“That’s a very good question. Why would they ask you to hurtDaddyHarrington for that matter?”
Silence tumbles between us. Hers contemplative, mine annoyed.
Harrington veered around the truth. Again. He’sstillprotecting them.
Which compromises his intel.
Tomorrow’s priority is to break him.Utterly.
“I don’t know. None of this makes much sense. D-Did you collect?”
Her small voice distracts me. “Collect?”
“Payment for my bruises.”
“Oh. Of course. Six wounds, each worse than yours,kotik.”
“Good. Did you ask him why he’s been targeted?”
“Yes. He doesn’t know.”
“Oh.”
“I shall keep on collecting,” I promise.
“Even better.”
I rub my chin over the crown of her head. “Were you always this satisfied by violence? I didn’t notice it when I was your driver.”
“My life changed,” she says simply.
“Abramovicz.” I invoke the name of my enemy. The old fuck whose dick her sister bit off.
“Yes. Him. But moving in with the O’Donnellys didn’t help. It made me see things differently.”
“In what way? They treated you well. I know your sisters love you.”
“Father hated all of us. Mama didn’t. She adored us. Then… he had her murdered.” She interprets my sudden stillness accurately: “You’re not surprised.”
“Acceding to his position came with the ‘perk’ of accessing the information he had at his fingertips.”
“Would you have ever told me?”
“And cause you pain? No. But I’d have struggled with it if I thought you liked him.”
“I loathe him. If I could piss on his grave without causing a fuss, I would.”
Laughter barks from me. “I can make it happen…”
“I might take you up on that,” she says grimly. “He used to compare me to them all the time.”
“Your sisters?”
“Yes. It turned everything into a competition.Inessa can do this and this, andyoucan’t do anything.Camille, byyourage, was this and this.You’rea slob who I’m ashamed bears my last name.”
“Direct quotes?”
“Pretty much. He detested Camille for her treachery too. Which meant he hated me more if I fell short of her in his eyes.”
