“It’s okay,” she croaked. “I’ll do it.”
Jax turned his head, his gaze scorching her. “Do you want to go?”
“No.” Hell, no.
“Then you won’t.” He looked back at her father. “I’m not one of your minions, Garret. And you can’t intimidate me, either. She’s not going anywhere.”
Nick was silent, not taking his eyes off Jax. “You want her?” he asked finally. “Then you can have her. But I demand compensation for what you stole.”
“Compensation?” Pandora said. “Dad, I’m not a possession you can just—”
“You’re my daughter. And I had plans for you. Plans that have been severely disrupted by your little escapade.”
She folded her arms tightly over the nausea that sat in her gut. “Don’t tell me: Sergei.”
He neither looked surprised she’d guessed nor did he try to deny it. “An alliance with him will be good for all of us.”
“Not for me it wouldn’t.”
“It’s for your own protection, Pandora. There will come a day where I can’t do that for you anymore and I—”
“Oh, spare me,” she cut in, suddenly, blisteringly angry. “Don’t try to dress it up. I’m just the bone you’re throwing to one of your dogs.” She’d never said things like that to him before and part of her couldn’t believe she was saying it now. Normally she just nodded her head and went back to playing World of Warcraft or Second Life, or working on one of her coding projects. Not today though. Today she’d discovered an inner core of strength she didn’t know she had.
Her father’s gaze could have frozen fire. “You will not speak to me like that. Not after all I’ve done for you. Get in the car. I won’t ask you again.”
“What compensation?” Jax said before anyone could move. “And who the fuck is Sergei?”
“My daughter is promised to an associate of mine.”
“Promised?”
“The engagement is to be announced today.”
Pandora gritted her teeth. “I knew it. I knew that’s what you were going to do. Happy birthday to me.”
Jax blinked, as if he couldn’t quite understand. “What is this? You have a fiancé you didn’t tell me about?”
“No, of course not.” She took a ragged breath. “I would never—”
“I’ve arranged the marriage,” her father interrupted, “in return for territory and numerous other advantages.” He stopped, his eyes calculating as he stared at Jax.
And Pandora began to get a very bad feeling about what was going to happen next.
“But maybe I’ve changed my mind,” Nick went on. “Maybe I could do better than Sergei.”
“Dad …” Pandora began.
“Far better,” Nick murmured, ignoring her, his gaze on Jax, an acquisitive gleam in his eyes. “You wanted to know about compensation, Morrow? How about this for compensation then. I want you to marry my daughter instead.”
*
At first Jax couldn’t quite understand what the man was saying, not when he was still reeling from the discovery that his Snow White was Pandora Garret, daughter of Nick Garret, head of the most notorious crime family in New York and once the Morrows’ greatest rival.
The virgin daughter he’d screwed over his couch and whom the guy now apparently wanted him to marry.
“No,” Pandora was saying. “No, Dad. He’s got nothing to do with this.”
But Nick Garret was staring at him with the same dark eyes as Snow’s, his expression that of a man who has just uncovered his mortal enemy’s weakness. An analogy that wasn’t out of place given the situation.
The Garrets and the Morrows had been rivals a long time ago, when crime was big business for both families. Except the Morrows had eventually chosen the path of legitimacy while the Garrets stayed in the underworld, making money and gaining influence on the sly.
Shit, even if she hadn’t been a complete stranger, even if he’d been in love with her, he would never agree to marry her. Be associated with a crime lord’s daughter? Not a good business move at the best of times let alone now, with every sordid aspect of Morrow’s past plastered all over the headlines.
“You’re crazy,” he said curtly. “I’m not marrying anyone. Now get out of my apartment before I call the police.”
“You’re not going to do that,” Nick Garret said, a slow, cold smile turning his mouth. “It’s a tricky time to be a Morrow, isn’t it? Lots of secrets coming out. But those aren’t even the bad ones. I know of a few more that won’t make your life any easier should they get into the press.”