Page 58 of Mercenary Princess

“Not to you.” Never to her. He held her gaze trapped with his. He was a dangerous man. He had no regrets for the things he’d done. He’d make all the same decisions again if he had to.

Another step forced her to gaze up at him. “I don’t hide the man I am. But the men on that list do hide. Take my warning as a gift from a man who holds a lot of secrets. You don’t want those men.” God help them all if she went out on a date with any of them, because he was finding himself less and less rational where she was concerned.

Her eyes flashed. “Tell me exactly what makes them dangerous. ‘Because you say so’ isn’t good enough, Viktor. How do I know you aren’t just jealous?” She didn’t believe her own words. He could see the lie and tilted his head to study her.

He prided himself on reading people. It was a gift. She was indeed baiting him and found he didn’t like her tactics. Why manipulate him instead of asking what she wished to know?

“Why don’t I start with Jean Luc, since he seemed to interest you most tonight.” She’d only spoken to Jean Luc for a moment, but her eyes had tracked the Frenchman when they hadn’t been looking for him. The revulsion that flickered in her gaze pleased him, but there had been a mess of other emotions, all there one moment then gone before he could decipher them. Ivan had reported that her guard had kept an eye on Jean Luc as well.

He didn’t like where his mind had gone on why she hated the man.

Before he knew it, his hands were on her arms, and he had to force his hold to be gentle. His fury made the words rumble low in his throat. “Did he do something to you?”

Shock widened her eyes a fraction before a soft warmth took its place. She set her hands on his chest as if trying to calm a beast. “No. But… I don’t like him.”

She was holding something back.

“He seems to have taken an interest in you, Sophia. I’m not trying to control you by telling you not to talk to him. I want you safe. His interest isn’t something you want.”

The woman was stubborn, so he tried another way to get her to share her secrets. If information was what she wanted, he’d give it to her. “Jean Luc is a collector. He enjoys beautiful things and is obsessive in his pursuits. Anyone who gets in his way either sells him what he wants or ends up missing.” Or worse.

“Why hasn’t he been arrested if he’s making people disappear?” The hollowness in her voice scraped his nerves. The deception grated.

He’d watched her most of the night at the event. He’d familiarized himself with her serene mask. It never faltered unless she was looking at him.

The only reason he didn’t tell her how much her beautiful eyes gave away at that moment was because they only seemed to reveal their secrets to him, and that pleased him as much as her lies infuriated him.

So he could tell she was making a great effort to hide something. She already knew of Jean Luc’s crimes; that was clear enough. But how? The man’s crimes weren’t well known. If Viktor hadn’t dealt in secrets and had the connections he had, he might not hold the information he had on the politician. How had his princess figured it out? The Frenchman was cautious enough never to leave evidence of his crimes.

He kept his hands on her, enjoying the way her thumbs circled his chest. His princess was trying to gentle him, and he would never discourage her touch.

“As far as I know, there’s no proof. No allegations have made it to the authorities. A social media stalker made some correlations and was shut down immediately. Jean Luc is smart and wealthy enough to make any accusation go away. He’s protected. His family spent generations cultivating connections throughout France, Belgium, and Switzerland, so not only does he have the president and prime minister eating out of his hands, he also has a few contacts in those other countries willing to do anything he wants. Through corporate bribes, he generates a lot of revenue for France, and that looks very good in terms of intercountry hiring.”

“They’re all dirty?”

He gave her a pointed look. They were discussing politicians. The men were lining their pockets, but he wasn’t aware of them doing anything worse. They probably hadn’t had to hide any bodies for Jean Luc, so it was worth it in their minds to keep Jean Luc in power. There were far more dangerous people in their world, men like Jean Luc who took from anyone who had what he wanted—illegal artifacts, cars, properties. He’d bet women were also on the list. His obsessive tendencies and lack of conscience in his entitlement made him someone Viktor wanted far away from Sophia—a situation Viktor had already taken steps to deal with because he feared Jean Luc already had his sights on Viktor’s princess.

He speared her with a look. “Tell me why you’re interested in him?”

Her fingers stilled, and he missed the softness.

After a brief hesitation where she seemed to struggle for an answer, she finally said, “He’s on my mother’s list of potential husbands.”

“Take him off.” He gave her a harsh look. He’d guessed the man would have made it to that list. His bloodlines, connections, and title would be valued by Sophia’s family.

“You will not marry him.” He liked to believe his command had to do with his unwillingness to share, or that he was simply protecting her since her family was blatantly failing her. She had no control of her money or her guards, and it seemed as though her brother planned to marry her off based on bloodlines over character.

Sophia had been left vulnerable and unprotected by the very people who should have protected her. Her family’s list of prospective husbands made his point.

Real men didn’t trade in women; they protected them.

*****

Sophia had walked into what she imagined a professional boxing gym looked like. A raised ring took up one side of the windowless room. The rest contained heavy bags, weights, flat mats, and cardio machines. The scent of the rubber mats filled the space, and incandescent light shone down from the high ceilings of the underground room. It was impressive. Even with so much equipment, it didn’t feel crowded. One wall was mirrored; the rest were covered in old boxing images.

Viktor fit in this space, his sweat-slicked skin and bold stance even sexier in nothing but black boxer briefs. The dips and valleys of muscle on display had distracted her from the start, turning the tables on everything Sophia had hoped to accomplish. It was a miracle that she’d managed to get answers when she’d fumbled at every step. Her element of surprise had vanished as soon as she’d caught sight of him.

There’d been nothing tame about the man she’d walked in on, and she wanted that man to do dirty things to her. Unfortunately, this visit wasn’t about what she wanted. Not really.

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