SWNOVELS Ryan Reign: Chapter 1
Adrenaline courses around my body and blood thunders in my ears as I sit at the dining table trying to process the information I’ve just been given.
The Wolf is back.
Conor rests a reassuring hand on my thigh, while Liam places one on my shoulder as they sit either side of me. We have just finished our ‘Thanksgiving in July’ dinner, but the celebrations have now come to an abrupt halt.
I’m vaguely aware of the Ryan brothers talking to Vlad, the head of the Bratva, and the man who’s just brought my world crashing down around me. Suddenly, their voices seem so far away. The room is spinning and the air has become thick and cloying, making it difficult to swallow. I reach for my throat as I gasp for breath. Something is happening. Has Vlad somehow poisoned me? Is he really working for the Wolf?
“Jessie!” Conor’s voice cuts through the fog as he takes my free hand and curls his fingers around it.
I turn to him, my eyes wide as I struggle to breathe. He places his other hand on my cheek while he circles the pad of his thumb over the pulse point on my wrist. I look down at his strong fingers wrapped around my arm.
“Look at me,” he commands.
Lifting my head, I look into his deep brown eyes.
“Breathe, Angel,” he says softly.
“I can’t.” I shake my head as I draw in ragged breaths.
“Yes, you can. Breathe with me, okay?”
I nod.
“In.” He takes a deep breath and I try to mimic his movements. “Out.” He releases. He continues doing that and I try to keep pace with him. The room is silent, as though there is only him and me in it. I don’t know how long it takes but eventually my breathing matches his and I no longer feel like I’m about to suffocate.
He smiles at me. “Better?”
“Yes,” I whisper, and he lifts my hand to his lips and presses a soft kiss on my wrist.
I turn back to the table to see four pairs of anxious eyes trained on me and heat flushes over my cheeks. I can’t believe I just had a panic attack.
Liam reaches for my other hand. He squeezes gently and I offer him a faint smile. When I catch Mikey’s eye, he winks at me, but Shane goes back to staring at our visitor.
“So why is it you’re so certain he is back, Vlad?” he asks.
Vlad looks directly at me when he responds. “There have been a few hits recently that have had his particular brand.”
“The one in Belarus?” Shane says, making me turn my attention to him. He knew about this and he didn’t tell me?
“Yes. I see you’ve been following him yourself?” Vlad asks with one arched eyebrow.
“I’ve been tracking hits that have had similarities with the Wolf’s style, yes,” Shane says with a nod as he glances at me before turning his attention back to Vlad. “There have been more?”
“One in Kazakhstan.”
Shane frowns. “I didn’t hear about that one.”
“Hmm.” Vlad rubs a hand over his beard and nods softly. “Politics. It was kept very quiet.”
“Hang on a minute,” I say, finally finding my voice. “You’re telling me that the Wolf has been active again? For how long? And why didn’t you tell me?” I direct my last question to Shane.
“I only knew about the hit in Belarus. And while it had similarities to the Wolf, I wasn’t sure it was him.”
“You should have told me.”
“Told you what, Jessie?” He frowns at me. “There was nothing to tell.”
I swallow the retort that lodges in my throat. “I didn’t even know you were looking for him,” I say instead.
Conor squeezes my hand as Shane shakes his head in exasperation. “You didn’t think I’d be trying to find him? After everything he did to you? When even the mention of his name sends you into a blind panic?”
Tears prick at my eyes as I realize he’s been looking out for me all this time. Of course he has. It’s what he does. I can’t deal with him right now though and I turn back to Vlad. “What makes you so sure it’s him?” I pull my hand from Conor’s and wipe the tears from my eyes. Leaning forward, I place my arms on the table. This is no time to get over-emotional.
“As well as the two I just mentioned, there was a hit in Moscow last night. Same MO and this time my sources tell me the Wolf has taken full credit. He is now back online and offering his services to the highest bidder.”
I feel my heart starting to race again but I take a deep breath and remember the sound of Conor’s soothing voice. I reach for his hand once more and the warmth of his skin on mine is comforting. “You’re sure it’s really him, Vlad?” I ask, desperately trying to keep the tremor from my voice.
“Unfortunately I am,” he says with a solemn nod of his head. “I suspect Alexei’s death has allowed him to slink out of whatever hole it was he crawled into. But he’s using the same call sign and accounts that he did in the past, even though such methods are now somewhat outdated.”
“Do you have any idea who it could be?”
“None.” He shakes his head and looks at Shane again. “You?”
“No,” he replies with a deep sigh.
Vlad clears his throat and turns back to me. “If there is anything I can do, Jessica,” he says softly.
I smile at him although my insides have turned to jelly, and not in a good way. “Thank you.”
He pushes his chair back and stands. “I’ll leave you to your dinner.”
“Can you show Vlad out, Mikey?” Shane growls as he rubs a hand over his jaw, his eyes narrowed as he appears deep in thought.
“Sure.” Mikey gets up and escorts Vlad out of the dining room.
Once Vlad is gone, Shane stands and walks around the table to me, holding out his hand. “We’ve got a lot to talk about. Let’s go sit in the den?”
I stare up at him blankly, still completely blindsided by Vlad’s revelation. “Okay,” I whisper.
“Con, can you get the good whiskey?” he asks as he pulls me from my chair.
“Will do,” Conor replies. He gives me a soft kiss on the cheek before he leaves the room.
