“Dorrie?” Ben sounded as if he was speaking from underwater as the car moved forward. “You need to breathe. Come on. Shake it off.”
“Is it true?”
She blinked as Ian’s question made it through the fog in her brain.
“Ian,” Ben growled. “Not now.”
“My appointment—”
“Is canceled.” Ian again. “We’re going back to the house so you can tell us what the fuck is going on.”
“Ian,” Ben snapped at him. “Take it down.”
In the rearview mirror, she saw the look Ian leveled at her and her tongue twisted in knots. She didn’t think she could’ve said another word if she’d tried.
Amazingly, Ian kept quiet as well but she knew as soon as they got back to their home, all bets were off.
Pulling her phone out of her purse, she texted Risa to let her know she wouldn’t be there. Told her she had an emergency at work and would call her as soon as she could. That would keep her sister placated for a few hours at least.
Ian would never be placated. And she was pretty sure she knew whose side Ben would end up on as well.
By the time Ian parked his car in the garage, Dorrie felt sick to her stomach with anxiety but she followed Ian into the house, Ben at her back.
She thought he’d light into her right away. Instead, he headed for the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water, which he drank half of before turning back to her.
But still he didn’t say anything.
“Dorrie.” Ben deliberately stepped in front of her, blocking her view of Ian. “Is it true? Is Antonoff your father?”
No sense in lying now.
“Dorrie?”
If she answered that question honestly, would they betray her trust? Her dad had been right. It wasn’t just her life she was potentially screwing up. It was her mom’s, too.
And if you choose wrong?
She could lose everything.
And if you don’t come clean?
These men might never forgive her.
She swallowed, took a deep breath. “Our relationship is complicated.”
“Aren’t most?” Ben held her gaze. “My mom was a drug addict. She loved me but she loved getting high more. Thank God her mom, my gram, took me in when my mom finally couldn’t fight the addiction anymore. When I was six, she overdosed for the fourth time and Gram got full custody.”
His matter-of-fact tone cleared a little of the fog in her head.
“She’s been sober for four years this time and I try to tell myself she’s kicked it but honestly, there are nights I lie awake and wait for the call from the hospital or the cops.”
Her heart hurt for Ben, breaking the icy cold grip of fear around her heart. “Yes, he’s my father. He and my mom agreed to keep it secret. He’s not listed on my birth certificate. I didn’t know until I was eight.”
Behind Ben, Ian’s head dropped back and she saw his eyes close and his jaw flex. She expected him to say something now but his mouth stayed closed.
“Okay.” Ben’s voice soothed. “A few things make more sense now. Does anyone else know?”
She swallowed hard. “As far as I know, only my sister.”
“Obviously,” Ian’s voice still held a sharp edge, “someone else found out.”
“I don’t know how anyone would’ve found out. My parents and sister never would. And I never have.”
Except for them. And Ian looked like he didn’t want to know.
“Antonoff has more than enough enemies out there.” Ian crossed his arms over his chest, his icy calm spreading out to encompass her as well. “He is a killer, after all.”
Tears sprang into her eyes but she couldn’t dispute his statement.
As if her silence spurred him on, Ian held her gaze. “He sold the drugs Ben’s mom OD’d on. And he sure as shit had my dad killed.”
The pit in her stomach threatened to swallow her whole. “What?”
“My dad was killed in prison. The warden said he got in the middle of a fight and took a shiv to the leg. Bled out in minutes. My dad was no saint. He worked for Bellamy back then, right after Bellamy took over the South Philly territory. Right when your daddy was starting to make a name for himself. Bellamy and Antonoff didn’t get along and my dad got shanked in prison by one of Antonoff’s men. I don’t have a medical degree but even I can make the connections there.”
Tears formed but she blinked them back. Ian wouldn’t care and they’d only make her feel weak.
“Ian, shut the fuck up.” Ben got in her line of sight again. “Dorrie? You really need to breathe.”
