Page 25 of Mercenary Princess

“I liked him just fine as a potential bed buddy for you until all of this.”

“Okay. So I could blow him off and call his bluff. He doesn’t know where I went when we left the hotel.”

“You could,” Jen pointed out.

“And if he’s not bluffing?” Sophia asked. “Then what? The inquisition would start with my brother demanding to know where I’d gone, why I ditched my security, and likely move to his interrogating me about how the hell I got the equipment and skills to climb. William would then dissect my every move after firing you and the rest of the guards, and he’d give me a new team if I was allowed to leave Porenza at all.”

“You’d have to use that exit plan you don’t want to use. All in all, that might be a better alternative than meeting the Russian. If he can read you as well as you said, you have no business meeting him.”

“And if he has something else?” Sophia pointed out the part neither was saying.

“It’s a risk. There’s every possibility he has some footage of you in the hotel room with him. I trust your abilities to do a visual search, but there are a lot of new surveillance toys on the market, and you didn’t have a scanner.” At least Jen didn’t attempt to placate her.

Sophia sighed. She knew she could have missed something in the room. On a personal level, that was more concerning than her brother finding out she had escaped her security. The thought of anyone seeing her in such an intimate moment made her want to crawl in a hole and die. At least she’d only been topless. God, she couldn’t believe that was her silver lining. She was trying to stay calm, but not knowing was worse than confronting the man.

“I’ll find everything out soon enough.”

“Blackmailers never stop, Sophia. Do not give him anything.”

“I won’t.” But she had to know what he had.

“If he does have video of you with him in the hotel room, we’ll deal with it.” Jen’s tone had turned dark and bloodthirsty.

“I know.” Sophia nodded. It was a heartening sentiment, and she really needed it. “No more sex-tape talk. I’m already mortified enough, and Lauren’s idea about using it to create a new ‘bad girl’ persona is not my idea of a good time.” Her friends were all supportive as hell in their own ways, so she knew she’d have them at her side as she rode out whatever happened in the next hour.

Would he have really set her up for blackmail? That made her stomach twist in knots all over again. He couldn’t believe the information about her sneaking out would be effective leverage to get anything from her. And what would he want? He didn’t lack for women to warm his bed, so sexual extortion seemed far off.

Yet how much of her analysis was biased? Because if she were honest with herself, she hated the idea that her teenage crush, her fantasy man, could do something so unforgivable. Any man willing to tape a woman having an orgasm to use it against her was beyond redemption.

Though hadn’t she seen enough bad deeds to know men and women of power were capable of anything? The answer was a resounding and disheartening yes.

Sophia smoothed the front of the simple, knee-length black dress she’d chosen. The silky material clung to her all the way to her knees. Her thought had been that if anyone took her picture tonight, she’d look elegant enough to be going to a dinner party.

“Let’s get this over with.”

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