Page 26 of Twisted Secrets
She gripped her phone so hard, it was a wonder it didn’t shatter. “You can fuck with me all you want. I’m an adult. I can handle it. You come near Hadley, and I’ll kill you myself.”
He tsked. “You know better.”
“This isn’t about blood and this isn’t about family. I don’t owe your father a damn thing. He was nothing more than a sperm donor, which is a half step less than my mother was. You don’t want me in New York, and I sure as hell don’t want to be there. I don’t care if you gave your word. Just let me go, Dmitri.”Please. She didn’t beg, though it was a close thing. The only thing that kept that final word on the right side of her lips was the knowledge that he’d capitalize on any weakness she showed.
“You know I can’t do that.” And hell if he didn’t sound downright regretful. The worst part was that she didn’t know if it was an act or if he was genuinely sorry he had to play these games.
It doesn’t matter. Either way, both Hadley and I lose.
She opened her eyes. “Good-bye, Dmitri.”
“Answer when he calls, Olivia. If you force my hand, you won’t like the results.”
She hung up without responding and setthe phone on the counter, her entire body shaking. Hadley immediately was there, her chubby arms raised, her face tear-stained. “Up, up.”
“I got you, baby girl.” She scooped her daughter into her arms and held her close, inhaling the scent of baby powder and clean toddler. Her entire life revolved around making the best life for Hadley that she could, and Dmitri thought he could threaten that…
Over her dead body.
What if it comes to that? He’ll kill me. He wouldn’t even hesitate.
It would leave Hadley even more adrift than Olivia had been growing up. Her mother had always been distant enough that she was little more than a stranger, wrapped up in the affair with Andrei, her owner and boss, all in one neat package. When Olivia found out she was pregnant—after several months of panic attacks—she’d promised herself that she’d never leave her baby alone in the world like both her parents had left her, albeit in different ways. No matter what it took, she’d be there.
Which meant she had to play by Dmitri’s rules.
No matter how much she hated them.
It’s just a phone call here and there.Nothing over the top.
She knew better. The request might sound simple enough on the surface, but her half brother did nothing without reason. Hadley cuddled up against her, and she rested her chin on her daughter’s head.What am I going to do?Running sounded really great right about now—as far and as fast as she could—but it wasn’t really an option. Dmitri had resources beyond what she could dream up, and besides that, she didn’t have the funds to truly disappearwithout a trace.
Not unless I tap into that goddam money.
No. There had to be another way. Yes, Dmitri wanted something from her, but he was still talking. That meant she had time. Hopefully.
Hadley had quieted and gave one last pathetic super-fake sob. Olivia grinned despite herself. Her daughter had been a drama queen from birth, and that didn’t look to be changing anytime soon. “It’ll be okay, baby girl. I’ll take care of both of us.”
She just wished she knew what her half brother was up to.
***
Cillian worked through the reports in front of him for the fourth time, and came up with the wrong answer again. “Something’s off.” He’d been working on getting things organized in an attempt to digitize their accounts. They were long overdue for a dose of technology, but Bartholomew was a purist at heart and had a borderline-paranoid distrust of all things computer related. Over the last six months, Cillian had spent every moment he wasn’t with the old man working on a program Devlin had created that would encrypt their files digitally—once they were uploaded.
Now the only thing left was to wade through a couple decades’ worth of accounts and do just that.
“Or maybe you’re just hungover and shitty at math.”
He glanced at his older brother sitting behind the desk on the other side of the room. Aiden had conveyed his annoyance for the last few hours by giving Cillian the silent treatment. Not that he minded. He had a wicked headache, and the last thing he wanted was yet anotherlecture on how irresponsible he was. The subject had already been exhausted between their parents.
He ran his finger down the math he’d gone through, barely resisting the urge to add it up one more time, and sat back. “It’s not my math that’s the problem. It’s the numbers. They aren’t adding up.”
Aiden frowned. “Which numbers?”
At least he had his brother’s full attention now. “Local. They each pay out fifteen percent, right? Except by these numbers, they’re only passing over twelve. It’s not a huge discrepancy, but across all the business, it starts to add up.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.” Aiden stood and walked around to look over his shoulder. “Why would they be undercutting us? Do you think it’s just bad bookkeeping?”
“No.” He shifted the papers around until he found his list. “I could chalk one up to that—even three. But we’re talking nearly every single business owing us loyalty in the Financial District. That’s too many to write off as coincidence.” He didn’t know what it meant, but just seeing the list of places made the small hairs on the back of his neck stand at attention.
