Page 46 of Twisted Secrets
She blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”
“And an O’Malley?” He tsked. “I knew your taste in men was questionable after Sergei, but this is taking things a bit far. At least Sergei was one of ours, if misguided at times.”
Times like when he let Olivia seduce him. It had been a mistake—looking for love in all the wrong places—and she’d known Dmitri didn’t approve, but this was the first he’d ever verbally acknowledged it. “I thought he could give me what I needed.”Why the hell am I trying to talk sense with this man?He doesn’t care.
“And you think this O’Malley will do the same?” He shook his head. “He won’t. They’re selfish beasts, every single one of them.”
“As much as I’ve enjoyed this sibling bonding time, the day I start taking dating advice from you is the day hell freezes over.”
“Then it’s a good thing I’m here about business and not love, isn’t it?”
Damn it, sheknewhe had a reason for showing up. “Then I’ll ask again. What is it you want?”
“You might resist coming back to New York, but you’re now in a unique position to be useful.” Thefor oncewent unsaid. He touched her faded and worn secondhand couch and made a sound of distaste. “The O’Malley family and I have a complicated history.”
Oh no. No, no, no. She held herself straight and still, the sound of her daughter playing in the next room a surreal counterpoint to what was going on in this one. “I don’t want any part of it.”
“That’s unfortunate, Olivia, because this man of yours, Cillian, does the books for the family—”
“Stop. Juststop.” She wanted to cover her ears and curl into a ball to escape his words. She didn’t want her borderline-evil half brother turning his attention on Cillian. She might have thought they were alike initially, but time had more than proved her wrong. Cillian wasn’t a monster. He wasn’t even close. “If you hurt him—”
“Darling sister, as much as I enjoy your willingness to think the absolute worst of me, I have no intention of laying a hand on the boy.”
Which wasn’t the same thing as saying he wasn’t planning on hurting Cillian—or worse. Sheforced her expression to as close to neutral as she was capable of. If Dmitri had a plan, she needed to know what it was. “Then what do you want with him?”
“The information he has access to.” He spread his arms, the very picture of innocence. She knew better. “They owe me a debt. I can collect it without harming anyone in any way—except financially, of course.”
Just because he could didn’t mean he would. The Romanov family might not have an official motto, but if they did, it would be something like “Never leave an enemy alive at your back.” They were big fans of burning the ground and salting it behind them when they took out competitors. There was no reason to think that the O’Malleys would be any different. She shook her head. “Even if I wanted to help—and I very much don’t—it’s not like he’s inviting me back to his office and leaving me unattended to dig through his records. What you’re asking is impossible.”
“Nothing’s impossible with the right motivation.” He turned back to the photograph and picked it up. This time, there was no mistaking the threat of his attention. “You have a very beautiful daughter—a daughter with Romanov blood in her veins no matter how much you wish to deny it.”
“Stop it,” she whispered through suddenly numb lips.
He ignored her. “I’ve been lax with you up until this point, but the truth is that she’s the next generation. Our father had specific ideas of what that involved. If you insist on fighting those plans…You know how these things work.”
Yeah, she did, but she still found herself verbalizing it. “You’re threatening to take my daughter from me.”
“Olivia, please stop with the dramatics.” He set the photograph down, every move perfectly controlled. “I’m not the monster youlike to pretend.”
No, he was worse.He’s threatening to take my baby if I don’t do what he wants.Oh God, what am I going to do?She forced her panic down and tried tothink. “Then what, exactly, are you being very careful not to threaten me with?”
“A child should know her family. That’s all I’m implying. I would think you and I agreed on this.” He paused, his dark eyes so cold it was a wonder there wasn’t a layer of ice around his body. “Sergei deserves access to her.”
“Over my goddamn dead body.” This wasn’t about Sergei and it wasn’t about bringing a twice-bastard descendant of Andrei Romanov into the fold. It was about punishing her for not doing what he wanted.Fuck that.
“No need for that kind of talk.” He smiled, the expression making her go cold. “Think about what I said, Olivia. I’m a patient man, but the time is rapidly approaching when you’ll be required to make a decision—to declare your alliance, if you will.”
“That’s not fair.” She was having a difficult time getting a full breath when it felt like he’d sucked up all the air in the room. This was the exact thing she’d left New York to avoid.I should have run farther. “I don’t want any part of this. I’m not taking sides.” She hadn’t even been aware that thereweresides when she started falling for Cillian. She should have known better.
“Then you never should have let the O’Malley boy so close.” He moved to the door and paused as he opened it. “When it comes right down to it, all we have in this world is family, Olivia. You’d do well to remember that.”
She waited for the door to close before she picked up the vase on the rickety end table and threw it at the wood. It hit the door but, being plastic, didn’t shatter into a million pieces. She cursed and hurried overto pick up the scattered flowers before Hadley could come investigate.What the hell am I going to do?Dmitri might be content with careful non-threats right now, but that wouldn’t last. The longer she didn’t do what he wanted, the more explicit the consequences would be.
He’ll take Hadley. He wouldn’t even hesitate. If what he said is any indication, he’s already preparing for it.
It was possible he’d started preparing for it the second he realized she’d never bend to Andrei’s will.
“I never should have put Sergei on the birth certificate.” She’d had a moment of sentimental weakness when he’d shown up at the hospital and held their daughter for the first—and probably only—time. Stupid. It wouldn’t have ultimately changed anything, though. All he needed was a paternity test to prove that he was the father, and he’d have rights to Hadley. With the Romanov finances backing him, he’d be able to tie her up in court indefinitely.
