Page 54 of Master

“Andwhatis that?” he asks with a raised brow, knowing damn wellwhoI want.

“Sasha,” I state matter-of-factly, not interested in playing mindfuck games with him.

“And you think I’m just going to give her to you?” His words hold no emotion.

“She’s nothing more than a pawn in a game to you, Ivan. We all know it. You think you can control her… But you can’t. You don’t know Sasha like I do. She’s not the kind of woman you can demand control of.”

Not anymore.

Lowering my gun, I walk toward the two of them. “I’m not here to negotiate. I’m here to give you exactly what you want.”

Ivan stares back at me with a raised brow. “What I want?” he mocks me. “How could you have any idea what I want?”

“I’ll give you what you want,” I repeat myself. “Half of everything I have. My family’s empire. The wealth. The power.Everything.”

His smirk falters for just a moment, but he recovers quickly, narrowing his eyes with uncertainty. “Half of your family’sempire?” he echoes me, as though testing the words on his tongue. “You expect me to believe you’d give it up for a woman whose name you don’t even know?”

“Sasha Martin,” I challenge, my voice unwavering. “Sasha Evans when I marry her and merge our families. Our territories. Our businesses. We’ll combine everything. You’ll have all our resources and muscle at your fingertips. We’ll be stronger together, and you’ll have more fucking power than you could wield on your own.”

His gaze shifts slightly, a flicker of interest as his eyes dart between me and Sasha. He isn’t fucking stupid. He knows what I’m offering.

Power. Control. Respect.

“I told you I wasn’t here to negotiate,” I affirm, my voice low and firm. I was at a disadvantage the minute I saw Sasha’sface. I’ll do whatever it takes to have a chance with her again. Half our empire is nothing compared to having her in my arms.Although, my brothers might disagree when they find out.But I’d give Ivan fucking everything if he demanded it for a life with Sasha.

“Liam,” Sasha mutters under her breath. “You can’t do that for me.”

“It’s done,mo mhuirnín.”

Ivan studies me for a long moment, and I can see the wheels turning as he weighs his options. The tension between us is thick and palpable. He takes a step closer, his breath hot on my face. I breathe in his smoke-tainted breath as he tries to retain a semblance of the upper hand. “You think I’ll just let you walk away with her, don’t you?”

“Wearemaking a deal, or one of us isn’t walking out of this room,” I clarify, not backing down. “And one of us has four brothers who will be seeking much more than revenge if it’s me who doesn’t.”

Ivan’s eyes flicker for a moment, a brief flash of uncertainty. I don’t know whether it’s excitement about what I’m offering or that he’s contemplating if he’s as ready to die for his sister as I am. Maybe it’s because the one thing he can’t control is what I’m willing to sacrifice everything for. While he hesitates, I know with certainty that I would lay down my life for her.She’s my fucking family.

Ivan steps back, running his fingers through his dark hair. He lets out a long breath, and for a moment, the heavy weight of the room seems to lift.

“If you’re really serious about this, then you need to prove it,” Ivan announces. “You marry her within the week and provide proof of our bonded blood within the year.”

An heir?

My chest tightens at the finality of his demand. I’d do anything to have Sasha in my life, including happily fathering a fucking baseball team like Declan. I want to agree to his terms, but I can’t.

“I can’t agree to that, Ivan.” I shake my head. His face sours as I turn my attention to Sasha and find the devastation in her eyes. “I love you far too much to force that upon you,mo mhuirnín. It’s not my decision to make. It’s yours.”

“Yes,” she blurts without hesitation, tears already falling down her face.

“Then go.” Ivan lowers his gun, his face beaming with satisfaction at the deal. “But remember, Liam, you’re playing a dangerous fucking game. If you fail… If you break our deal, I will make sure you and your brothers regret it once and for all.”

I don’t turn my attention to him. Every ounce of my being is focused on the one thing I came here for. The one thing I want—the onepersonIneed—more than anything else in this world. Holding her gaze with unwavering intensity, I promise, “I won’t fail.”

CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE

SASHA

Our reunion isn’t filled with passionate kisses and lingering embraces. Ours is clouded with the painful weight of the secrets I kept from Liam. Secrets that have cost him half of what he and his family have spent decades building.

Standing beside Liam in the elevator, my heart races, and my hands wring at the front of my floral midi dress. I can barely bring myself to lift my face to look him in the eye.

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