Ten minutes later, I’m sitting on the sofa in the den, sandwiched between the twins with a glass of Midleton Chapter One in my hand, while Shane and Conor sit opposite us.
I take a sip of the expensive whiskey and the warm, rich liquid soothes my throat.
“How are you feeling, Angel?” Conor finally asks.
“I don’t know.” I shrug. “I mean, I always suspected he was still alive, so I suppose this shouldn’t come as a shock. But to find out he is active again…”
“Yeah. It’s fucked up, Red,” Mikey says as he puts an arm around my shoulder.
“Did you find out anything else about him, Shane?” I ask.
He shakes his head and takes a swig of his whiskey. “Nothing at all. If I had, sweetheart, I would have told you. I wouldn’t have kept the Belarus hit from you if I’d known it was him.”
I nod, at a loss for what else to say.
“What about your trip to Ireland?” Conor asks.
Shane looks at me and my heart skips a beat. “I still have to go. But I can put it off for a few days if you need me to, Jessie?” he offers.
“No,” I shake my head. “We can still go tomorrow. Nothing has changed. We knew the Wolf was still out there.”
“We?” Conor narrows his eyes at me. “You’re not going, Angel.”
“Why not?” I frown.
“Are you being serious right now?”
“Yes. I still want to go to Ireland and I don’t see why I shouldn’t. Hasn’t the Wolf already dictated enough of my life?”
“Shane?” Conor turns to his older brother.
“If Jessie wants to come, then it’s up to her,” he says with a shrug as he downs the last of his drink.
Liam and Mikey stay silent and look down at their glasses. They know better than to get in the middle of their older brothers.
“She’s safer here with me and the twins,” Conor snarls.
“She’ll be just as safe with me,” Shane fires back.
“Boys. You must agree with me?” Conor says to the twins.
“It’s up to Jessie what she wants to do, Con,” Mikey says and I place my hand on his thigh and squeeze. I love that he always has my back.
“Liam?” Conor snaps.
“I don’t want her to go either, bro, but…”
“For fuck’s sake!” Conor hisses. “I can’t believe you’re even considering taking her there, Shane!”
“You think I’m not capable of protecting her?” Shane growls at him.
“Not as well as three of us can here,” Conor growls back as he glares at his older brother.
“Hey!” I lean forward and slam my now empty glass down on the coffee table. “I am sitting right here.”
The two of them stop glaring at each other and look at me.
“In case you haven’t noticed, I am perfectly capable of looking after myself.” Conor opens his mouth to speak but I don’t allow him the chance to. “And I hate to break it to you, boys, but if the Wolf wants me, he will find me. He is a patient man. He will wait until the perfect moment and then he will strike, whether that’s in two days, two years or ten. I am not going to spend the rest of my life hiding in here waiting for that to happen.”
“Red!” Mikey snaps as he sits forward, cupping my chin in his hand, he turns my face to his. “You know we would never let him take you. I promise.”
I stare at him. I wish I could believe him. But when I see the look of anguish in his eyes, I don’t have the heart to tell him that I can’t. “I know,” I whisper instead.
“So, you’re still going to Ireland tomorrow then?” Conor scowls.
Shane looks between me and Conor and sighs. “If the reason the Wolf is back is because Alexei is dead, then there is every chance he knows that Jessie is here too. She is safer in Ireland than she is here.”
Conor leans back in his chair and runs a hand over his jaw.
“Shane’s right,” I say. “Besides, I’m not just going to sit around in this apartment, waiting for the Wolf to come and pick me off. Now that he’s active again, I’m sure I’ll be able to track him, but let me have one more week of not being completely consumed by him first. Please?”
Conor rolls his eyes but he doesn’t speak.
“The Wolf will have no idea I’m in Ireland,” I add.
“And I promise I will take care of our girl, boys,” Shane offers as he shoots me a look that tells me not to open my mouth and contradict him. Then he stands and places his empty glass on the coffee table. He walks over to me and grips my chin in his strong hand, tilting my head to look at him. “I’m going to pack. I’ll meet you by the elevator at ten tomorrow morning.”
“Okay,” I blink at him. It’s only six p.m. so why am I not going to see him until morning?
He turns to his brothers. “You got sixteen more hours with our girl, boys.” Then he walks out of the room and I’m left with his three siblings.
“What do you feel like doing, baby?” Liam says softly as he curls his fingers around mine. “We can watch a movie if you like. We never did get to that pumpkin pie.”
“Or pussy,” Mikey mumbles beside me.
I turn to him, my mouth open as I feign my indignation, but the truth is I can’t think of a better way to take my mind off the Wolf. And I’m going away from them for at least a week, and despite how much I’m looking forward to my trip with Shane, I’m going to miss these guys like crazy.
“You’re really thinking about pussy right now?” I nudge him in the ribs.
“I’m always thinking about your pussy, Red,” he says with an apologetic shrug.
I push myself up from the sofa. “You can come help me pack if you like,” I offer.
Mikey and Liam are beside me before I can even finish the sentence but Conor stays in his chair. He frowns at me. I know he’s worried about me but he must see that Shane and I are right.
I hold out my hand to him. “I’m not going to Ireland with you mad at me, Conor Ryan.”
“I’m not mad at you, Angel,” he says as he stands and walks toward us. He leans down and presses a soft kiss on my temple. “But I have something to do. I’ll come find you later.”