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‘Don’t do this, Liev. Don’t destroy my brother. For me, please reconsider.’ She reached for him, but he moved back. If she touched him, sent that spark of desire through him, he wouldn’t be able to remain strong.
‘It’s too late for that.’ He clenched his teeth hard together. Did she have to play that card? Did she have to nudge his conscience and dig at his heart? He’d never come close to loving a woman, not until he’d met Bianca Di Sione.
‘Please, Liev.’
Fool, he inwardly berated himself. ‘You mean nothing to me. Dario is nothing, and if I don’t do this for my father, then I, too, am nothing.’
Silently she stood up, her eyes locking with his, and he watched as she pulled the ring, his engagement ring, from her finger and held it out to him. He took it, feeling the warmth of her skin lingering on the gold band. No, he wouldn’t be distracted.
‘Go to Dario.’ Her words were full of fury and disgust. Full of hatred for him. He could sense it with every bone in his body. ‘Tell him what you know and find out what really happened.’
‘Believe me, Bianca, I have every intention of doing exactly that.’ He glared at her, matching her anger and denying he had any other emotion towards her.
‘Go. Bring down his company, get your damn revenge. I don’t care, Liev. Just leave me out of it.’ She stepped back as if he was the devil himself, uncaring of the attention she was attracting from passers-by.
He walked calmly to her, every step making it more final. They were over before they’d even begun. ‘I will and I intend to be every bit as calculating as you were.’
‘I hate you.’ Her voice had lowered and her eyes were narrow with hardness. ‘And to think that I... Oh, just go. I never want to see you again—ever.’
He didn’t wait to hear any more. Instead he turned and strode back through the park. She hated him and never wanted to see him again. She’d got what she wanted and now it was time to get what he wanted. The past two months had been about revenge, not the woman who had slipped beneath his defences, and the only way to remind himself of that was to exact that revenge.
CHAPTER TWELVE
FOR THE REST of the weekend, Bianca had tortured herself, worrying over Dario and what Liev intended to do. She’d expected to hear from Dario, but nothing other than the usual emails regarding the launch. Finally she’d broken under the pressure and had called him, explaining she’d given away all the necessary information to ruin him.
She’d explained about the bracelet and how Liev had bid against her in order to use it as blackmail. She had been so shocked when Dario had told her he, too, had just been given a task of locating a Lost Mistress that she confessed absolutely everything, even telling her brother she’d fallen in love with the man who was planning his downfall.
That man’s silence had screamed at her all week, fraying her nerves. What was he up to? In just one hour ICE was about to launch its latest product, the one she’d stupidly told Liev all about, and all she could think of now was his warning that he wanted to bring ICE down and Dario with it.
He’d used her. Blackmailed her. But still she remembered his kisses. The night they’d made love. What was the matter with her?
The conference room was filling up fast. The press had already taken up their positions as Bianca slipped in the door at the side of the room to give everything one final check. Dario joined her, filled with excitement.
‘You’ve done a great job, Bianca.’ Her brother’s voice was full of praise. Praise she didn’t deserve.
‘That’s not true and you know it.’
‘We all make mistakes. Don’t worry—I’ve got your back on this one. It’s all sorted.’
She turned to look at her brother. ‘What do you mean?’
He placed his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look up at him, and then smiled. ‘It’s sorted. Stop stressing and concentrate on your job.’
‘But...’ Before she could say any more, Dario had left. The room was filling more rapidly now and she watched everyone. Then her world stopped turning. Her heart stopped beating and she wasn’t sure she could even breathe.
Liev.
She closed her eyes in resignation of all that was surely about to happen. Liev Dragunov wanted revenge and he was here to get exactly th
at. Her first instinct was to warn Dario, but he was busy with final preparations.
She had no choice. She had to confront Liev—now—before he publicly created a scene.
Trying to gather her shattered nerves, she strode over to him. Instantly the air became full of tension and the way he dominated everything around him unnerved her further. The dark suit he wore hugged his body and that image she’d stored away, of him standing in the sea, sunlight defining every muscle, filled her mind. What was the matter with her? The expression on his face was unreadable as she looked directly into his eyes.
‘We need to talk, but not here.’ Bianca walked away, hoping Liev would follow. She glanced back to see that he was, and that inscrutable expression didn’t give her any hope that he’d changed his mind about revenge.
She went through the side doors, into the quietness of the corridor, and headed to the office she and Dario were using. Anywhere was better than having this conversation in public. Once inside the room, she stood behind the desk and turned to face him as he came in and shut the door.
