t have the whore, Fiona, today? He would have her soon enough, and he had the image of Ace Connor’s mangled, crispy corpse to keep him happy.

 

“We need to grab him,” he ordered William. “We will use him to draw the girl out. If Ace is alive, he will follow her to us.”

 

“What if it doesn’t work?” Paul blurted out. “How will you lure him here, then?”

 

“Why wouldn’t it work?” Alexei asked, his brow furrowing. “Do you know something?”

 

Paul bit his lip, shaking his head. “No, of course not. I’m just…trying to be thorough. Sorry if I seem nervous,” he said.

 

Alexei stared at him suspiciously for a long moment, then broke into a grin. “Do not be nervous!” he said, throwing a friendly arm around Paul’s shoulders. “It’s very simple, trust me.” Releasing Paul, Alexei began to bark orders at the people standing around him. “William, contact our people in Boston and have them sit on the boy until we get there. Paul, I want you to look into our situation with Ace. Vlad,” reaching into his pocket, Alexei pulled out his wallet and threw it to his second-in-command, “I want two first-class tickets leaving for Boston tonight, one way, and we’ll need a car to drive back in once we have picked up Niko.”

 

Vlad lazily snatched the wallet out of the air. “You got it, boss.”

 

Six hours later they were touching down in Boston and picking up their rental car—something with a nice, large trunk for the way home. Using William’s connections, it hadn’t been difficult to find Uncle Leon. Apparently the man worked for a big time law firm.

 

Alexei wondered how someone so prestigious could be connected to someone like Niko, but he supposed that was the weakness of family. At the very least they could rob the man once they had collected Niko.

 

“We’re here,” Vlad said, pulling up alongside a three-story brownstone that was partially obscured by clinging ivy.

 

Several lights, at least one on every floor, were on in the house, causing Alexei to worry that, perhaps, others lived with Leon Carver. He had not come prepared to execute an entire family, neither mentally nor materially. That kind of work required a serious cleanup crew, which he simply did not have.

 

Movement caught his eye—it was Niko! He was standing in the middle of the kitchen wearing only his boxers. Alexei glanced at his diamond encrusted watch. It was almost midnight. Why do they have so many lights on at this hour? And if everyone is awake, why is Niko the only one who is up?

 

Watching Niko open the refrigerator and take a pull straight from the milk carton, Alexei realized that what he was looking at was the careless lifestyle of an adolescent man who had been left in an extravagant home with no supervision.

 

He nudged Vlad. “He’s alone. Let’s go.”

 

They quietly stepped out of the car, carefully shutting the doors behind them. The last thing they wanted was to give him a head’s up. As they crept around to the back of the house, both Alexei and Vlad darkly recalled the violent resourcefulness of the elder Brown, thinking they didn’t want to find out if it ran in the family.

 

It had been easy enough for Alexei to pick the lock of the back door. The hinges squeaked gently as the two men snuck inside, but muted footsteps from above told Alexei that Niko was upstairs now, too far away to hear such a small noise.

 

Alexei pulled his gun from the back of his waistband, silently motioning for Vlad to do the same. They circled around to the floating staircase, tiptoeing up the steps to maintain the surprise advantage. The top of Niko’s head came into view, and Alexei quickly ducked back down to avoid being seen.

 

He looked at Vlad, who gave a nasty grin in reply. Alexei smiled, too. Niko had evaded him for far too long, and now he was going to learn what it meant to pay your dues.

 

***

 

Riley was standing guard as Ace had ordered, making sure Fiona didn’t randomly decide to take off, when Lucky approached and asked to go in.

 

“I don’t think Ace would like that,” he said, dubiously shaking his head.

 

“Oh, come on,” she pleaded, prettily batting her eyelashes. “Ace only said Fiona couldn’t come out. He never said no one could go in.”

 

Riley glanced down at her, raising his eyebrow. “I’m not going to make my judgment based on a technicality, Lucky. The answer is no.”

 

“Yeah, but, the whole point is to keep her here, right? Is she more likely to stay put if she has someone to talk to, or if she’s bored off her ass?” Lucky pointed out. “Besides,” she continued quietly, “she’s obviously hurting, Riley. She needs a friend.”

 

Riley’s shoulders drooped as he gazed into his lover’s eyes. “You have a good heart,” he murmured, quickly glancing around before dipping his head to press his lips to hers.

