Page 13 of Sold to the Russian (Nikolai Bratva Brides #6)

Cormac had been collaborating with Aleksander to dismantle the Nikolai Bratva, manipulating narratives to his advantage.

He was in on it, as well as her uncle, as well as everyone she knew in the Irish mob.

And when things spiraled out of their control, when Ilya Nikolai sought retribution for the kidnapping of those innocent women—a crime orchestrated not only by her uncle—her father, had twisted the truth, sacrificing his own twin brother to save his head, blaming him for forming a rogue faction to gain favor with Aleksander.

Maeve was aware the Irish had been lying low since then, and even though her father deliberately kept her at an arm’s length when it came to the mob, she wasn’t na?ve.

She had Margot, and she’d been piecing together fragments of information that uncovered the depth of her father’s deceit.

Maeve thought Fedya probably knew this. Maybe that was why he was doing this all on his own, to gather little attention to the Nikolai family, even while investigations were being made underground.

She was certain she was a complication he didn’t see coming.

Yet, whether or not her father knew about Fedya’s real identity, she was nothing but a pawn in his games.

She resented him more than ever for using Margot to force her into this marriage, and she didn’t think she owed him her loyalty anymore.

She didn’t think he had a right to know who Jonathan Riley really was.

That, of course, was if he didn’t know already.

She was still thinking about it, about the mess of the whole thing, when she felt a sudden vibration in her clothes.

Seeing her father’s name flash on the screen sent boiling hot anger spreading through her flesh.

But she couldn’t answer it here. She’d been smart enough to take a quick look around when she first walked in, and she’d spotted the blinking security camera at the far end of the room

She stood up as naturally as possible and walked into the bathroom instead. Like she expected, there were no cameras there.

“Maeve.” Her father’s voice was too calm for her liking. Too composed. Then again, he was always composed.

Her voice was low, her nostrils flared, but the bite in her words could not be hidden. “What exactly do you want?”

“I trust you’re settling in,” he began, ignoring her disrespectful tone. The familiarity of his voice grated on her. “How’s married life?”

“You married me off to a stranger.”

“Not a stranger, A stor . You just didn’t ask the right questions.”

Maeve clutched the phone tighter to her ear, her heart racing in her chest. “What does that mean?”

“Your husband isn’t who you think he is, but you should already know that by now,” he said, his tone leaving no room for argument. He said it like he was sure she knew the truth.

“Did you know?” she asked, her voice silent, heavy. Of course, he knew. Of course, Cormac O’Rourke knew when he was being deceived. Fedya might have underestimated him. “All this time? Before you married me off? Did you know who he was?”

“Of course, I did,” Cormac responded, a little annoyed now, like she was questioning his intelligence. “And now you do, too.”

Maeve felt a tear slip down her cheek. “Why the hell would you let me marry him then?”

“Because it’s the perfect plan, Maeve,” he said with pride that made her feverish. “No one would suspect the Irish would plant their own blood inside the heart of the Nikolai Bratva. You’re my eyes now. My leverage. You always were.”

Maeve sank onto the edge of the bed, cold all over. “You’re using me. Just like you used Uncle—”

He cut her off with a bored sigh. “You have a purpose now. Play your part. Get close to him. Learn what you can, however you can. And when the time comes, you’ll help us destroy the Nikolais from within.”

Us .

Of course, he wasn’t alone. Of course, Aleksander was still involved. A devil she’d never seen with her own eyes.

“I won’t let you use me.”

“Don’t be stupid, Maeve.” His tone was impatient. “You want freedom, don’t you? You want to be on your own. You want to live your life on your own terms without your old man leading you every step of the way. You’ve always wanted that, haven’t you?”

Maeve said nothing, but her breath caught in her throat.

Cormac sounded like he was smiling now. “I’ll give that to you if you do as I say. I’m making this promise to you as your father. I will give you what you want if you do what I want. Be good.”

And then the line went dead before she could respond.

Maeve stared at the screen, his words burrowing holes into her chest. Her father had known everything after all.

She was his strategy. She’d been married off like a pawn in a sick game of chess, forced to do his bidding even without him watching her every move.

He didn’t care that she could die doing this, trying to get into the head of another monster like himself, all in the name of becoming his mole.

He didn’t care that Fedya could use her in place of whatever revenge he’d been orchestrating for the Irish since the moment he decided to play a fake American arms dealer.

And yet.

Yet, Maeve knew this could be her only chance at true freedom.

Her father never made promises to her, never bargained or negotiated.

He simply did as he pleased. But now he’d promised her this—this thing she’d been searching for since her mother died.

He promised to leave her the hell alone, but only if she could betray the man he’d married her off to.

At that moment, Fedya’s words reverberated in her head.

Your life is mine now. Your mind, your body, your soul, your loyalty. They’re all mine now.

But that was a lie. A lie Fedya had made up to please himself. She didn’t belong to him or her father or anybody. The only person she belonged to was herself.

Her safety mattered. Her freedom mattered. Her future mattered. And now a decision had been thrust into her hands. She could either stay loyal to her father, who had used her and gained her freedom, or stay stuck in a marriage with Fedya Nikolai.

She ignored the faintest tug in her chest when her husband’s face flashed in her mind. She knew nothing of him, owed him nothing.

She hated him, and it would stay that way.

And just like that, it was clear what her decision would be.