Didn’t exist.
I knew Brad a lifetime ago,she told me.
“A lifetime ago,” I mutter aloud.
“What’s that?”
“Nothing.” I shut the file. “Any luck tracking down her real identity?”
“Not so far, but I haven’t looked hard. Want me to keep digging?”
“Yes.” I hand the file back to him. “Look for a connection to Bradley Baldwin, too. Those two have history. I want to know what it’s about.”
“Sure,” Maks says. “I’ll do that. But honestly, Yul? This right here is just about enough to wrap anyone around their finger. That’s what you were looking for, isn’t it? Leverage?”
Is that what I’ve been looking for? I’m not certain.
Last night, I just wanted to get under the skin of the nurse who got my car towed. Now…
Now, a plan is forming in my head.
A wild, reckless plan.
My enemies think Mia matters to me. They think I care—enough to make it worth trying to kill her. Once I drop out of her life, I doubt they’ll try again.
But what if I didn’t?
What if I stayed in her life?
Most importantly—what if I kept her in mine?
“You’re thinking it, too, boss, aren’t you?” Maksim murmurs, sober and serious for once. “That this is our chance?”
Mia’s presence already drew out my enemies once. Which means she can do it again. And again, and again, however many times it takes me to catch them.
She’ll be the bait.
They’ll bite. Oh, they’ll fuckingbite.
And then I’ll have my revenge.
“Draw up the paperwork,” I order. “Make sure it’s ironclad.”
Custody troubles. Crippling debt. A fake identity and a secret past.
It’s perfect.
She’sperfect.
It’ll be the easiest “yes” in history.
“Sure thing,” Maksim says. “Should we warn her of the danger?”
“No. The less she knows, the better.”
I rise. Manhattan spreads out under me, pieces of an empire.Myempire.
Now, Mia Winters can help me secure it for good.
