Page 69 of Conquer
He inhales raggedly, his body swaying, his eyes unfocused.
“I’m here,” I say, bracing my hand against his chest. “I’m here.”
“My mother sold me to my father. To the Koslovs,” he says. “And when I failed to challenge Maxim, I was given to our uncle, Sevastyn.Hisrealm was far different than trading in guns,” he admits, his voice rasping. “Through him… I was sold to The Collector.”
“Oh my god…” It’s too horrifying to fathom. I refuse to, pressing my face against his chest, sensing his heart pound frantically underneath.
“Maxim has not always played by our grandfather’s rules,” he adds. “Securing an heir should have been his primary focus the moment he came of age—but he hasn’t. Deliberately, I suspect, though the bastard would never admit as much to me. As far as Anatoli is concerned, having a child of Koslov blood—no matter their origins—would be a preferable backup. Even the child of a worthless bastard long since sold.”
My heart breaks for him. As cold as he sounds, and as ruthless as he can be, admitting as much guts him. I know it does.
“You think that’s why Irina had Magda? To sell her to your family?”
“If she is prominent in the trade, then she knew Sevastyn,” he grates, his expression horrified. “No one could enter that realm without kissing that bastard’s ring. But if that was her aim, to curry favor with a child, they would have no interest in a girl.”
And, in a cruel twist of fate, once Magda became diagnosed with diabetes, Irina had no interest in her either.
“But why keep her?” I ask, more to myself than him. “If the Koslovs didn’t want her, and obviously her bond to her wasn’t that strong considering she abandoned her, why keep her at all for the first five years of her life?”
Something in Vadim’s expression shifts. He’s having one of his many revelations, but this one is different. It crushes him. “Money,” he rasps. “Money she could extort via blackmail.”
“From you?”
He shakes his head. “Of the man whose research may have led to her creation being possible in the first place. Irina somehow stole the remnants of our employer’s sick experiments—but those experiments were only possible due to Hiram Gorgoshev and his expertise.”
And once selling Magda to the Koslovs was no longer an option, Irina decided to use her as a cash cow instead, extorting money from Hiram to keep her child’s origins secret. My heart throbs for her, Magda. I can’t imagine anyone ever treating their own child so callously.
But at least in her case, she wound up in the arms of someone who will go to the ends of the earth to protect her.
“I know what the bitch wants,” Vadim growls. “Why she’s chosen now to come back. Sevastyn’s dead. Without him, I’m sure her sick fucking realm is in shambles. She wants to ally with the Koslovs to ensure her revenue isn’t affected.”
And she’ll use her own daughter as a bargaining chip to do so. It’s such a sad, selfish motive, but something warns me that it’s only a fraction of what may be really driving Irina. I can’t ignore how she looked when speaking about him. That possessiveness.
And pain at the thought of being forgotten by him.
“What are you going to do?” I ask, running my fingers over the planes of his chest.
He catches my wrist, his expression softening as he forces his attention outward.
“Irina would only feel bold enough to go after Maxim if she assumed I wouldn’t put the pieces together in time.”
“I guess your relationship must not be a secret then.”
“But if I go to him directly… If we combine our resources…” He frowns, not liking the idea even as the words leave his mouth. “He’d never agree to it.”
“But if he did?” I prod.
He grimaces at the mere thought and strokes his chin. “We could head her off. Formulate countermeasures to wipe out her and the fucking ring while we’re at it. Milton would help.”
“So then ask him.” I plant my lips against his jaw and feather a path of them down to the center of his chest. “If you need a better reason, I promise to reward you handsomely after.”
“That is a tempting offer…” He captures my waist, anchoring me against him. In this position, I’ve never felt smaller in his shadow, nestled against him like something cherished and delicate. Protected.
“Whatever you do, I’ll support you.”
Even if it means accepting the unforgivable.