 

Lucky wrapped her arms tightly around him, her fingers digging into his back. Riley pulled away suddenly and she let out a small gasp of surprise. He smiled at her response, then nodded towards the door behind him, stepping to the side so she could knock.

 

How dare he? Fiona fumed, throwing herself on the bed. He can open up to me about how he feels responsible for what happened, but apparently he needs to ‘move on.’

 

Of course he wants to move on, the self-doubting side of her started in, He’s probably bored of you. He’s been with scores of women, had sex hundreds of times. Why would he ever want a repeat of what he’s already had?

 

Fiona had called Ace weak for not admitting his feelings for her, but what if he wasn’t weak and she was just some crazy, ranting girl who couldn’t see that she’d been dumped? What if she was imagining what she had felt between them at the hotel?

 

A soft knock interrupted Fiona’s self-deprecating tirade. “What do you want?” Fiona called irritably.

 

“Fiona?” she heard Lucky’s muted voice on the other side of the door. “Can I come in?” the younger girl asked.

 

Frankly, Fiona wasn’t sure. Part of her wanted someone to vent to, the other wanted to shut everyone out.

 

“Fiona?” Lucky repeated. “We don’t have to talk. I just thought you might need a friend.” Not hearing a response, Lucky reluctantly stepped back. “Okay, I’ll just go, then…” She gave Riley a miserable look.

 

“No. You can come in,” she said, opening the door a moment later.

 

Fiona stepped back to let Lucky enter, and the two women sat on the bed together. No one said anything for a long time.

 

“Do you want to talk about it?” Lucky finally asked. “I mean, you don’t have to, I’m just asking.” She didn’t know the right thing to say.

 

Fiona didn’t reply.

 

“We could talk about something else, then,” Lucky tried again, still getting nothing in return. “Oh!” she said suddenly, her eyes wide. “I got it. Wanna hear about the time Ace literally broke his ass in front of everyone outside of The Crabtree?” Lucky giggled, motioning for Fiona to lean in close. “He had to wear a cast that looked like a pair of shorts for two months.”

 

The image came to Fiona’s mind vividly, and she snorted loudly despite herself. “That sounds exactly like something I would want to hear right now,” she said. “Go on, what happened?”

 

“Well, we were all pretty drunk,” Lucky said with the tone that this should be considered the precursor to all of her stories. “This was back when there were a lot of gangs, and The Crabtree was sort of considered our Switzerland, or whatever.” Lucky waved a dismissive hand. “It was a place where the rivalry between us was friendly. So, we’re wasted, and someone suggests we do Biker Olympics. There were a bunch of categories: beer chug, best tits, you get the point. Well, we nominated Ace for the wheelie race, and—”

 

Fiona’s phone, the burner cell she had picked up at Niko’s suggestion, began to ring, cutting Lucky off mid-sentence. She seized it and her heart froze—she and Niko had spoken almost every day to check in with each other, but each time that phone rang, Fiona was terrified it was going to be Alexei, or a police officer telling her they’d found Niko’s body washed up on a river bed somewhere.

 

You’re being ridiculous, Fiona, she told herself. Niko is fine. Answer the phone and see for yourself.

 

“Sorry,” she said, looking at Lucky. “It’s my brother, and if I don’t answer he’ll—”

 

Lucky held up her hands. “Say no more.” She stood up from the bed. “I’ll give you guys some privacy.” Walking out of the room, the purple ends of Lucky’s platinum blonde hair bounced merrily from the bottoms of her pigtails, and Fiona smiled, wishing she felt as free.

 

Shaking her head, Fiona pressed the answer button. “Hey, Niko,” she said warmly. “How’s it going?”

 

“Fiona!” Niko cried in a strangled whisper. He was panting heavily. “Fiona, they found me!”

 

Everything Fiona had feared, everything she had tried to push away, was now happening. “What do you mean?” she blurted out. “How are you calling me? Where are you? Can you get out?” She had a million questions.

