Page 7 of Twisted Secrets
“That’s not what Andrei wanted.”
And that was the crux of it. Dmitri loved his father. It was one of the only redeeming things about him, for all that Andrei hadn’t been a saint. He wanted to honor Andrei’s last wishes, whether he agreed with them or not. She got that. She just wasn’t willing to sacrifice both her and Hadley’s future to please a dead man.
Olivia took a deep breath, counted to three, and exhaled. Yelling at Sergei wasn’t going to do a damn thing. She looked up at him, suddenly so tired she had to fight to keep from weaving on her feet. “Tell Dmitri that my leaving is the best thing that could have happened for either of us. He doesn’t want me in New York. I don’t want to be in New York. He tried to bring me into the fold like our father wanted, and as far as I’m concerned, he’s done his duty.” There would be no going back—not for her, and certainly not for Hadley. She’d fought too long and hard to put that life behind her, and get to a point where she could raise Hadley in a household that didn’t think everything from tax evasion to torture to downright murder was acceptable as long as their bottom line was met. A family who’d do anything for a little bit more power. She might not be rolling in the cash the way Dmitri and his people were, but it was an acceptable tradeoff as far as Olivia was concerned.
Sergei shook his head. “Livie…that’s not good enough, and you know it.”
Yeah, she did. But she had to try. All Olivia had ever wanted was to grow upnormal, and she had the chance to do that for her daughter. Going back to New York wasn’t an option. She slid past him to her door. “Good night, Sergei. I don’t want to see you around here again unless you’re actually deciding to be a father. Dmitri can sendsomeone else to be his errand boy.” She walked into her apartment without another word and quietly closed the door behind her.
It wouldn’t be that easy. Dmitri excelled at pushing people’s buttons, and Sergei was a giant one when it came to Olivia. She could barely look at his face without being transported back to that idiot girl she’d been when she thought that he’d leave with her. That he’d step up as father to their child after the initial surprise of the pregnancy. That he’d be the only person in her life who’d actually put her before the Romanov bottom line.
He hadn’t, and she’d barely gotten out as a result.
Except she hadn’t gotten out. Not really.
Chapter Three
By the time dinner was ready the next night, Olivia felt like she’d run a marathon. Two marathons. She’d spent the day with Hadley, cleaning and doing laundry and trying her best to stay busy so she didn’t keep double-checking to make sure the lock was secured on their front door. She knew all too well that the flimsy mechanism wouldn’t do a damn thing to stop Sergei if he put his mind to it, but it still helped. “Dinner’s ready, baby girl.”
Hadley toddled into the kitchen, a bright grin on her face. “Mama!”
This is why I’m doing it. This is why I can’t take the money and I can’t let Dmitri have his way. Not this time. “We’re going all out tonight. Chicken nuggets and apple slices.” She lifted Hadley onto her booster seat at the small two-person table and set her sippy cup full of milk and her plate in front of her.
It didn’t matter how hard her life wassometimes—it was all worth it when her daughter gave her that smile, like chicken nuggets were the greatest gift she’d ever received.
She sat down across from Hadley, nibbling on a piece while she monitored her daughter’s progress. Sometimes she ate like she was starving to death, but more often than not lately, she seemed to pick at it or half the food would end up on the floor.It’s just a stage. Knowing that didn’t stop the worry from lingering in the back of her mind that Hadley wasn’t getting enough to eat.
A knock on the door had her climbing reluctantly to her feet. Their neighbor Mrs. Richards watched Hadley when Olivia was at work. She wanted to sit here all night and justbe, but that wasn’t an option.
She had to go so she could pay their bills.
Because she was absolutely not taking any money from Dmitri.Goddamn Romanovs and their goddamn money and power plays.
She slipped out while Hadley was occupied, pausing to whisper, “Thanks,” to Mrs. Richards. Some days Hadley was fine with her leaving—or barely noticed at all—but Olivia didn’t want to make things harder on the older woman than she had to. Mrs. Richards squeezed her shoulder and smiled, and then headed for the kitchen.
Olivia grabbed her purse and headed out. She locked the door behind her, the small hairs on the back of her neck rising, though she didn’t actually see anything suspicious. That didn’t stop her from looking over her shoulder more times than she could count on her way to work. There was no sign of Sergei, but she swore she could feel his eyes on her.
Maybe I should have called in and stayedhome with Hadley.
“Hey, Olivia.”
She pasted a smile on her face for Benji. It wasn’t his fault she was in a foul mood. Not to mention—as if she needed yet another reminder—this job paid her bills. Pissing off her boss was a good way to get her ass kicked to the curb. “Hey, Benji. Slow night?”
“It’ll pick up.” He filled a drink order, each movement so natural it was obvious he’d spent years behind this bar. “If you want to grab another case of Bud, that’d be great.”
“Sure thing.” She didn’t mind hauling things from the industrial-sized walk-in fridge in the back. It gave her some much-needed time to compose herself. Olivia ducked through the door leading back to the supply rooms and then into the fridge itself. She closed her eyes and inhaled the icy air. It would be okay. She’d figure this mess out. She just needed time.
The problem was that time might be the one thing shedidn’thave.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she cursed when she saw Sergei’s name on the screen.I don’t have it in me to deal with this tonight.
She headed back out to the bar area. A group of tourists huddled around a table, pressed closely together as they flipped through pictures on a tiny camera screen, and a set of businessmen at the bar who’d obviously just gotten finished with work, though they hadn’t left the job at the office if their conversation was anything to go by. And, finally, tucked in the back corner was a couple so focused on each other, Olivia was pretty sure she could dance naked around the room and neither of them would pay her the slightest bit of attention.
The thought of dancing naked broughtback memories ofhim. Cillian. She’d been so busy with the mess of Sergei and worrying about Hadley being a picky eater that she hadn’t had a spare minute to really consider the possible consequences of her actions.
Okay, that was a lie.
She crouched down behind the bar and started unloading beer bottles. It was mindless work, for which she was grateful. She wasn’t ready to face actual customers yet.
