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She met his eyes. “I think I hate you.”
“I know.” The words were like razors, cutting their way through his heart on the way to his mouth.
“So Adam went to your father after he told me who you were,” Ruby said. “He… what? Told your father to kidnap me?”
Roman thought back to what he’d known, put it together with what Ruby had told him. “I’m guessing it was an informational visit. If Adam asked around about me, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that someone on the force knew I was working to seize control of the bratva from my father.”
The organized crime task force always had people monitoring the organized crime families, watching for changes in the power structure, looking for weaknesses and evidence that would hold up in court.
“So I’m just a pawn,” Ruby said bitterly. “My daughter, mylife, are just pawns to be used in your game.”
“No,” Roman said. “Not to me. Never to me.”
“You’re not the only one playing, Roman.” Her words were as sharp as a slap across his face.
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“Your words mean nothing.”
He nodded.
“You still haven’t told me why I can’t get Olivia back,” she said. “I’m free. I share custody with Adam, although I’ll make sure that ends the second I can prove he was part of this.”
“I hope it’s that easy, but I suspect Adam’s power play was taking Olivia from you, and now he’ll do anything to keep her.”
“Including telling the court that I’ve been having an affair with the son of the leader of the New York bratva,” Ruby said softly.
“Does that sound like something he would do?” Roman asked.
“It sounds exactly like what he would do.” She pushed back from the table. “But he’s only able to do it because of you. I assume I can sleep here until I find someplace else to go?”
“You can sleep here as long as you like. My best men are on duty here. You’ll be safe.”
She barked out an ironic laugh. “Safe. Right.”
He watched her make her way back to the hall with his heart in his throat. He’d ruined her, had ruined what had been growing between them. She would never forgive him and she didn’t even know everything yet.
Tomorrow he would have to tell her. He would have to tell her that she wasn’t staying here as long as she wanted to stay — she was staying here until his takeover of the bratva was over.
Whether she liked it or not.
11
Ruby
She lay the bed staring at the ceiling. She should have been crying — screaming, something — but she was physically and emotionally numb. She’d thought the worst was over but apparently she’d been very, very wrong.
Adam had kidnapped Olivia.
That wasn’t what it would look like on the outside, but as Roman’s words echoed in Ruby’s mind, she knew that was exactly what had happened.
Adam had heard through the police grapevine that Roman was making moves against his father and had taken that information to Igor. Igor got leverage against Roman by taking Ruby and Adam got the satisfaction of taking the only thing that really mattered to her.
Their daughter.
She’d thought her rescue was the end of her torment, but really, it was just the beginning. Adam would fight her for full custody. Ruby could fight back, but once Adam proved that Ruby had been seeing Roman — that she’d brought a notorious criminal kingpin into the home she’d shared with Olivia — no court on earth would give her even partial custody.
She’d be lucky to see her daughter unsupervised.