 

“I’m at Uncle Leon’s,” Niko hurriedly explained. “He wasn’t home, so I was checking out the house, when I saw Alexei and Vlad creeping up the stairs in the mirror behind me. They didn’t think I saw them, so I kept pretending I didn’t see them until I thought I could make a run for it, but they cut me off. I managed to make it to the garage and now I’m hiding in the trunk of Uncle Leon’s car. Fiona, they’re going to find me! I just know it! I know—”

 

“Niko!” Fiona said firmly. “Stop! Take a deep breath before you pass out.” Niko had been ranting at top speed. “Now, I’m going to tell you what to do, okay? I’m going to get you out of this,” Fiona promised, deep down knowing how utterly powerless she truly was. “What I need you to do is—” she began.

 

“Fiona!” Niko whispered. “They’re coming…”

 

In the background, Fiona heard a large boom, like someone had just knocked in a door, or, perhaps, somehow dented an expensive car.

 

“What do I do?” Niko breathed.

 

Footsteps echoed, sounding closer and closer, but Fiona had no idea what to tell her brother. She was terrified it would be the wrong thing.

 

“Just stay quiet, and maybe they’ll—” Fiona heard the loud pop of two gunshots and the screech of metal on metal, then clear, raucous laughter.

 

“Fiona!” Niko screamed, his voice piercingly high. “Fiona! They got me! Fi! Fi!”

 

Fiona nearly began screaming herself, but she didn’t want Niko to think anything had happened to her. “Niko, I’m coming, okay? Okay?” she cried into the phone.

 

Her brother’s screams faded into the distance and she knew someone was dragging him away. There was a rustling sound from the phone. Someone had picked it up—she could hear them breathing.

 

“I’m looking forward to seeing you, Fiona,” Vlad said.

 

She shivered, the oil in his voice sliding down her skin. Fiona shut the phone. She wanted nothing more than to throw it across the room, but it was her only tie to Niko. Fiona fell to her knees. Laying her head on the bed, she began to sob.

 

What am I going to do now? Even if Ace wasn’t the biggest asshole on the planet, he still wouldn’t be able to convince The Hell Brothers to abandon whatever plan they have just because Niko is in danger!

 

Fiona raised her head, roughly wiping away her tears with the palm of her hand. Think, Fiona! Think! This is no time to get weepy and fall apart. She already knew and had accepted that she was going to have to save her brother herself; debating whether Ace wouldn’t or couldn’t help her was beyond the point. Her current problem was how to get away from Ace without him noticing.

 

If he knows I’ve gone after Niko, he’ll just come get me and bring me back. He doesn’t understand. He as much told me that if Niko were his brother, he would have let him go a long time ago. My best option is to go before Ace gets back, while Riley is still the one on guard.

 

Fiona got up and examined all of the windows. There were only two, one of which was painted shut. She stuck her head out of the other one. It was a twenty-foot drop straight to the ground—not a tree limb to climb out on or a gutter to drop from.

 

She pulled her head back inside and sat on the bed with a sigh. There wasn’t a sheet so she couldn’t even try to make a rope. Ace’s negligent lifestyle had provided him with the perfect jail cell.

 

But what about the jailer? Fiona thought, a smile spreading across her face.

 

Fiona opened the door to see Lucky and Riley in the middle of what appeared to be an intense discussion.

 

They immediately stopped talking and both turned to face her.

 

“Did you need something?” Lucky asked.

 

Fiona glanced at Riley, who calmly returned her look. “I finished talking to my brother, and I could use some company,” she said, looking back at Lucky.

 

“Of course,” Lucky immediately replied. “I’ll talk to you later,” she said, turning so she could give Riley a discrete wink.

 

Fiona closed the door once Lucky entered, making sure it was firmly closed.

 

“Are you feeling better now that you talked to your brother?” Lucky asked, falling back onto the bed.

 

Fiona grabbed Lucky’s wrist, pulling her up into a sitting position. “I need your help,” she demanded.

 

“What do you mean?” Lucky said, confused. “Help with what? With Ace?”

 

“No, not Ace,” Fiona said bitterly. Ace wasn’t any help at all right now. “I need help with my brother. He just called me to tell me that Alexei and Vlad found where he was hiding out.”

 

“Oh my gosh!” Lucky exclaimed. “Is he okay?”

 

Fiona bit her lip, trying to keep the tears from overflowing. “I don’t know. He was talking, then I heard screams, then…then…there was a gunshot. Maybe more than one, I can’t remember,” she said, now openly crying.

