Empire of Sin(Empire #2)(65)

He always has.

He’s so loyal to the Bratva, and so is Vladimir and Rai.

At one point, I thought my great-cousin could probably help me. She always took care of me after Papa killed my stepfather and brought me to live with him. All after Mom was beaten to death by said stepfather.

But I didn’t want to put her in jeopardy after everything she’d worked for. She’s a leader in the brotherhood and an executive manager at V Corp, and it took her so much struggle to be the only powerful woman in the midst of wolves.

And now, if I say or do something wrong, I’ll hurt the only people who ever cared for me.

The only family I’ve ever had.

“Let her stay at Weaver & Shaw.”

Kirill’s and my attention snaps to Adrian, who finally looks up from the laptop, then slowly closes it and places it on the table.

“What the fuck are you talking about, Adrian? Let her stay? The Pakhan’s only daughter can’t be left alone at some law firm.”

“We need to win Matt’s lawsuits since we use his production company to launder money. Weaver & Shaw is representing his daughter and are digging their noses where they shouldn’t. As a member of the brotherhood, the Pakhan’s daughter will play her role and become our eyes and ears there. It shouldn’t be hard with the tech department access and your interesting set of skills. Right, Anastasia?”

A full-body shudder takes hold of me. Interesting set of skills. He knows. Even though my spare laptop doesn’t have anything incriminating on it, Adrian somehow figured out about the hacking.

Does that mean he knows about the stolen funds?

Kirill narrows his eyes at me, then at Adrian as if he’s figured out that something is amiss. He always does. He’s like a dog who can smell anything fishy from a mile away.

But instead of being obvious about it, he lets the subject go. “Though I don’t like it, we do need to win the whole Matt thing. Do as you’re told and I’ll pretend I didn’t see you.”

I’m about to say no, but Adrian meets my gaze again and I clamp my lips shut.

He stands up in one swift motion. He and Kirill are so large that they dwarf my small apartment, stealing all the air.

“Sasha will keep an eye on you to make sure nothing goes awry.” Kirill smiles, but there’s no warmth behind it. “And when the case is over, I’ll personally take you back, little princess.”

And with that, he leaves, his guard following after.

I expect Adrian to join them, but he leans close and speaks in a low tone, “We’ll play this my way, Anastasia. You don’t contact Sergei, Vladimir, or Rai. You continue the charade and live as Jane until I allow you to come back. If you don’t, the brotherhood will know you stole hundreds of thousands of dollars and everyone will be out not only for your head, but also for Sergei’s, Vladimir’s, and Rai’s because they helped cover up the theft for you.”

A lone tear slides down my cheek and hangs on to my chin. “They…didn’t do anything.”

“They lied and that, too, is considered a betrayal.”

“Why…why don’t you reveal it now?”

“Because I can use you.”

“Against my father?”

“You allowed yourself to be used, so don’t act victimized. I also need to know where that money went since you’re obviously not using it.”

So he doesn’t know about Babushka.

Yet.

Because I have no doubt that if he puts his mind to it, he’ll eventually figure it out.

“What if I don’t help you? What if I don’t want to interfere in the Matt Bell case?”

“Whether you help or not doesn’t really matter. We’ll win either way. Whether or not we’ll use violence is what you should worry about.” He pauses. “You don’t want your boyfriend to accidentally lose his head, do you?”

I’m flat out shaking, cold sweat covering my temples because I know, I just know that Adrian doesn’t make idle threats.

That he doesn’t target anyone just because.

That he didn’t haphazardly pick Knox without a reason.

“What…did he do?”

“Put his nose where it doesn’t belong. If you want him safe, make him lose or drop the case. Either would work.”

“He won’t listen to me. We’re just casual, so neither of us is important to the other.” I lie through my teeth.

“I’ll be the one who decides that. Play your part and be smart about it, Anastasia. If you do, I might let you come back without shedding any blood.”





26





KNOX





An ominous feeling has been metaphorically crushing my windpipe for the past hour.

So I called my family. Teal, Dad, my foster sister, Elsa, and even that grumpy fucker Agnus, Dad’s husband, who raised me and my twin sister.

Everyone seemed safe.

Unless they lied to me?

I have a weird sense of intuition. I always have, ever since I realized that it’s possibly the only thing that’s able to save me.

That aside from myself, no one will stand up for me, no one will give me what was taken. So I had to rely on my sixth sense more often than not, and it’s that intuition that saved my arse more times than I can count. It’s what made me escape with my skin unscathed.