She was. Barely. But her heart was beating so hard and fast she wasn’t sure it wouldn’t just pop. Which she knew was a physical impossibility but…
“Whoa, all right,” Ben said. “Come on, maybe you better sit down.”
She shook her head. “No, I need to go.”
Ben’s hand tightened on her shoulder, not threatening but enough to let her know she’d get a fight if she tried to leave. “No. You don’t. We’ll work this out—”
“She’s right. She has a message to deliver to her father.”
Ian’s calm tone cut sharper than if he’d raised his voice. And made her back straighten.
“He’s right. I need to talk to my dad. I need to tell him what’s going on.”
And she wasn’t wanted here. This was Ian’s home. Not hers. And he wanted her gone, which he made completely clear by turning and walking out of the house through the back door.
“Sonuvabitch.”
Ben’s muttered curse made her heart ache, and the frustration on his face made her stomach roll.
“I need you to drive me to my dad’s.”
“Jesus, Dorrie—”
“I need to get out of here.”
Ben’s grimace was fierce. “We need to talk this out.”
“No, we don’t.”
Ben’s mouth flattened into a straight line. “Fuck that. Don’t leave like this.”
“You and Ian are family and I don’t want to come between you.”
“Honey, don’t you know, that’s exactly where I want you?”
She sucked in a short breath. “Even though you know who I really am?”
“I knew who you were before I found out about your father. You are not your father. You’re smart and sweet and a little shy and sexy as hell. And I’m not going to step aside and let you think I don’t care.”
She stared at him for several seconds and he was pretty sure he saw tears in her eyes before she turned away.
“Look, if you don’t want to stay here, let me take you to Adam’s.”
She didn’t look away from the side window she was staring out of. “No. I don’t want to involve anyone else in this.”
My dad will take care of this. It’s better for you and Ian to get out now.”
“Is that really what you want?”
She couldn’t hold his gaze. “Please don’t make this more difficult than it already is.”
“I’m not trying to. But don’t shut us out because you think you’re keeping us safe.”
She shook her head. “It’s not just about me. You should understand that.”
Then she turned and walked toward the stairs.
“Dorrie! Damn it. Stop.”
She did, but only long enough to say, “I’m calling Gens. It won’t take him long to get here. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me but we’re done.”
She disappeared up the stairs and he heard the door to his room close with a bare whisper of sound.
*
As Ian pulled into the lane leading to Antonoff’s home, the gates opened as if by magic.
He’d called ahead to let Antonoff know he was coming but hadn’t told him why. He wanted to tell the bastard that he knew his dirty little secret to his face.
He hadn’t left home with the intention of coming here. He’d only had to get out of the house. Get away from Dorrie. Away from the lies.
Rage cur
dled in his gut, made his jaw tight enough to snap. He wanted to smash something but he knew he couldn’t be that stupid, especially because the something he wanted to smash was Antonoff’s face.
Which was, of course, the stupidest thing he could do.
Stopping in front of that grand manor, Ian took a second to breathe, even though the front door had opened and a thug in a suit had stepped out onto the circular driveway.
As he headed for the entrance, he saw Antonoff in the foyer just inside the door. Stone-faced, as always. Ian had the almost uncontrollable urge to rip the man’s head off but before he could speak, Antonoff beat him to the punch.
“Mr. Keller. I’ve already been informed of your meeting with Tosto’s men. I want to thank you again for your assistance—”
“Daddy.” A woman’s voice interrupted. “The man already knows who she is. Please, just stop.”
Ian had seen pictures of Larisa Antonoff, who now came hurrying down the stairs. But he’d never noticed the family resemblance between Dorrie and Larisa until now. Of course, he hadn’t known to look for one before now. And in all of those pictures, he’d only seen the icy reserve that must be an Antonoff family trait.
Now, fear showed in every line on her face as she stopped at the end of the stairs and put her hand on Ian’s forearm. He had to make a conscious effort not to pull away.