 

“We’d better tell Ace!” Lucky said, getting up from the bed.

 

“No!” Fiona cried, grabbing Lucky’s arm to stop her. “He can’t do anything about it. He won’t do anything about it,” she said, correcting herself. “I’m the only one who can help my brother right now, and if we tell Ace, he’s just going to keep me locked in here while my brother is out there, dying.”

 

“Ace’s just trying to keep you safe,” Lucky said.

 

“Why?” Fiona asked. “It’s obviously not because he cares about me. He made it very clear to me that he’s moved on. He even told me to do the same.”

 

“Well, that’s just plain not true,” Lucky said, rolling her eyes and sitting back down on the bed. “Ace’s obviously crazy about you—that’s why the gang is so pissed off. He’s putting you over everyone else. Whatever he told you, it’s not true.”

 

“I wish I could believe that,” Fiona muttered. “Either way, it doesn’t matter,” she added, louder. “I’m the only one who can help Niko. Will you help me?”

 

Lucky looked around. “Who are you talking to? Because I know you don’t expect me to walk into the lion’s den next to your crazy ass.”

 

“No, I don’t,” Fiona said. “I need your help busting out.” She nodded towards the door.

 

“Well, that’s a different story, then. What’s the plan?” Lucky asked.

 

“I feel skeezy asking, but do you think you could…y’know…distract Riley?” Fiona asked hesitantly. “I only ask because I thought I caught him looking at you that way when you came in earlier.”

 

“Oh yeah?” Lucky said, a grin spreading across her face.

 

She was absurdly pleased to find out that Riley was giving her looks behind her back. Fiona was giving her a look right now, but it was a very odd one. Lucky quickly stopped smiling.

 

“Um, yeah, I could try to do that,” Lucky said in what she hoped was casual, but not too casual, manner. “He’s pretty quiet, though, so who knows if it’ll work.” Yeah, right, she thought to herself.

 

“Right,” Fiona said slowly, still staring at Lucky. “Anyway, if Alexei is driving Niko back from Boston—”

 

“They will be,” Lucky interrupted, reassuring her. “Crowds, security—it’s too hard to fly with a hostage.”

 

“Okay, that gives me some time,” Fiona said. “So, if you could distract Riley early tomorrow morning, maybe say you came to check on me or something?” she suggested. “Then I can sneak out and go rescue my brother.”

 

“What if Ace wants to check in on you after you’re gone? You’ll need someone to keep him busy,” Lucky pointed out.

 

Fiona scoffed. “I don’t think that will be a problem. He’d have to care to want to check in on me.”

 

Lucky rolled her eyes, ignoring Fiona’s comment. “You need a backup plan. Lianna could help.”

 

“Are you sure? I don’t want to tell anyone that’s going to tell Ace.”

 

“You can trust Lianna. I promise,” Lucky assured her.

 

Fiona bit her bottom lip. “Okay, but no one else,” she warned. “It’ll get back to Ace and he’ll try to stop me. Alexei and Vlad grabbed Niko from my uncle’s place, so I need at least thirteen hours, ten if they’re really pushing it.”

 

“Okay,” Lucky said. “When I leave, I’ll mention to Riley that you’re tired and don’t want to be bothered. Maybe that’ll keep anyone else out who thinks of visiting you.” She stood to leave, then stopped suddenly. “Wait! How are you going to get to…wherever you’re going? Where are you going? Maybe this isn’t such a good idea after all…” Lucky was beginning to have second thoughts. “How are you going to do anything if you’re all by yourself?”

 

“If you’re worried about me being on my own, don’t be,” Fiona said. “I’ve been taking care of my brother by myself half my life; I’m used to it. As for a ride, you guys aren’t going to hold Bobby here the whole night, right?”

 

“You’re going to ask that kid to come back here early tomorrow morning after the late night you just put him through?” Lucky said.

 

“Don’t judge me,” Fiona said flatly, her temper rising. “I’m going to do whatever it takes to get my brother back home safe and sound, and don’t you dare tell me that if it were someone you cared about, you wouldn’t do the exact same thing.”

 

Lucky thought about Riley, the man she loved, who stood only ten feet away on the other side of the door, and she knew Fiona was right.

 

“All right,” Lucky sighed. “I’m going to get in so much trouble,” she muttered to herself.

