Page 38 of Ruthless Prince

I suck in a breath. “You would kill your own daughter?”

“If it meant keeping her pure, then yes. She can be pure in death.”

“You wouldn’t.”

He lifts an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t I?”

We have a stare-down, with me sweating and Mr. Moore looking the picture of cool. Would be really kill Ellie just to keep her from me?

I don’t want to risk it and find out.

“Fine,” I spit out. “I’ll do what you want.”

“Good. Then return to Nico and kill him. I’ll be waiting.” He puts his gun away.

I leave the house before I run into Ellie. If I see her face, it will stop me in my tracks.

I keep the money on me. For right now, that’s the safest place it can be.

Feeling like an idiot as I go back to Nico’s house, I force myself to knock on his door. After a few minutes, the door opens, and he’s standing there.

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry for how I acted.”

Nico looks at me for a long moment before opening the door wider. “Come in.”

And I do.

“So, Vincent, why are you back? And so soon after you left?”

“I thought more about your job offer. I’d like to take you up on it.” I know I can’t just kill Nico right this second. Besides, I need answers. I need to know if he’s my father, but I can’t just ask it. For some reason, the thought of asking makes my heart constrict.

“Would you now? And why the change of heart? So fast?”

“I realized I could use the job. I could use the money. I’ve been struggling for a while.”

Nico nods once. “All right. Well, I’ll have to vet you first. But you can come in and have dinner with Aurora and me. I like to get to know any potential employees first.”

He leads me into the dining room, where a fancy meal has been set. “I’ll ask the chef to bring out another plate.”

“I don’t want to intrude.”

“It’s fine.” Nico takes his seat at the head of the table with Aurora sitting next to him, so I sit across from her. The warm smile she gives me sets me more at ease.

“So, Vincent, how did you get into fighting?” Aurora asks.

“Uh … my father. He had me learn.”

“And your father was …?”

“Igor Antonov.”

I study their reactions, and it’s not what I expect. Aurora turns her eyes downward, looking pained, while Nico’s face turns so tense it’s like marble.

“Did you know him?” I ask.

“We knew him,” Nico mutters.

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