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I did. I couldn’t deny it. Redmond had the resources I needed, and I had the brains and the ability to elevate him beyond all the rest of the Oligarchs. Together, we could dominate the world in a way few families ever have before.
“I’d rather inject myself with one of those rusty needles upstairs than become your wife.”
He laughed. It seemed genuine, though held an edge.
“I had a feeling you’d say that.” He sat up straight, staring with a sharp eye. “I’m prepared to prove my sincerity.”
I rocked back on my heels.
I wasn’t interested in this. I wouldn’t leash myself to some bastard Oligarch and end up back in the same position I’d always been. I wouldn’t become the second, the forgotten, the ignored—the unnecessary.
I lived that long enough. Forced to wait around and watch while everyone around me got whatever they wanted, and I was made to pretend to be happy. Darren was the important sibling, he was the one our parents cared about, while the rest of us fought over scraps. Livvie killed herself because she couldn’t handle the pressure. Penny ended up running off with the psychopath Kaspar as opposed to staying in the family.
Darren didn’t understand it and he’d never see it clearly.
The rest of us were worthless. I’d marry some rich hedge fund manager and bring his wealth and influence and prestige into the family’s orbit, and that would be the extent of my usefulness. Beyond that, I’d pump out babies and die bored, unloved, and alone.
But that wouldn’t be my fate. I wouldn’t end up like my mother, and I wouldn’t go out like Livvie.
I wouldn’t let those people define me. Not when they had no right.
Sometimes I regretted what I did to Penny. I wished it could’ve been different, but I needed Kaspar at the time, and the bastard only cared about her. So I sold her out to get what I wanted, and it still didn’t fully work the way I planned. Even still, once the worst was over, I took my shot and began to build my army with what little resources I could skim away from the Servants.
Now Redmond wanted me to make myself dependent on him, the same way Darren wanted me to come begging for permission to breathe.
I wouldn’t do it. Not when there was another choice, and life was all about possibilities.
“Prove it how?”
He gestured with one hand. Chika flinched, like he was about to attack, but he only waved a palm in the air.
“You have several enemies. Maeve was childless herself, but she had several cousins, along with a few nieces and nephews. I propose to kill one of them for you and make your path to riches that much easier.”
I smiled blandly. “You’re my knight in shining armor.”
“I’m an Oligarch with a gun.”
“And you do nothing for free. You want me to marry you in exchange for one dead cousin? I could kill them myself.”
“No, sweet Erin, you couldn’t.”
I ground my teeth. There was nothing sweet about me and I knew it. “I won’t marry you. Kill as many as you like. I still won’t.”
“You’ll change your mind. Once you see me taking what you want, you’ll realize you don’t have any other choice.”
I stared him down and my mind began to spin again.
I felt dizzy, overwhelmed.
Why did this man want me?
I was nothing. I had my meager army. I was clever and motivated. But there were dozens of women much more eligible out there he could pester into pumping out his heirs. He didn’t need me, not me in particular.
But he kept pushing. He should’ve taken the hint and let it go and realized that he’d be chaining himself to a scorpion, but he didn’t seem to care.
All he wanted was me.
And I found that fascinating.
“Kill one of the cousins and we’ll talk again. And I want all this money and all these guns.”
Redmond beamed. He hopped down off the table and came to me. I stood my ground, but Chika tensed for a strike. I held out a hand to calm her.
Redmond reached out and brushed a thumb across my cheek. It was so calm and intimate, and a chill ran down my spine. My mind was quiet, so quiet, and I felt like I could think, really concentrate for the first time in weeks.
I slapped him in the face, hard.
His eyes shone and he grinned broadly. “That’s why people hate you, Erin. You mistake genuine emotion for manipulation.”
“Don’t touch me again.”
“This cache of gold and guns is a down payment. The rest will be in the form of blood. Do you accept?”
“I’ll take your offerings and I won’t make any promises in return.”
“You’ll give me what I want, Erin.” He leaned closer, talking softly. “Because if you don’t, I’ll come find you, and I’ll make you.”
