Page 17 of Black Ledger

Severin smirked and ran a finger along the rim of his glass. He still leaned against the fireplace like a preening peacock. “I do believe Keira is in her thirties and not at all a virgin.”

I let out a huff but waved Cormac off. “It’s fine. It might do the Russian boy some good to learn how feisty and terrifying an Irish redhead can be.”

“Boy?” Severin’s voice held more amusement than offense.

Cormac sighed. “If you’re sure.”

“I am.”

Neeve shot me a concerned look and squeezed my shoulder on the way out. Callum just grunted and shook his head, and the Russians didn’t care what their Pakhan had in store for me.

“If you think choosing me as your bride gives you permission to touch me, you’re going to be severely disappointed.” I crossed my arms and stood in the doorway, holding the door open with my shoulder as the last stragglers left.

Severin chuckled. “I didn’t ask you to stay behind so I could grope you.” An eyebrow lifted in amusement. “ Although, if you do want me to seduce you, by all means... I will.”

Fury spiked in my blood. That easily? That quickly? I shouldn’t be surprised. He was a manwhore before we ever fucked, and he had already replaced me so easily. So effortlessly brokered another marriage alliance.

If I thought the reason Severin hadn’t married after all these years was because he somehow still had feelings for me, I was mistaken. He probably spent the last thirteen years sowing his wild oats, and fucking any woman who would let him before a mafia marriage shackled him.

Lucky for me, that would never happen.

I was going to brutally murder this man before he had the chance to marry anyone.

Especially not me. At least not as Keira.

“I asked you to stay because I hear you’re the best hacker in the Irish mafia.” He took a step forward and set his whiskey on the coffee table. “I would like to use your skill set.”

My pulse ticked in my neck, and I eyed him with suspicion. “If you want to use my skills, you’ll have to pay me, and I am not cheap.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to be,” he said, taking another three steps toward me. “Please, close the door so I can tell you my proposition in private. This discussion is for our ears only.”

“Oh?” Now, that had me intrigued.

I stepped into the room and let the door click shut behind me.

“There are snakes and rats in the Russian mafia—people hiding secrets, moving money, and burying it—and I want you to find them.”

“You want me to be your rat catcher?”

“Yes.”

I hummed. Interested. Far, far too interested.

His attention sharpened like a blade. “I want you to hack into our systems and find everything.”

Ice slid down my spine, vertebrae by vertebrae. I did not trust Severin, and this request felt too good to be true. “That is a lot of trust to place in me.”

The corner of his mouth lifted, but he didn’t respond.

I walked farther into the room and sat on the couch near him. I didn’t think it was a good idea to have this conversation on my feet. My limbs already felt like jelly around him, and the last thing I wanted was for him to notice me sway or tremble—or worse, my condition. I needed to ground myself.

He followed suit, sitting in the chair beside the couch, and taking his whiskey with him.

I slowly crossed one of my legs over the other and leaned toward him. “You’re asking me to do this because you don’t trust your men.”

He tilted his head slightly.

“Even the Morozovs?” I asked. “Or perhaps, especially the Morozovs?”