Sins of a Ruthless Rogue

“No. Sergey was dead years before you met him. The real Sergey’s death wasn’t an accident like the British thought to take

advantage of. I killed the prince personally. Although I must admit even I was momentarily struck by the resemblance of the man the

British found to take his place.”

“No, Sergey was—”

“You never knew Sergey. I have let you live as a princess because I haven’t yet seen a reason to bother changing things.”

Kate swayed against Olivia.

Olivia placed her hand over Kate’s, trying to offer what little comfort she could. “And because you were saving this information for a

time when you needed something to hold over her.” Like a dagger he could slip between her ribs in the dark.

Golov seemed to find Olivia’s accusation amusing. “Precisely. Don’t make me change my mind.” He leaned forward, offering his

hand to Olivia. “Now I believe you and I have an arrangement to firm up.”

She wasn’t about to move to his side of the sleigh. “I don’t particularly want to work with you.”

“You don’t particularly have a choice. But if it makes you feel better, we’re both trying to save the czar.”

“Are you?” Olivia asked.

He withdrew his hand. “It is a good thing I am fond of you, Miss Swift. Men have died for far less.”

The carriage stopped in front of a gleaming white building. “We’ll wait for the baron to join us.”

Rather than leading them up the marble stairs and past the Grecian columns to the front door, he prodded them down the stairs on

the side of the building into the basements.

It wasn’t until the doors locked tight behind them that Olivia heard the screams.





chapter Twenty-five

Manacles hung from the walls. A pile of moldy straw rotted in the corner. Scratches on the back of the door bore testament to some

poor soul who’d been trapped down here. In the summer, water must seep through that crack in the wall, but for now, it was sealed

with an uneven bubble of pale green ice.

Yet Golov ordered the room set with a table covered in white linen and fine silver. Soon an array of soldiers tromped in carrying

covered dishes.

“Join me.” Golov gestured to the two chairs across from him, then sat without waiting for the women. He opened a lid, revealing a

savory red soup. “Hardly captivity, is it?”

“We are in a prison.” Kate might not be a princess, but she’d never looked more like one than in that moment. She’d march in front

of a firing squad before she gave Golov the satisfaction of cowing her.

Olivia, too, was determined not to play mouse to his cat. She needed to discover what Golov had planned for Clayton when he

arrived. So she sat and helped herself to a large portion of food. Golov wouldn’t be the only one to eat, picking his teeth with

satisfaction and spite.

Golov studied her as she lifted a bite of braised carrots to her mouth. “I think we’re much alike, you and I.”

Olivia moved her jaw with careful deliberation, the well-cooked vegetable now tasting of dirt. “In what way?”

“I can see it in you. Always the focus on your goal. The search for a way to arrange things to your benefit.”

Perhaps he’d be more willing to talk if he thought she agreed. So she nodded.

Golov smiled. “You’re doing it now.”

She had been. “It is a flaw I’m trying to overcome.”

Golov laughed, the sound so eerie that the cries in the neighboring cells silenced.

“You cannot overcome it. It is a part of your nature. Most have the will to survive. But you and I have the will to thrive.” He rested one

bony finger on his chin. “Have you convinced yourself it is a bad thing? You fear being selfish? Manipulative? Every good deed

doesn’t count if you benefited, too?”

She stabbed a bite of chicken too hard.

“She has too much of a soul to be anything like you,” Kate said.

Olivia appreciated the defense but feared Kate was mistaken.

He sipped from his goblet, the wine staining his upper lip bloodred. “I think you know, Olivia, that I am correct. I will help you along

with a key realization. Necessary things must be done. If those things also benefit you, so much the better. If you were the passenger

in a cart headed for a cliff, would you hesitate to stop it because your life would be spared? It makes no sense, does it?”

No, it didn’t. “But there is a difference between us, Golov.” And a difference between her and her father. “I wouldn’t have been the

one to whip the horses toward the cliff just so I could stop them.”

“Wouldn’t you? Not even to let the others in the cart see you stop it?” He dabbed at his mouth with a linen. “Not even to save your

mill?”

She sipped the soup, fearing she’d be unable to choke down something more solid. Was that true? She didn’t want anything from

this horrible man to be accurate. But his words resonated deep in her thoughts.

Had she been so focused on doing good with the mill that she’d lost sight of actually being good?

The lies she’d told to rebuild the mill seemed to say so.

What had seemed like a necessary evil before now appeared as vile and dishonest as she knew Clayton would see it.

When she told him.

She would tell him. Her remaining hesitance vanished completely. Why had she clung to it for so long? She was finished being a

coward.

She’d spent her whole life trying to avoid outcomes she didn’t like.

No longer.

It was time she accepted the consequences she was due.

He wouldn’t forgive her. Ian was generous when he said she could choose between Clayton and the mill. There was no outcome

where she’d be able to keep Clayton. She’d lose the mill and she’d lose him.

There’d be no benefit to her for telling the truth.

Yet she’d do it anyway. The people of the mill deserved stability, not a teetering fabrication that could come crashing down around

their ears at any moment.

And Clayton . . . He needed someone honest and open, who had no dark places hidden away.

She would do everything in her power to keep from hurting him ever again.

The realization gave her hope even as the pain from losing Clayton carved a hole in her chest. But now she knew what she had to

do to protect him. “Shall I offer you a tidbit of wisdom in return for the one you gave me?”

“Feel free.” For the first time, Golov took a bite of food. He loved this. The game of it all.

“There are things going on in your city that you didn’t expect. Things you cannot explain. They will make you look foolish.”

“Olivia—” Kate started to warn her, but Golov silenced her with an upheld finger.

“Go on.”

“They’re connected. Prazhdinyeh has broken the code. They want to see the empire crumble around your ears. It’s already

crumbling. You may wish to battle wits and trade threats with the baron, but Russia’s chances of survival are much greater if you stay