“Then again,” Sienna adds after a moment’s thought, stopping my anger in its tracks. “Feliks mentioned an old cell loyal to the old Pakhan. If Blair was involved in this, maybe it was them?”
Sienna and Dante share a look again, always with their secret conversations only for the two of them. I slam my hands down onto the counter as the twisting knots in my gut reach their heights.
“What?”
“Listen,” Dante begins in that calm voice that lets me know he’s about to tell me something I won’t like. “After the information Feliks provided at the meeting, we suspect that Blair might not be the threatened damsel that we first assumed.”
The heat building within me chills in an instant.
“It’s a pretty sweet ploy,” Sienna continues, “targeting you with information about a child. Hitting you right in a spot thathurtsand with information only she was privy to. I think she was more active in these attempts than we’ve given her credit for. Especially since you told me she was at your house. Cara never told me that part, I presume to honor your secrecy about Samuel but, Killian, it means she had ample opportunity to poison you.”
Laid out like that, it sounds pretty fucking obvious, doesn’t it?
“But she was there. Would she turn up if she knew they were just going to try and kill me again?”
“How do you know she was there?” Sienna asks. A chill sweeps down my limbs as I pull out my phone only to remember it’s out of battery. I toss it down, irritated, and shrug.
“She said as much. She was running late and wanted me to order wine. Then she was there, asking where I was. And now I’m 90% sure she’s dead and Samuel is… who the fuck knows where.”
Dante takes my phone, pressing the side button as if to check the power as he turns away before setting it down on a charging pad located near the wall.
“Why did you stand her up?” Sienna asks, and her question draws my focus right back to what’s really important in this situation. “I told you to meet with her at all costs.”
Continued threats on my life put Cara and the baby at even more risk.
“I stayed with Cara because…” Trailing off into silence, both Dante and Sienna eye me curiously.
I can’t tell them.
Cara wants to wait. We should wait, just in case.
“Cara’s pregnant,” escapes my lips before I’ve even finished my thought. Sienna’s eyes dart wide and Dante’s face splits into a wide smile.
“Oh my God!” Sienna exclaims, pushing off the counter and darting around to draw me into a tight hug, her arms encircling my waist. Her excitement, and the beam on my brother’s face coupled with the fact that the news is now out in the open plasters a grin over my own lips.
“Cara told me last night and I-uh… I got distracted, celebrating,” I admit as Sienna squeezes me tight before releasing me. “Cara doesn’t want me to tell anyone because she’s only taken box tests and wanted to wait until after a doctor has confirmed it so please don’t say anything to anyone.”
“Congratulations,” Dante says, replacing Sienna and pulling me into a bear hug. It’s odd, I didn’t really do anything but I accept the congratulations anyway.
“This is… this is fantastic,” Sienna murmurs as she starts to fold the cloth in her hands. “Peace with the Russians, an Irish heir already on the way… if we take care of this one last problem, we might actually have a chance at living.”
“Except someone is still trying to kill me,” I point out as Dante steps away.
“Okay, you’re right. I’ll call Feliks. The bombing is all over the news so we have to talk to him. At the veryleastwhoever did this wanted to create even more distrust between us and the Russians and I want to get ahead of that,” Dante decides, “so I’ll call him. Find out what he knows and from how he responds, it’ll tell us all we need to know about who the real threat is here.”
Dante’s mind works so quickly that I’m in awe. He presses a kiss to Sienna’s cheek and leaves the kitchen, presumably to get started.
“As for Blair,” Sienna continues, “if she died in that explosion then I can get her details from my contacts in the police department. And if she’snotthere, then we know she’s okay and I can find out where she lives and where Samuel is. Your son shouldn’t be a chess piece in any of these games and if he is, due to terrible decisions from his mother, then I’d like to remove him from the board as quickly as possible.”
That’s what I came here for. The calm, collected planning and execution that I need to bring safety to my family and loved ones.
“Thank you,” I sigh and the twine woven around my chest relaxes a little, allowing for smoother breathing.
“Just remember,” Sienna adds as she tosses the washcloth into a black dish by the sink. “Cara should take precedence. She’s carrying your child and pregnancy isdifficult. You need to be there for her, as well as your son.”
“I will.” Such a promise comes easier than any other in my life. “I’d still be with her but we had to discuss this.”
“I’m glad we did. You should go home.” Sienna takes my arm and begins to lead me out of the kitchen. “In fact, that’s a direct order. Since you seem to be the main target at the moment, going home andstayinghome is your order. At least until we can get a handle on what exactly is going on with these attacks.”