 

“Thank you, Lucky,” Fiona said, giving the younger woman a warm hug. “I’ll never forget this.”

 

Something tells me neither will I, Lucky thought.

 

The next morning, Fiona woke early in anticipation. For the next half hour, she had her ear pressed up against the door, listening for Lucky’s approach.

 

“Hey, hot-stuff,” Lucky said, strolling up to Riley. “How’s the hostage?”

 

Riley raised an eyebrow at her. “I haven’t heard anything. She must still be asleep.”

 

“It’s been an emotional couple of weeks for her. God knows I’d be sleeping hard after the time she’s had.”

 

Lucky was tensely aware that Fiona was listening in on her conversation with Riley. Therefore, she was tasked with the difficulty of getting Riley into bed without seeming like they had done it several dozen times before.

 

“Standing here all night must have you feeling a bit stiff,” Lucky said, rubbing her fingers up and down Riley’s arm slowly.

 

“No. I am fine,” Riley said, quickly catching Lucky’s meaning. He was resolutely determined not to fall victim to his desires. Ace had ordered him to stand guard, and Fiona had already given one of them the slip.

 

Poor Andrew, Riley thought, remembering the ridicule the huge man had faced upon returning to the house. He’s never going to live that one down.

 

Ace had called Andrew after discovering Fiona was at the house and reamed the man out. Andrew had burst into the room, startling Melanie from what had been a very satisfying nap, and had come back to headquarters to a ruined reputation.

 

“Come on, Riley, everyone’s still asleep,” Lucky whispered, stretching up on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear. “We can make it a quickie. She’ll be passed out until noon; you’ll be back in a half hour, tops.”

 

Lucky slid her hand down Riley’s broad chest to the front of his jeans. Slipping her hand into his pocket, her fingers found the outline of his long shaft. At her touch, it immediately began to harden and swell. Lucky smiled. She knew she was only a few deft movements away from convincing Riley to join her in her room.

 

Lucky reached up to press her lips to the hollow of Riley’s throat—a spot she knew he loved. His large hands came down to meet around her waist, drifting lower and lower until he could cup her ass.

 

Lucky moaned into him, her hand gripping his cock through his pants. Riley tweaked her nipple in response, lightly flicking her nipple ring the way he knew she liked. Lucky moaned again, louder this time.

 

Fiona, still listening in, blushed and stepped away from the door, embarrassed to be overhearing her friend in such an intimate setting.

 

Lucky unbuckled Riley’s belt, tugging on one of the ends as she pulled him towards her room. “Let’s go,” she said, panting with desire, an eager grin on her face.

 

At this point Riley didn’t even know who Fiona was, let alone that he was supposed to be guarding her. Plucking at the buttons on Lucky’s shirt, he followed her into the room, kicking the door shut behind him.

 

The second the door closed, Lucky jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and pushing his jeans down with her feet. Riley met her enthusiasm by unhooking her bra and taking her breast into his mouth, his tongue encircling the metal piercing.

 

“Oh fuck, Riley. You know just how I like it,” Lucky said, smiling sweetly down at him.

 

Riley dumped her onto the bed, chuckling as he climbed on top of her. “Of course. I know everything you like,” he said, looking deep into her eyes.

 

Lucky let out a soft, satisfied sigh as he entered her. She hooked her arms around his neck, letting him fill her body. They moved together, Riley murmuring in her ear as Lucky climbed higher and higher.

 

She came, Riley following barely a moment later. They pressed their foreheads together, panting as they smiled at one another.

 

Riley rolled over onto his back, pulling Lucky in close to his side. “That was amazing,” he said, kissing her forehead. He closed his eyes. After the stressful week everyone had been having, that was exactly what he needed. He let out a deep sigh, satisfaction sweeping through his body.

 

He drifted off to sleep, feeling the pulse of his lover’s heartbeat against his chest.

 

***

 

Fiona cautiously opened the door, cringing when the hinges squeaked. Screamed, more like it, Fiona thought, glaring accusingly at the offending hardware.

 

She paused outside one of the rooms, hearing the familiar noises of two people locked in the throes of a passionate tryst. Fiona’s stomach twisted, remembering how only a few days ago, Bobby had been sent to tell her and Ace to keep the level down on their own rendezvous.

