Page 64 of Mercenary Princess

Sophia twirled her glass. “Not really. You’ve never been to Porenza?”

He shook his head.

It was a hot spot for the wealthy. Porenza was postcard beautiful, but for Sophia, it was a prison, no matter how much she loved the people. The artistic small towns were bustling with music and Mediterranean cuisine she loved. But the hard truth was that she hated going back there. She felt caged the instant the plane landed on the island, and guilt ate at her because of that feeling.

“I didn’t mean to upset you.” His deep rumbling voice soothed her.

She considered an answer before giving him the truth. “I don’t have good memories there.”

His hand on her foot stilled for only a moment before he resumed his lulling ministrations.

“Is Russia that way for you? You don’t have a home there.”

He grunted. “No, I don’t go to Russia.”

“Do you miss it?”

“I took everything I wanted when I left.”

“What about Feliks?” Was she really prying into his past when she wasn’t able to share her own?

Viktor smiled. “Feliks has gone back to DJ there. He does what he wishes.”

“Whether you like it or not?” she finished with a smile.

“Yes.”

“Is it dangerous?” Some of his cousins were said to be very dangerous men who’d kept ties to very bad things while in jail and later when they’d been released.

“Feliks is always well protected.”

“Does he know everything that happened?” Why do I care if Feliks knows the extent of his family’s history? Because she’d always liked Viktor’s brother, and knowledge truly was power. She would’ve bet there were a great many dangers in Russia for someone close to Viktor. Or maybe not. Maybe his past truly had been swept clean, but she doubted it.

Viktor had been young, only eighteen, when his father had died. The news accounts stated his uncle had taken over Viktor’s father’s financial empire, if not the man’s powerful political position. Anything involving reports of Viktor had said he’d left the country with his terminally ill mother and Feliks. Within a five-year span, deaths started piling up as an apparent war brewed within his uncle’s organization. It hadn’t been until after Viktor’s uncle was gunned down outside his favorite restaurant that the media started flooding with news of the longtime family involvement in human trafficking along with other heinous crimes, bribes, blackmail, and killings.

His cousins had ended up dead or jailed, as everyone involved had met a very calculated end. News reports had all seemed to cast blame on the Bratva. Sophia knew otherwise.

Anyone with underworld ties was well aware that Viktor had been in Russia through it all and that his family empire crumbled at his own hands. He’d been ruthless as he savaged the entire empire. Whispers said that he’d been his father’s son in the end—brutal and unforgiving to any who crossed him. Viktor had carved a bloody mark in the world that left him with a deadly reputation nearly a decade later.

She was well aware how power worked in their world. Viktor could have simply taken over and had it spun very differently in the media. The only thing he’d covered up had been his involvement, protecting himself where the authorities had been concerned.

The world believed he’d gone on to create his own financial empire through legitimate ventures, but she was well aware he’d dealt in his share of less than legal businesses through the years. His penchant for collecting the secrets of the powerful had likely paved the way in a lot of financial successes.

All in all, both society and the underworld saw him as a man not to be crossed for different reasons.

The look he slanted her made her aware that she’d treaded on dangerous ground with her question about Feliks. “I doubt many know everything that happened, but I never would have kept our family history a secret from Feliks. An internet search would have told him what I did not.”

“You never tried to hide your family’s history.” The words slid from her lips before she could stop them, and she found herself holding her breath.

He shook his head slowly. “No. My father’s and uncle’s legacies belong to them. I chose my path and have no regrets. Does that history bother you, Princess?”

She swallowed, her throat dry. “No, it doesn’t.”

He cocked a brow. “You’re sure? Not many know my full history.”

Was he toying with her? Secret for secret? “Are you offering your secrets for mine, Viktor?” she chided playfully.

“Would that convince you to trust me?” He was testing her. The look on his face said he would never share secrets that could incriminate him. Why bait her?

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