nly save you from my evil brother. Marriage was my price.”
“But why would you want to marry her?” Then suddenly Bree knew, and her heart dropped to the floor. “The trust,” she said dully. “You want her land.”
“It’s not hers,” he said tightly. “It’s been in my family for a hundred years. It never should have been sold. We’ve fought for it, died for it—” Catching himself, he relaxed his clenched hands. “So. The land will be mine in three days, when the banks reopen. After that, I can either divorce her quickly with a nice settlement, or…”
“Or?”
His eyes met hers coldly. “Or I can seduce her, make her fall in love with me and destroy her pitiful little heart. I can force her to be my wife forever, and you will never see her again. It is your choice.”
Bree flinched, even as her heart pounded with fear. “How do I know this isn’t all some lie? It might just be some sick joke, some game in the battle between you and your brother—”
Taking the cell phone away from her, he dialed a number, then pressed the phone back against Bree’s ear. She heard her little sister’s voice.
“Hello?”
Bree gripped the phone. “Josie,” she gasped. “Where are you?”
“I’m so sorry, Bree,” her sister whispered. “The poker game was all my fault. I was trying to save you. That’s why I married him….”
“But where are you?” Bree cried.
Kasimir yanked the phone away. As he disconnected the call, Bree went for him, her hands outstretched. He pushed her away easily, tucking the phone in his tuxedo jacket pocket.
“Tell me where she is,” she cried. “Or—or I’ll kill you!”
“You’re scaring me,” he drawled.
“Then…” Bree had already threatened to kill him. What could be more frightening than that? She lifted her chin furiously. “I’ll tell Vladimir!”
Kasimir’s expression was cold. “Go. Tell him.”
She was flabbergasted at his casual tone. “But he will destroy you!”
“He’s tried to destroy me for years,” he said scornfully, “and I only grow stronger.” He moved closer. “And you are wrong, Miss Dalton,” he said softly, “if you think his desire for you will make him sacrifice anything for you or your family. He cares for you because you please him in bed, and he values that pleasure. But given the choice between helping you or himself, he will not hesitate.”
Was Kasimir right? She licked her lips, barely hearing the music from the nearby ballroom. With a deep breath, she lifted her hand to her necklace. She felt its rough weight around her throat.
“Vladimir cares for me,” she whispered.
“Because he gave you my great-grandmother’s necklace?” His brother lifted a dark eyebrow. “He sold that once, you know. And he will sell you, if it ever gives him any advantage.”
“You’re wrong.”
“Try him and see,” Kasimir suggested silkily. “Go to him. Explain how Josie agreed to marry me and give me every acre of the land. He will say her predicament is her own fault, for being foolish enough to seek me as her ally. Vladimir is not a man who excuses mistakes. He punishes them.” His brother narrowed his eyes. “He will not lift a finger to save her.”
Bree trembled in her blue silk ball gown. Was it true?
Vladimir had cut Kasimir out of his life completely, cheating him out of hundreds of millions of dollars, just because of a few angry, drunken words to a reporter. He’d forced Bree to live as his mistress even when she’d begged him for her freedom—all because of a one-card wager. “You made the bet,” he’d said. “Now you will honor it.” Thinking of how he’d just abandoned her on the dance floor when she’d told him something he apparently didn’t want to hear—that she loved him—Bree’s heart lifted to her throat.
Would he treat Josie any more mercifully?
“She will never grow up,” she remembered his hard voice saying. “She will always be helpless and weak, unless you allow her to face the consequences of her own actions.”
“What do you want me to do?” she whispered.
Kasimir’s eyes glittered. “You will help take back what should have been mine.” Pulling an envelope from his pocket, he handed it to her. “Make him sign this.”
“What is it?”