 

Fiona began to carefully make her descent down the steps when the stair beneath her foot groaned loudly. She froze, holding her breath, waiting to see if anyone had heard the seemingly deafening sound. At the base of the steps, a face appeared around the corner. It was Lianna.

 

She held up her hands, motioning for Fiona to stay where she was. Lianna looked into the room to her left, then waved her hand for Fiona to continue down the stairs, holding one finger to her lips.

 

Fiona got to the first floor without any more problems, thankfully. She looked into the side room to see Ace sleeping on the couch and suddenly she was very, very grateful for Lianna’s help.

 

“Thanks,” she breathed once Lianna had led her past the living room, to the back door of the house.

 

“Don’t worry about it—it’s nothing none of us wouldn’t do for each other,” Lianna said, checking over her shoulder to make sure Ace hadn’t suddenly materialized behind them. “Bobby’s parked in the alley at the end of the block. I’ll do my best to keep Ace occupied when he wakes up, but there are no guarantees,” she warned Fiona.

 

“I’ll take whatever I can get,” Fiona said.

 

“Then take this,” Lianna said. She opened the top drawer of the kitchen cabinet. Inside were two guns, the smaller of which Lianna pulled out and handed to Fiona. “Do you know how to work it?” she asked.

 

“Make sure the safety is off and pull the trigger?” Fiona said.

 

“Basically,” Lianna agreed. She leaned back to glance out the window; everyone was still outside, but Fiona needed to hurry. “Keep the safety on until it’s time to use it. Otherwise you’ll end up shooting your tits off.”

 

“Thanks again, Lianna,” Fiona said, hugging her tightly.

 

Lianna hugged her back until she heard movement from upstairs. Someone had woken up and was walking down the steps. “Go!” she whispered roughly, pushing Fiona out the front.

 

Fiona stumbled across the back porch and down the steps, nearly falling flat on her face. Righting herself, she looked up the alley one way, then the other, trying to spot Bobby’s car. The early morning sun blinded her, making it difficult to pick out the old Toyota. A car at the end of the road started its engine, tapping its brake lights and catching Fiona’s attention.

 

She jogged down to the end of the block, double checked that it was, in fact, Bobby behind the wheel, and hopped into the car.

 

“Hey, Mrs. Connor,” Bobby said, nervously checking his rearview mirror.

 

“Just call me Fiona, Bobby,” she tiredly replied. Fiona was terrified; she had no idea what she was going to do, or how she was going to do it, and the last thing she needed right now was to be constantly reminded of Ace and his betrayal.

 

“Okay, Fiona,” Bobby said, her name feeling awkward and uncomfortable in his mouth. “Where are we going?”

 

Fiona didn’t reply for a long minute—she needed to think.

 

Niko won’t even be inside the city limits for another three hours. How do I get Alexei to come to me before he can hurt him?

 

Her plan was simple: get Alexei to come to her, then blow his brains out. Fiona knew that as long as Alexei was out of the picture, Niko would be safe. Anything that happened after that was just collateral.

 

“I need to go home,” Fiona said flatly.

 

Bobby stared at the townhome as he pulled into the driveway twenty minutes later. The garage was demolished, the windows were boarded up, and bullet holes were lodged in the siding. “You’re going to stay here?” Bobby asked doubtfully. “I don’t know, Mrs. Con—I mean, Fiona. I never thought I would say this, but Mr. Connor’s house seems like a safer place for you to be.”

 

Fiona opened the car door and got out. “I’m not looking for safe. I’m looking for my brother.” She leaned onto the car door, peering at Bobby through the open window. “Thanks for everything, Bobby. I hope we see each other again.”

 

Waving goodbye as he backed the car out of the drive, Fiona sighed and turned to go inside, carefully checking to make sure she still had the gun in her bag. Even though Alexei wasn’t supposed to be back for another couple of hours, Fiona wanted to search her home top to bottom for the man, just in case.

 

Once she was satisfied that she was the only one in the house, Fiona began to scope out the best vantage point for her to carry out her plan. The problem was it all depended on which way Alexei decided to enter the house, and Fiona didn’t know how to predict that.

 

She was sitting in her bedroom, trying to get inside the mind of a sociopathic Russian mobster, when she heard a car outside. Fiona panicked immediately, thinking it was Alexei come early.

