Page 44 of Mercenary Princess

Chapter 16

London, England

Take a deep breath, Sophia.

Fury tightened her muscles as she gripped the phone tight to her ear. She couldn’t afford to react to her mother’s words, not the way she wanted to. Instead, she started pacing in front of the fireplace in her bedroom’s sitting area. She’d just gotten home from a dinner party hosted by a friend of her mother’s. She’d stayed until eleven and had just gotten an earful about leaving early. “And why did you decline a dinner invitation from the Duke of Hellshire?”

Her mother’s tone was getting harsher by the moment. “I have another engagement that night.” Her mother had her booked solid for the entire stay in London.

“A fashion show. Cancel and send word to Hellshire you will dine with him.” No, she wouldn’t, at least not at the man’s home, where the bastard had invited her to have dinner. The duke was a pig.

Her mother wasn’t finished. “If you don’t have any interest in finding a husband, by all means, tell us now. There is no reason for you to be gallivanting at the crown’s expense if you cannot do the one thing expected of you. William can just as easily choose your husband.”

Her jaw tightened, and she felt her hand shaking as her mother issued the threat. “I have made arrangements to be seated with the duke at the charity gala this week. I agreed to sit with Covington at the fashion show, but I can cancel.” She attempted to assuage her mother’s rage with half-truths she’d have to ensure happened now. Silence stretched before her mother’s far calmer tone came through. “Keep the arrangement with Covington, then. The gala is more suitable to Hellshire.” After a few more demands by her mother and critiques of all the clothing she’d been seen wearing over the last few days, Sophia was close to pitching her phone into the fireplace. When her mother ended the call, it was none too soon.

She was still shaking as she grabbed her bag and headed through the fireplace tunnel. The need to get the hell out of there was making it hard to breathe. She didn’t even have the energy or desire to change out of her dress from the cocktail party.

She texted Jen a code then promptly deleted the message and tossed her phone on the bed. Jen had the throwaway phone set up to intercept any calls, so Sophia’s had to stay in the room in case anyone checked the GPS—“anyone” meaning her family. She took off her shoes and stepped down to the passage. The cold stone did nothing to cool her temper.

She entered the bat cave, which was where she’d told Jen to meet her. Forde entered through another door a few moments after her. He smiled, but she could see his mind was on something else.

“What happened in France?” She hadn’t expected to see him tonight, but she’d been anxious to hear what had happened at Jean Luc’s bank.

He rolled his neck. “I acquired another bank account and am considering a secure vault.” His eyes caught on the sheet she’d left on the desk, and he seemed to jump on the distraction. “What is this?”

Sophia pursed her lips. “My list of acceptable husbands.” She hoped he didn’t catch Jean Luc’s name toward the end. She knew it would only sour his mood further. It’d sure soured hers.

The tension on Forde’s face bled to amusement before he glanced back at her with a raised brow. “You circled Hellshire? And Covington?” She’d done that days ago, knowing her mother had always wanted a British tie. The fact that they were the top two names on that list hadn’t been a coincidence. It had been her mother’s doing.

“For my mother,” she huffed.

“Then let her marry one of them. Hellshire has a diaper fetish, and Covington is gay.”

Her mouth curled at the mention of diapers. Suddenly, she was reliving all the times Hellshire had ogled her breasts. Oh, God. Now all she saw was his baby face pouting and calling her “Mommy.”

The shout of laughter from Forde jolted her thoughts. His face looked more relaxed than it had in a while.

“I’m glad you’re amused,” she drawled. She was actually glad for that. She’d already heard Kate’s team was working with James on how to get into Jean Luc’s bank. She didn’t need to drag the details out of Forde when he already seemed tired. At least for the moment, he was relaxed.

“I suppose you’re sneaking off to the Russian again?” He eyed her closely as she nodded. “So why the frown when I got in here?”

“That was my mother’s doing.” She rubbed the tension in her neck. “I’m going to Viktor’s to forget all of that.”

Forde nodded. He wasn’t going to ask more. She’d been honest with her friends about seeing Viktor while she was in London. “Well, enjoy. I have business documents to review.”

Just then, Jen strolled through the doorway, and Sophia couldn’t wait to leave. It had been nice to see Forde, but it only turned her fury at her mother into thoughts about Jean Luc. There was nothing she could do about the Frenchman or her mother at the moment.

She refused to admit she missed Viktor or that the marriage situation with her family was becoming more of a problem.

Had Viktor become a kind of mental crutch for her in a matter of days? This would only be their third night together, and she was starting to hate having to sleep alone on the days in between.

The walk to the car felt just as long as the drive.

“You okay?” Jen asked as she spun the car in the direction of her Russian.

“I will be.”

She’d been replaying her mother’s words. At any moment, she could be summoned back to Porenza. If she didn’t play her mother’s game, she’d be forced to make a choice. That meant tonight could easily be the last she had with Viktor. Her mind buzzed until she promised herself she would make every second with him count so she had something good to take into the potential nightmare ahead. Neither choice would be simple.

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