Page 78 of The Russian's Revenge Bride

“There’s something else you need to know,” Maxim continued. “This conspiracy goes deeper than just your father. We’ve identified other players, other threats. This isn’t over.”

“Who else?”

“We’re still investigating. But Eleanor, until we understand the full scope of what we’re dealing with, you’re not safe. None of us are.”

I stared at him, this man who’d risked everything to protect me, who’d chosen to shadow my biggest professional triumph instead of celebrating it with me because keeping me alive mattered more than appearances.

“You should have told me.”

“Would it have changed anything? Would knowing that assassins were targeting you have made your show better? Would the fear have improved your designs?”

He was right, and I hated him for being right. But more than that, I hated that my father’s betrayal made Maxim’s original kidnapping seem almost gentle by comparison. At least when Maxim had taken me, it had been strategic. Calculated. When my father tried to kill me, it was personal.

“I need answers,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt. “I need to understand why he hates me enough to want me dead.”

“We’ll find out.”

“No.” I stood up abruptly, my sketchbook falling to the floor as determination replaced despair. “I already know where to start.”

“Eleanor….”

“My mother. She’s been lying to me about something, hiding something that she says will change everything between us. I saw her with Garrison yesterday, holding hands like lovers, and when I called her she lied about where she was.”

“You think your mother knows why Beaumont wants you dead?”

“I think my mother knows a lot of things she’s never told me. And it’s high time I started asking the right questions.”

Maxim studied my face, probably cataloging the shift from hurt confusion to cold determination. “This could bedangerous. If your mother is involved in whatever game Beaumont is playing….”

“Then I need to know before someone else tries to put a bullet through my head.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“No.” I shook my head firmly. “This is family business. The kind of conversation that only happens between mother and daughter.”

“Eleanor, if you’re walking into a trap….”

“Then I’ll handle it the way a Voronov woman handles traps. With intelligence, courage, and enough fire to burn down anyone who threatens her family.”

I moved toward him, closing the distance between us until I was close enough to see the concern in his eyes, close enough to feel the tension radiating from his body.

“Thank you,” I said quietly. “For protecting me tonight. For being there even when I thought you weren’t. For choosing my life over my feelings.”

“Always.”

“But next time, tell me the truth from the beginning. I’m not fragile, Maxim. I don’t need to be protected from reality.”

“Noted.”

I rose on my toes, pressing my lips to his in a kiss that tasted like wine and promises and the kind of desperate love that could survive anything.

“I love you,” I whispered against his mouth.

“I love you too.”

“Good. Because tomorrow I’m going to confront my mother about whatever secrets she’s been keeping. And depending on what she tells me, we might need to reevaluate everything we think we know about William Beaumont and why he wants his daughter dead.”

“What are you thinking?”