Get a grip.
“Is Dorrie okay? No one touched her, did they?”
“No.” Ian shook his head. “No one got near her.”
“How did he find out? Did he say anything at all about how he knows—”
“Risa.” Antonoff’s voice cut her off like a knife. “Let’s take this into my office. I’m sure Mr. Shaw would appreciate a private audience for your interrogation.”
If Ian thought Antonoff would intimidate his daughter—his oldest daughter—Larisa quickly disabused him of that by rolling her eyes and shaking her head. But then she huffed and pulled on Ian’s arm.
“Fine. Come with me, Mr. Keller. We need to talk.”
Half a minute later, Ian found himself behind a thick wooden door in a room that made him think of old Sherlock Holmes movies. This was clearly Antonoff’s personal office.
And it was like nothing Ian would’ve imagined.
“All right. No one can hear us in here.” Larisa hopped onto the edge of the desk, long legs and arms crossed as she glared at Ian. “Speak.”
Ian’s attention sliced back to Antonoff but the man had slumped into the chair behind the desk. He finally appeared to be showing some emotion. A little fear, a lot of exhaustion. But he kept his mouth shut.
He couldn’t believe the man was going to let his daughter do the questioning but then he didn’t really know Antonoff at all.
And he didn’t want to. The man was a criminal who peddled drugs and weapons and people and murdered others.
And he was Dorrie’s father.
Gritting his teeth against the urge to tell the guy to go fuck himself, Ian focused on Larisa and recounted what had happened, every last detail that he could remember.
And when he finally fell silent, Antonoff and his daughter exchanged a long glance.
Obviously, they knew something Ian didn’t. And Ian didn’t want to know. He wanted nothing more to do with Dorrie. Wanted to hand her back to Antonoff and forget he’d ever considered—
Considered what?
“Thank you, Mr. Keller.” Antonoff sighed and rose from his chair. “I appreciate your candor and your assistance with this situation. My men will take it from here. I’m sure you don’t wish to be pulled any farther into this business.”
Antonoff was absolutely right.
“So that’s what you considered Dorrie? Business?”
The contempt in Larisa’s voice bit at Ian, but he told himself he shouldn’t care what she thought. He only cared about getting the hell out of this toxic arrangement before it killed him or Ben. Christ, if anything happened to Ben because of this, it’d be Ian’s fault. He’d dragged his cousin into this mess that first night at the Lazarus.
“I suggest you don’t answer that question, Mr. Keller.” Antonoff’s expression actually held a hint of resigned humor. “I can assure you, there’s no answer to that question that will placate my daughter. When it comes to her relationship with her sister, she might be the more dangerous of the two of us. But I will say this, if you don’t leave now, I may let her take a swing at you. Because if I decided to take my shot, you might not survive.”
And there was the man who’d taken control of a major Russian crime family and made it his own in a matter of months with very little bloodshed.
If Ian hadn’t been so far beyond his tolerance level already, he would’ve known to walk away right then. But the rage that’d had years to build had finally reached its tipping point.
“I don’t take orders from you.” Ian’s hands clenched at his sides and he made very sure he kept his gaze on Antonoff. Larisa had nothing to do with this. “I will never take orders from you and I’m not afraid of you. You’re the reason your daughters have to constantly watch for threats over their shoulders. You’re the reason Dorrie’s life is about to be ruined. You’re the reason my father never made it out of prison.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Larisa’s eyes widen in shock but he couldn’t stop now. He’d kept this bottled inside for so long, if he didn’t get it out, he was afraid he might choke on it.
Antonoff’s expression never changed. Because he knew Ian was right.
“You have ruined so many fucking lives, and your daughters are the ones who are going to pay.” Now he did look at Larisa. “If I were you, I’d change your name and move somewhere no one knew you. Far away from him. And take your sister with you.”
