AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Back then, of course, I didn’t know I was Kristina Reznikov’s secret son. All I knew was that Vadim had found me one night when I was a baby, orphaned on the streets of St. Petersburg. I’d have died or turned into one of the walking dead you see on the streets of Russia—the unwanted children with darkness flowing through their veins and dimming their eyes.
He saved me from that nightmare. And in return I never said a word about what his sister Svetlana did to me. I decided it was the toll I would pay for the new life I’d been given.
A violent black knot twists in my chest. I stare at the door where Eilish just left. I know I should follow her. Iwantto follow her, want to tell her everything, for some insane reason.
But I can’t.
I grit my teeth. Eilish probably has the idea in her head that Svetlana made me hard, and that I wantedherto give me release.
That couldn’t be further from the truth.
Svetlana sucks the life out of the world around me. She brings nothing but coldness and darkness. After she left, and I locked eyes with Eilish, it was Eilish I wanted. I instantly craved her, like a drug—craved the goodness she brings to my life. The way she breaks down my barriers, even when she’s defying me. Or maybeespecially whenshe’s defying me.
I wanted her just now because I wanted to forget. I wanted to lose myself in Eilish to purge the nightmares of Svetlana from my head.
I exhale, shoving my fingers distractedly through my hair as I march over to the safe and open it. Svet was in here bitching about the egg, obviously. And that led to questions about the empty display case.
I told her I was keeping it in my safe until our deal could be done.
It’s nottechnicallya lie. The Imperial Shieldisin my safe. It’s just that it’s in there in about forty pieces, in a box.
I glare at the shattered bits.
I’m running out of time and runway to try to hold Svetlana off. Soon, she’s either going to realize I’m bullshitting her, or not even care if I am. Then she’ll simply move on with her legal attack on my company.
The fucked-up part is, she’s got a great chance of winning that attack, too.
There are other ways, of course, that I could, I suppose you could say…take careof this problem. I’ve dreamed of about a thousand different ways I could kill Svet. Except she’s not stupid, and employs a small army of security. In fact, just now in my office is the first time I’ve even seen her without at least three of her guards around her. I mean there were ten of the fuckers downstairs on the main floor, but still.
I should have killed right now and figured out the consequences later. Fuck.
Sinking into my desk chair, I grit my teeth as I tap Taylor Crown’s contact number. This is a conversation I’ve been putting off for way too long.
“Gavan,” Taylor chirps into the phone, all-business as always. “What can I do for you?”
“If there was no egg.”
She pauses. “No egg?”
“If therewasno Imperial Shield. What would that mean, concerning Svetlana and her deal.”
She exhales slowly. “Youknowwhat it would mean, Gavan. Look, I know it’s worth both a lot of money and has incalculable sentimental value to you. But, Gavan, given what’s at stake here, justgive itto her—”
“No, what I mean,” I growl, “is if there literallywasno egg. Not off the table. Not as if I’m refusing to part with it. If it didn’t exist anymore. What would happen.”
“Jesus,Gavan,” she murmurs. “What happened—”
“Just tell me, Taylor. Please.”
She takes a long, deep breath. “If therewasno egg, then again, I’m afraid it would fall back to the unfortunate language of your father’s will.”
My eyes close.
“Unfortunate” doesn’t quite cover it.
Years before he died, when I was a newly crowned prince, for tax and security reasons, Ironclad Holdings was created with Vadim listed as the owner. When he passed, that ownership formed part of his estate, which he left to me.
Except some fuckingidiotof a lawyer worded the will to have Vadim leaving his estate specifically to “Gavan Tsarenkoand his family.”