 

Calming herself, Fiona remembered that Alexei still didn’t know she was here. So who could it be? Not Ace, or I would have heard his bike instead of a car. Bobby? Did he forget something?

 

Holding the gun at her side in a tense grip, Fiona carefully tiptoed her way to the front entrance. There was a small window near the top of the door which allowed Fiona to see the top of someone’s head—someone who had very shiny, straight black hair.

 

Fiona threw open the door, grabbing Melanie’s wrist and yanking her inside.

 

“Hey!” she protested. “Watch it, I bruise easily.”

 

“What are you doing here?” Fiona hissed. “You can’t be dropping by whenever you feel like it! It’s not safe!”

 

Melanie abruptly stopped rubbing her pained wrist and gave Fiona a cold look. “Funny, that’s exactly what I came here to tell you.”

 

“How did you even know I was home?” Fiona asked, peeking through the door window for overly observant neighbors.

 

“I didn’t,” Melanie said, annoyed. “When you didn’t call me, again, I made my rounds. I stopped by Ace’s, but when Lianna answered the door, she just slammed it in my face, the fucking bitch. I took that to mean you weren’t there.”

 

Fiona sighed. “Sorry. It’s not Lianna’s fault. She probably just didn’t want Ace to see you.”

 

“And why would that be a problem?” Melanie asked confusedly.

 

“Because I sort of escaped this morning,” Fiona confessed.

 

“Why are you escaping from your boyfriend’s house?”

 

“He’s not my boyfriend!” Fiona snapped, her eyes flashing. Melanie raised an eyebrow, and Fiona’s lip began to tremble. “You were right, okay?” Fiona said. “Ace was just using me. He made that very clear last night. So, go ahead, say ‘I told you so.’”

 

Melanie wrapped her arms around her friend. “I think you’ve had it bad enough that you don’t need me rubbing your face in it.”

 

Fiona cried on Melanie’s shoulder for a few minutes; the stress of her brother, the confusion with Ace, everything was so overwhelming. Fiona didn’t know if she could handle it. Finally, her tears subsided, and Fiona surfaced, wiping her wet cheeks with her sleeve. “Thanks, Melanie,” she said.

 

“Of course. That’s what friends are for.” Melanie smiled warmly at her. “So is that why you’re at home? You and Ace…?” She trailed off, not wanting to say something that might wound Fiona.

 

When Fiona didn’t say anything for a long moment, Melanie thought, perhaps, she had managed to upset her anyway.

 

“No,” she finally said. “That’s not why I’m here.”

 

“Fiona,” Melanie said in a strained voice, “I’m a nervous fucking wreck over here. I need you to tell me everything, right now, all at once.” She loved Fiona dearly, but her friend had the annoying habit of telling a story bit by bit, and not always in the best order.

 

“Alexei has Niko, and I’m the only one who can help him now,” Fiona told her. “That’s why I’m here. I’m setting up a trap for Alexei.” She walked over to her kitchen and pulled the gun out of the top drawer, setting it on the counter.

 

“Why do you have a fucking gun?” Melanie asked, staring at the weapon.

 

“I think you know why, Melanie.”

 

“You’re going to kill Alexei?” Melanie said disbelievingly. “What—you think you’re gonna just call him up and ask him to swing by before killing your brother?”

 

“I’m going to tell him that I’ll tell him how to get to Ace in exchange for Niko,” Fiona replied.

 

“Let me guess,” Melanie rubbed her eyes with one hand, “you don’t really have any information that will help Alexei with Ace. You’re just hoping he walks in here, into your trap, with no protection or backup of any kind, am I right?” she asked sarcastically. “Have you thought about what will happen when Alexei sees through your terribly obvious plan and kills you? Or, let’s say a miracle happens, and your plan does work—what then? Even if you manage to kill Alexei, one of his little cronies will just come right in after him and kill you himself,” Melanie pointed out.

 

Fiona said nothing.

 

“Oh my god.” Melanie slowly realized what Fiona was thinking. “You don’t even care, do you? You know there’s a high chance you won’t live through this, don’t you?”

 

“There’s nothing else I can do,” Fiona said calmly. “I’ve tried everything I can, except for this one last thing.”

 

“Alexei is going to know something’s up right away, Fiona,” Melanie said, trying a softer approach. “What good does this do if it’s basically suicide? That doesn’t help Niko.”

