Not that she replaced Liv—but I missed having that close friendship.
I was wealthy. Filthy stinking rich, apparently. But I couldn’t do a damn thing with that money. I could order whatever I wanted online and have it inspected and picked apart by the house security before it was delivered to my room, but that wasn’t the same.
It wasn’t always like this. Back before Liv died, we could do more or less whatever we wanted. Life was normal.
It hadn’t been normal around here for a long time.
I wandered the hallways. I did a lot of that. I smiled and said hello to the staff, stopped to ask how Coleta’s family was doing, chatted with Gaspara about her new boyfriend for a little while, but they always treated me like a better, like I was their boss, and rarely dropped their fake smiles.
I had a feeling Charleigh never let them forget their place.
It was frustrating, but I grew to accept it.
I drifted into the family wing. Most of the bedroom doors were shut, except for Erin’s. I heard voices drifting into the hallway and I slowed down as I came toward her apartment. She had several rooms across the hall from my own little private quarters and when we were younger, we used to meet in the hall with Liv and play games all over the grounds. Darren would join sometimes, and later I’d play with Anthony, but childhood seemed so long ago.
It wasn’t fair, how it all slipped away.
“…longer than necessary,” Erin was saying. I tried to peek through the cracked open door but only saw the far window and shadows indicating someone pacing around.
“I’m moving as quickly as I can.” I recognized the voice that answered her.
It was Kaspar.
My blood chilled. What was Erin doing talking to a freaking Oligarch?
Especially him?
I hated Kaspar. Despised him. Ever since our brief overlap during my time at Blackhills.
Time hadn’t done much to dull my feelings.
“You have to finish him off. Darren is getting desperate and I’m afraid he’ll do something stupid.”
“Such as?”
“Make peace.” Erin sounded bored.
But she was talking about the war with freaking Kaspar.
I was absolutely riveted.
“What’s so bad about peace? That would make things easier for you.”
“Peace won’t get me anywhere. If I’m going to grow my family’s strength, I need to make sure there are places to grow into. That means territory and manpower.”
“Which you think you can take from Roman.”
“That’s the goal. But none of that matters if you can’t deliver.”
“I’ll do what I can, but don’t forget our deal. My men are fighting and dying for you, and whether we win or not, I’m taking my payment.”
“You’ll have her when this is finished.”
I stepped back, my mouth hanging open.
Have her when this is finished? What the hell did that mean? I blinked rapidly then pressed my ear against the frame again just as Kaspar finished saying something.
“… Penny at the end of this. You know the deal we made. I only hope you can follow through.”
“Don’t worry about my sister. When the time comes, she’ll do what’s best for the family.”
“Then I’ll keep up the fight. You need to relax a little, Erin. You’re always so high-strung.”
“Do your damn job, Kaspar.”
I heard her slam a laptop lid shut then start pacing around her living room.
I stood there sweating and breathing hard.
“You might as well come inside.”
I grimaced then pushed open the door.
Erin stood near the windows looking out. She glanced over her shoulder and frowned as I took a step inside, but didn’t come closer.
She was talking about me to Kaspar. I was involved in whatever scheme she’d cooked up with that psycho and knowing her, it wouldn’t end well for me.
“What was that about?” I asked her, afraid of the answer.
Erin didn’t say anything right away. She kept staring out the window. It was strange, seeing her interacting with the world instead of burying herself into a phone screen. It reminded me of the old days.
She finally turned and regarded me with those cold, green eyes.
“Kaspar is working for me right now.”
“You? How?”
“Mother began the process and I finished it. Kaspar’s on our side because I made certain promises.”
“What did you offer him?” I felt a cold spread out from the base of my spine.
“Life isn’t easy, Penny. You’ve drifted through your days with a smile on your face for long enough. It’s time you did your duty for everyone.”
“What the fuck did you do?” I wanted to scream and slap her in the face over and over again. That crazy asshole, that manipulative bastard. She went behind Darren’s back to ally herself with Kaspar, and she threw me into the mix as a bargaining chip.
Because she knew how Kaspar felt about me.
And she knew how I felt about Kaspar.
“You will be his when this is finished. It won’t be so bad. He’ll take care of you. That man worships the ground you walk on.”