Page 45 of Shattered Empire (Shattered World)

Vas coughed, pounding on his chest to dislodge whatever was stuck. His fucking ego, probably. Devious bastard.

“With his son,” my father placated in a hoarse voice. “Jaysus. What kind of father do you take me for?”

“Eh,” I shook my hand side to side. “So-so.”

“So-so?” he repeated slowly. “I am not so-so.”

“Then where’s my pony?”

Vas snorted into his coffee cup and coughed.

“You want a pony?” he asked seriously. “I’ll get you a pony. Fuck, I’ll buy you an entire stable.”

Throwing my head back, I laughed.

“I don’t need a pony.”

He didn’t look convinced. Shit. What if he actually bought me a stable full of horses?

Wouldn’t be the worst thing.

Except—I didn’t know anything about horses.

And I was pretty sure I was allergic to hay.

“All right,” Vas interceded. “Moving on.”

“Fine,” I grumbled. “Why do I have to go on a date with Crusty’s son?”

Leaning back in his chair, Vas fixed his gaze on me. “It’s not a date, Ava,” he assured me. “It’s a business meeting. Matthias has always vocalized his disdain for Platinum Security publicly. We need you to convince him we want to partner with him.”

“Why? What’s the endgame?”

“Jameson O’Neill built his company with money stained in your mother’s blood,” Vas explained gently. “Not only that, but there is evidence that his company is working with whoever has been shipping women for auction.”

That was suspicious. Where had he come up with that information?

“Who told you that?”

“Mark’s been digging into their background and clients.” Vas waved his hand dismissively. A sure sign he was hiding something from me. But why? “If we can make him believe that you don’t have the same scruples as Matthias, maybe we can get some insight into who they are working for.”

“The Dollhouse.” Why was he repeating information? We’d already been over this.

“We think the Dollhouse is just one facet to something larger that we can’t see,” Vas informed me. “Have you ever heard ofPotestas Omnis?”

I snorted. “Impotus Omnis sounds more appropriate, if you ask me.”

They both groaned. “Potestas Omnisis Latin for Power Over All. We believe it’s a secret society going back more generations than anyone could count. Possibly even as far as the fall of Rome.”

“We?”

Vas’s lips parted slightly. It was the only tell he gave me that hinted at his duplicity.

“Mark and I.”

Shrugging, I nodded. “You and Mark discovered a sudden link to a secret society?” Vas nodded. “By yourselves?” Another nod.

“Right.” I stood from the table. “Look, I’ll go on your stupid business date with Crunchy Jr. But, until you start telling me the fucking truth, Vasily Ivankov, feel free to step down as mySovietnik.”

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