her emotions and looked directly into his eyes. ‘I did and now I want what you promised me.’
* * *
Liev pulled the old box back out of his pocket and held it as he looked at her. His first impressions of Bianca had been right. She’d fooled him, tricked him. Made him believe he was special, that maybe if things had been different they could have had a future. She had been as callous and calculating as he’d been. No, worse. She’d brought emotions into their deal.
‘I hope this makes your grandfather very happy, Bianca—and that it was worth it for you.’
She took the box from him, her fingers brushing against his, sending a fizz of electric awareness instantly through him. Inwardly he cursed. It didn’t matter what she’d done, that she’d played on his past and exploited her innocence, leading him to do the one thing that he should never have done—take her virginity. None of that mattered. He still wanted her. And worse—what he felt for her went deeper, but he couldn’t acknowledge that now.
‘It was. One day, Liev, you, too, will do absolutely anything for love.’ Her dark eyes were so hard, so fiercely full of contempt for him, that for a moment he was agonisingly jealous of her grandfather, for having all her love. There wasn’t anything left. Not even the smallest space in her heart.
Once again he leapt to the defence of his emotions, the way he felt about her, desperate not to show the tiniest bit of compassion for her.
‘Then we are both even.’
‘Even?’
‘Do you really imagine all I wanted was acceptance into New York society?’ The wound she’d opened that night in his bed gaped wider and all he wanted was for her to hurt too.
She looked at him as if suddenly seeing a new person, disbelief and shock all over her pretty face.
‘No, Bianca, I wanted to avenge the needless deaths of my parents and the destruction of my father’s company—by ICE. Now, thanks to you, I have everything I need to bring your brother’s company to its knees.’
He saw the moment realisation dawned, saw how she remembered telling him all he needed to know about Dario’s launch while she was distracted by thoughts of her grandfather at the family home. She knew she’d told him everything.
‘You truly are despicable.’ She slid away from him on the bench, the bracelet box clutched ever tighter in her hands. ‘You disgust me.’
‘Maybe we are not so different after all, Bianca.’ He moved towards her, seeing the anger glitter in her eyes. ‘You wanted the bracelet for your grandfather and I want to bring down ICE. I want to avenge my father and put right the wrongs of the past, and, like you, I will do anything to achieve that.’
‘No.’ She shook her head in denial, a frown furrowing her brow. ‘No. You’ve got it all wrong.’
‘My father’s company was destroyed, taken apart piece by piece by ICE, which ultimately destroyed him. My mother went to an early grave and my father soon followed, leaving me on the streets and very much alone. Have you any idea what it is like to be a twelve-year-old boy stealing stale bread just to exist? Have you any idea what it’s like to be thrown in prison or to want revenge so badly you are driven by it day after day?’
She shook her head, her neat brows pulled together in such a way that he almost believed she could really feel all he was telling her. Was that sympathy or pity in her eyes? ‘No, Liev, you are wrong.’
‘I don’t think I’ve got anything wrong, Bianca.’ He could barely keep the snarl from his voice. His heart hammered so loudly with the injustice and anticipation of being so close to his lifelong ambition.
‘Dario isn’t responsible. You can’t use that against him.’ The pleading of her voice wasn’t going to affect him; it wasn’t going to sway him from his plans. He wouldn’t allow her to distract him again.
‘Granted, he didn’t own ICE. He made a big show of putting right the company’s past wrongs when he took over, but that was all lies, Bianca. A cover-up to inflate the share prices. He’s no better than the man who did own ICE—and now they will pay.’
Liev stood, icy cold flowing through him despite the August sunshine. There was nothing more for him here. He was done with Bianca, done with emotions.
‘Don’t do this, Liev. Don’t destroy my brother. For me, please reconsider.’ She reached for him, but he moved back. If she touched him, sent that spark of desire through him, he wouldn’t be able to remain strong.
‘It’s too late for that.’ He clenched his teeth hard together. Did she have to play that card? Did she have to nudge his conscience and dig at his heart? He’d never come close to loving a woman, not until he’d met Bianca Di Sione.
‘Please, Liev.’
Fool, he inwardly berated himself. ‘You mean nothing to me. Dario is nothing, and if I don’t do this for my father, then I, too, am nothing.’
Silently she stood up, her eyes locking with his, and he watched as she pulled the ring, his engagement ring, from her finger and held it out to him. He took it, feeling the warmth of her skin lingering on the gold band. No, he wouldn’t be distracted.
‘Go to Dario.’ Her words were full of fury and disgust. Full of hatred for him. He could sense it with every bone in his body. ‘Tell him what you know and find out what really happened.’
‘Believe me, Bianca, I have every intention of doing exactly that.’ He glared at her, matching her anger and denying he had any other emotion towards her.
‘Go. Bring down his company, get your damn revenge. I don’t care, Liev. Just leave me out of it.’ She stepped back as if he was the devil himself, uncaring of the attention she was attracting from passers-by.
He walked calmly to her, every step making it more final. They were over before they’d even begun. ‘I will and I intend to be every bit as calculating as you were.’
‘I hate you.’ Her voice had lowered and her eyes were narrow with hardness. ‘And to think that I... Oh, just go. I never want to see you again—ever.’
He didn’t wait to hear any more. Instead he turned and strode back through the park. She hated him and never wanted to see him again. She’d got what she wanted and now it was time to get what he wanted. The past two months had been about revenge, not the woman who had slipped beneath his defences, and the only way to remind himself of that was to exact that revenge.
FOR THE REST of the weekend, Bianca had tortured herself, worrying over Dario and what Liev intended to do. She’d expected to hear from Dario, but nothing other than the usual emails regarding the launch. Finally she’d broken under the pressure and had called him, explaining she’d given away all the necessary information to ruin him.
She’d explained about the bracelet and how Liev had bid against her in order to use it as blackmail. She had been so shocked when Dario had told her he, too, had just been given a task of locating a Lost Mistress that she confessed absolutely everything, even telling her brother she’d fallen in love with the man who was planning his downfall.
That man’s silence had screamed at her all week, fraying her nerves. What was he up to? In just one hour ICE was about to launch its latest product, the one she’d stupidly told Liev all about, and all she could think of now was his warning that he wanted to bring ICE down and Dario with it.
He’d used her. Blackmailed her. But still she remembered his kisses. The night they’d made love. What was the matter with her?
The conference room was filling up fast. The press had already taken up their positions as Bianca slipped in the door at the side of the room to give everything one final check. Dario joined her, filled with excitement.
‘You’ve done