Absolution (The Titans of Founder's Ridge) by Nichole Greene (little red riding hood ebook free TXT) 📕

returning fire. Someone flips the table over for cover, and Lev, Griff, and I dive on one side. Lake is crouched down beside Dad. I see Ivan crawling on his stomach toward the door like the fucking coward he is.

I cross the floor toward him, flipping him onto his back and raining down punches. Blood is everywhere is from gunshot and knife wounds. I hear Lev yell, “Griff!” and look over to see them caught up with a few guys loyal to my uncle. I slam Ivan’s head on the floor before getting off him, confident that he’s at the very least knocked out. I’m halfway back to the guys when Griff yells at me to duck. I turn just in time to see Ivan raise his gun at me.

The sound of a gunshot echoes in my ears, and for a second, I think I’ve been hit, but a bullet tears through Ivan’s skull. In shock, I look over at Niklov who tucks his gun in the back of his pants and walks toward me.

“You owe me, Volkov,” he says as he walks toward the door. “Be ready when I come asking for a favor in return.”

I turn and drop down beside Dad, sure that I’m going to find him dead, but when I get to him, he’s sitting up. His shirt is unbuttoned, and a Kevlar vest is on the floor beside him. I grab him and hug him like I haven’t in years. He holds onto me just as hard. We sit there until Lake clears his throat and suggests we leave.

Lev helps me up, and I pull Dad up with me. Looking around, there are four bodies on the ground. Ivan, the guy Dad shot, and two others. Bullet holes riddle the walls. Dad stops by Ivan and reaches down to rip a chain from around his neck. He closes Ivan’s eyes and cups his cheek. It’s obviously hard for him to walk away, but I pull him back to his feet again, and he comes with us.

Lake’s team surrounds us as we go down a separate hallway from before and up one flight of stairs. We come out of the back of the building, and there are two vans waiting for us. Dad, Lev, Griff, Lake, and I get in the first one. The rest of Lake’s guys get in the second one carrying Ivan’s body.

The ride back to town is quiet aside from Dad calling up his contacts to meet him at the family estate for Ivan’s body. I look over at Lev and Griff. They’re both lost in thought, looking out the windows. Our phones all light up at the same time, and a feeling of dread settles in my stomach. Griff is the first to get his phone open to the text that’s waiting for us in our group chat.

Lily: I’ll be waiting for you three in the penthouse when you get back from St. Petersburg

“Well,” Griff looks up at us, “we’re in trouble.”

“Double trouble for me.” Lev shows us his text from Ivy which actually just yelling in all caps. “Ives is pissed.”

“Rightfully so,” Lake says from the front seat. “You should have filled them in. Like I told Con, there’s no room in relationships for secrets. He should have been honest with Lilith right from the start.”

“No,” I shake my head, “she would have found a way to come here. I couldn’t risk her safety for something that was my responsibility.”

Dad gets off his call and slides his phone in his pocket before turning all his attention to me. “In absolutely no way was any of this your fault. Every single part of this is all on Ivan. You need to let that guilt and shame go because as long as you hold onto it, you won’t be able to move forward.”

“You need to tell Lilith,” Griff adds.

“Yeah, if she doesn’t kill us first,” Lev pinches the bridge of his nose. “Ives told me she’s staying with her dad for a while. How’d they even figure out where we were?”

“Zion. I left him a letter asking him to make sure Lilith stayed safe with him through the weekend and explaining everything.”

“You told her best friend before you told her?” Dad’s eyebrows raise up to his forehead. “Good luck explaining that to her.”

9

CONNOR

“I’m not ready for this,” Lev mutters under his breath as I unlock the front door to the penthouse. None of us have spoken in hours. Each of us is worried about Lily and what we’re going to find waiting for us behind that door. Even the door creaks ominously as I push it open.

We file in and find her sitting at the island, the spot she takes when she drinks her coffee in the morning and scrolls through emails. She’s wearing jeans and a navy sweater with her hair pulled back in a neat ponytail. She’s staring down at the counter, not making eye contact with any of us. She pulls in a shuddering breath, her whole body trembling.

When she looks up at me, I feel my heart crack open. Her eyes are red and glassy with tears. Her usually bright skin looks dull. When her eyes meet mine, I feel it. I feel every ounce of her anger, disappointment, and heartbreak. She holds her hand up, the one with both the ring we gave her for Christmas years ago and her engagement ring.

“Do you guys remember when you gave me this?” she asks, indicating the one on her middle finger. She pulls it off and reads the inscription, “Family over everything.” She gives us a sad smile as she sets it on the counter. “You guys gave me that when I was at my lowest. When I had lost the only family I had left on the planet. You three were reason I got up the rest of that year. The reason I pushed through the grief every day. I lost my dad, but I gained