 

“I have to try,” Fiona said stubbornly.

 

Melanie shook her head. “How can I help?” she asked.

 

Fiona smiled. “Thanks for the offer, but I don’t think you can. This is something I need to do alone. If you got hurt…I don’t know what I’d do.” Melanie opened her mouth to protest, but Fiona put up her hand, silencing her. “Please. If you feel like you have to do something, can you check on Bobby? The poor kid seemed a little shaken up.”

 

“Welcome to the club, Jimbo. We’re all a little shaken up,” Melanie muttered to herself. “Fine. I’ll go. But I’ll be back in a couple of hours to check on you,” she insisted. Melanie threw herself at Fiona and gave the smaller woman a giant hug, using more strength than anyone looking at Melanie would think she rightfully had.

 

“You sure you know what you’re doing?” Melanie asked one more time before opening the door.

 

“Yes,” Fiona said more confidently than she felt. The truth was she had no idea what she was doing, or if any of it would work, but like she had told Melanie earlier, she had to try.

 

Stepping outside to walk Melanie to her car, Fiona made sure to wave to her neighbor, the one who lived in the other half of the townhome. The woman stared at her, rightfully terrified, having heard gunfire and rampant property destruction on the other side of their shared wall no less than three times in the last two weeks.

 

Fiona watched the woman hurry back into her side of the building; hopefully she was calling the police right now. Fiona wouldn’t know for a while, so she walked back inside and settled down to wait. She looked at her burner phone and made sure the volume was on high.

 

Sure enough, less than a half an hour later, the phone rang loudly. Fiona knew that when her neighbor called the police, it meant William would be notified, and he would call Alexei immediately to tell him Fiona was at home, alone.

 

Taking a deep breath, Fiona answered. “Hello?”

 

“Hello, Fiona,” Alexei said on the other end of the line. “Are you feeling homesick?”

 

She ignored him. “I have information that you might want.”

 

“What could you possibly have that I would care about? I have your brother.” Fiona heard rustling as Alexei pulled the phone away from his ear and passed it to someone. There was a dull thud, then a loud groan.

 

“Fi…” Niko’s voice was muffled.

 

“And soon, I will have you,” Alexei continued, bringing the phone back to his ear. “You have nothing I want.”

 

“I have Ace,” she replied evenly. “I can get you Ace.”

 

Alexei said nothing for a long moment. “You have him, or you can get him?” he asked. “Those are two very different claims.”

 

“I can get him for you,” Fiona clarified. “Whenever you want, however you want. I can get him for you.”

 

“How?” Alexei asked suspiciously.

 

“He’s in love with me,” she said, lying her ass off. “He’ll do anything for me. If he wasn’t, he would have given me up to you when you gave him the chance, but he didn’t.”

 

Ace has his own code of honor, but that doesn’t mean he’s in love with me—it just makes him obligated to me, Fiona thought bitterly.

 

“Let me guess: you want you and your brother to go free in exchange for Ace?” Alexei asked.

 

“Can Niko hear this?” If Niko overheard what she was about to say, he would flip out and ruin everything.

 

“No,” Alexei said slowly. “Only me.”

 

“I’ll give you Ace, and…I’ll take Niko’s place,” Fiona said.

 

She had absolutely no intention of giving up Ace, or herself for that matter, but Fiona needed to make a reasonable offer, or Alexei would know something was off. He might figure it out anyway, but if Fiona didn’t at least try, Niko would never even have a chance.

 

“Please, I’ll do anything,” she said, echoing the very words she had once directed at Ace only a week ago.

 

“Very well,” Alexei agreed after a short pause. “I will come to you. And, Fiona? Don’t do anything stupid,” he coldly warned her before immediately hanging up.

 

A chill ran down Fiona’s spine, and she tucked the phone into her back pocket. She arranged her demolished couch as best she could and sat down, looking at the gun in her lap. She flicked the safety off and raised the weapon, testing the weight of it.

 

A good pick, Lianna, Fiona thought. Thanks for this, girl.

 

She ran through her plan in her head repeatedly, checking her watch every ten minutes. Fiona didn’t know exactly when Alexei would arrive, which left her in a high state of alert. She took a deep breath to calm herself. All she could do right now was wait.