Then he turned and walked back through the house and out the door.
Chapter Eleven
“Ben, what the hell are you still doing here?”
With bleary eyes, Ben looked toward the door of his office Wednesday night. Adam stood there, leaning a shoulder against the frame, eyebrows raised. Then Ben looked at the time on his monitor.
Nine p.m.
“Shit. Must’ve lost track of time.” He stood, stretching muscles that protested the two hours he’d spent without moving anything other than his hands. “What’s your excuse?”
“Late call from Japan.” Adam nodded toward his monitor. “I didn’t realize you had a case that required digging into organized crime in Philadelphia.”
Busted. Ben held Adam’s gaze through sheer force of will. “I don’t. This is personal.”
“Yeah, no shit.” With a sigh, Adam walked into the room and dropped into the chair on the other side of Ben’s desk. “You think it’s a good idea, sticking your nose in Antonoff’s business?”
“If it helps keep Dorrie safe? Yes.”
Adam grimaced. “I get it. You find anything?”
Ben started to grin. “Yeah, actually, I did.”
Sitting forward, Adam’s eyes widened. “Seriously? I just figured the guy’s body hadn’t been found floating in the Schuylkill yet. But you found him alive?”
“As of two hours ago, yeah, Tosto was still alive.”
It’d taken almost every second that he hadn’t spent on actual work for the firm for the past three days to do it, but finally Ben had found the man who’d blown apart their relationship with Dorrie.
He was good at running targets to ground, didn’t matter if they were in some godforsaken shithole in Kabul or a back alley in South Philly. The Army had trained him well. It’s why he had had all those fricking medals on his uniform.
Leaning back in the chair, Adam shook his head. “So what are you gonna do with the intel?”
This is where it got sticky. “I’m not sure yet.”
“You tell Ian?”
Ben grimaced, couldn’t help it. “No. He’s been a little…”
“Like a block of ice with a face?”
Ben huffed out a laugh. “You noticed?”
<
br /> “Christ, who didn’t? Mary Alice is ready to beat him over the head with her keyboard.” Adam paused. “Is he okay? Before you guys joined us, I know he’d had some issues.”
Yeah, issues including insomnia, nightmares, and an emotional disconnect that’d made him act like a fucking zombie, something Ben had stupidly thought Dorrie would help with.
Turns out, Ben had just made things worse.
“Honestly?” Ben shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“Does it have to do with your relationship with Dorrie? You wanna talk about it? With…you know…someone who actually gets the dynamics?”
It was on the tip of Ben’s tongue to say no. For years, it’d been just him and Ian. Yeah, they’d both had teams they’d worked with, other men they’d trusted with their lives. But this was different. This was emotional, relationship stuff that even he and Ian hadn’t discussed.
And maybe never would.
“I’m not sure there is a thing with Dorrie anymore. And honestly…” Ben shook his head. “I’m not sure I was ever more than an extra body.”
There. He’d said it. The thought that’d been going through his mind since she’d walked out their door Sunday.
Adam’s gaze narrowed. “Did she make you feel like that?”
Ben opened his mouth to answer then shut it just as fast and thought about his answer. “No. I think…it’s more that she knew Ian first. Maybe I feel like I was just a way for her to get close to Ian.”
“Did you actually tell her how you felt? Or ask her what she wanted? I don’t know her all that well but she seems like she doesn’t talk much and then only when she really means it.”
Their first date came to mind. Hell, their only date, less than two weeks ago. He started to shake his head. “Christ, I just met her last week. There’s no way I should be this invested.”
Adam’s mouth split in a smile and he started to laugh. “Man, you sound like me. You and I have a lot more in common than you think. Did you know Tris had been in love with Kat for years? They grew up in the same neighborhood, went to the same school. She had no idea who I was when she met me but she had a relationship with Tris. Yeah, it fucked with my head for a while, too. Especially since I took one look at her and decided I wanted her.”
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