Though he didn’t threaten her, she seemed to understand what he left unsaid. It wouldn’t end well for her if she didn’t come clean.
“Vladimir is thepakhanof one of the most powerful groups in the OPG. I guess here you would call that the Russian mafia, and he’s a boss. My father sold me to that bastard when I was sixteen so he could pay to send my mom to a private nursing home after she suffered a brain aneurysm. He promised—and I honestly think he believed—I’d be treated like a queen. Instead I’ve been a possession, even if a prized one…at least to outside observers. One to hoard so no one steals it and one you can break in a fit of rage if you choose, simply because it’s yours.”
Ruby’s fingers flew over her keyboard, and within moments, she displayed a photo on the giant curved screen of their command center.
Holy shit. If Tavish had thought Karolena was gorgeous in her causal clothes and messy bun, she stunned in the backless navy dress that hugged her subtle curves. Its crisscrossed straps stood in stark contrast to her porcelain skin. Long platinum hair fell in waves over her bare shoulders. Diamonds dripped from her ears and ringed her neck like a gleaming collar—which he supposed it had been—bringing out the frosty blue of her eyes.
Her fingers rested on the forearm of a man in an impeccably tailored suit, with a sharp nose, and a don’t-fuck-with-me air. His hand pressed on top of hers, trapping it there while making it look like he returned an affection Tavish was certain she didn’t actually feel. The practiced smile on her bright red lips didn’t extend anywhere near her eyes and her expression was lifeless compared to how she’d looked when she’d unraveled around him.
At the sight of her past, Karolena recoiled. She slammed into the side of his arm as she turned away from the image of her husband. No, her captor, assuming what she was telling them was legit. He glanced at Ruby for a shred of reassurance and she nodded. Tavish wasn’t sure if he should be glad or outraged that so far Karolena’s story checked. Knowing she’d been mistreated was even harder to bear than the possibility she was a spy.
Though…there was still a chance that both were accurate.
It took a moment for him to notice the headline above the image, which appeared to be from some kind of gossip rag. It readThe Ice Princess Returns.
“The Ice Princess?” Legend mumbled.
“It’s awful, I know.” Karolena shook her head. “There were a lot of times I was required to be on display by his side for public events. It was a respect thing. A big deal to him. I could only suffer through it by detaching myself from the surreal experience of being the envy of many women while hating every moment of my existence. I guess people thought that made me a good match for Vladimir. Cold, aloof, and devoid of emotion.”
“You’re anything but cold,” Legend said quietly.
Tavish could have kicked Legend’s ass when his kneejerk denial escaped. This was officially messy and it made him uneasy.
James’s eyes widened as if he’d just now realized they hadn’t wasted any time in taking Jordan at his word that as their boss he didn’t give a fuck what they did while they were keeping her occupied. “I’m sorry that happened to you. Truly.”
Karolena practically vibrated next to Tavish. She clutched her hands in her lap so hard he was sure it was a gesture she’d used often to wrangle her emotions out of sight while her face remained impassive. But was it because her past upset her or because she was making a last ditch attempt to mislead them?
It pissed him off how badly he wanted to accept her account.
“So you really expect us to believe that you finally managed to get out from under this dude, escaped the country, and wound up here, in the middle of Bumfuck Nowhere, right in our headquarters?” Tavish hated the odds of that. “Seems kind of convenient, huh?”
“I mean, not really. Right now it feels like a giant pain in my ass considering I’m trying to keep from drawing attention to myself. I was hoping you wouldn’t be quite so thorough or…connected. Or likeable. Or hot.” Karolena glared at him. “I need fewer complications in my life, not more.”
Jordan silenced their bickering when he cut his gaze to Ruby. “On a scale of one to ten, how honest is she being?”
“Everything she says checks out with my research. There are photos of her wedding. She was clearly not of age to give consent based on her original birth certificate, though I found a falsified one filed with their marriage license. I’ve traced the payments in her father’s name to the region’s top long-term care facility. They don’t come from his account at the local bank. He certainly doesn’t have the means to afford it himself given he came from nothing and works as a clerk in a butcher shop. Case files from various, uh,interestedinternational law enforcement agencies support Karolena’s view of her husband and his status in the organization, which came to power due to brisk uranium trading back in the period following the fall of the Soviet Union. Today he and many of his officers are suspected in connection with crimes ranging from arms deals to drug smuggling to money laundering plus a high-end auto theft operation. It also seems his competitors have a habit of disappearing off the planet entirely. He’s exactly the sort of asshole we’re used to dealing with.”
Karolena blinked a few times as if she hadn’t expected the team to be that efficient. Or maybe she was processing Ruby’s claim that they shoveled shit this deep most days.
Karolena had no idea what they were capable of.
But the way she kept peeking over her shoulder at the exit made it clear she was starting to get a clue and wondering how to extricate herself from the mess she’d fallen into. No amount of suds was going to clean this up.
“Your own fucking father did this to you?” James looked disgusted. “Don’t tell my sister. Laurel will hunt him down and skin him alive.”
For once, Nolan didn’t make light of the situation. He scrubbed his hand over his face. “His sister is my girlfriend. Her and our boyfriend, Jace, are also victims of trafficking. We take it kind of personal.”
James nodded, his features tight. “Our uncle did it to keep Laurel from accusing him of sexually assaulting her when she was a child. I would have done anything to protect her if I had known…”
“You were just a kid.” Nolan squeezed James’s hand.
James nodded. “But if I—we—can do something now. I want to. Please, Jordan. Can we help Karolena?”
She gasped. “Help me? No. I don’t need anything except a way to make money—to live off of and to send home to my father since Vladimir is going to cut him off if he hasn’t already—and people who won’t ask a lot of questions.”
Aarav snorted at that before setting his cup of tea on a coaster. “You’re out of luck on that last part. Everyone’s got their nose in everyone else’s business around here.”
“And there’s no way in hell we’re going to let someone get away with harming innocents if we can do something about it.” Marcus toyed with the large diamond stud in his ear like he did when agitated, then turned to Jordan. “Right, boss?”