Page 60 of Hidden Empire
We share a sizzling look before Ivan clears his throat, and I shake myself out of the momentary trance. Not time for kissing yet.
“Dmitri leaves campus on a random schedule a few times every month to sneak in contraband that you all sell?” I ask, making sure I’ve heard them right. “But not phones because they jeopardize your operation.”
“Because phones take pictures,” Ivan adds, nodding along with my conclusion. “So if someone has a phone here, then they have someone else who snuck it in.”
“They couldn’t have got it on the ship?”
“No,” Dmitri dismisses softly. “The ship has technology censors all over the place. No one even attempts to sneak in phones or computers on the ship over. It’s one of the reasons they prefer that jets don’t land here unless there’s an emergency. Anyone who comes in and out of here outside of their own transportation—the boat—is a risk.”
“Right,” I mumble, understanding. “So if you didn’t bring it in, and you don’t know who else would be able to sneak off to get one, we’re lost.”
“But Dmitri might be able to find out something when he meets our next contact,” Ivan points out, reminding me why the topic was brought up. “He has to use a phone at the access point, and maybe he can figure out if anyone has heard about a leak.”
“It’s unlikely,” Dmitri warns, preparing me for potential disappointment. “Did you bring your emailer here?”
“I did!” I confirm, excited to be prepared for something. I pull it out of my hoodie pockets and wave it at him.
“May I?” he asks, and I swoon. Manners are so hot.
“Of course.” I pass it over and watch intently as he reads my thread of emails with Apollo. His eyes scan quickly and carefully, analyzing the conversation like he might a book.
“He doesn’t seem concerned about the offers,” he notes. “Which either means he’s hiding it, or there hasn’t been a public leak.”
“So whoever has the phone isn’t blasting me on social media but sending secret pictures and information about me to the heads of different organizations without any real sort of rhyme or reason?”
“There may not be a rhyme, but there’s always a reason,” Dmitri corrects. “Someone has a phone on Empire grounds, and someone is using it to make sure you get engaged. They don’t care who, they just want you off the market.”
“A girl, do you think?” I ask, eyebrows drawing in tight.
“Could be.” Ivan nods. “Getting rid of the competition for someone they want for themselves?”
“Or getting me away from my brothers,” I murmur, thinking about it.
It’s possible, but I really don’t like the sound of it.
“What do you mean?” Ivan asks. “You think someone wants you married so you’ll be farther from them? Why?”
“There’s a couple of people who might,” I admit, suddenly feeling nauseous. “Lorna makes the most sense. She has a scary obsession with Armani. Like, genuinely feels that I’m a threat to her potential relationship with him even though we’re blood-related level of obsessed. I think if she found out there actually was something more than sibling love between us she’d try to wear my face to have him for herself.”
“Yikes,” Ivan blurts, head rearing back in disgust. “Lorna is a possibility then, but it’s just as hard for staff to smuggle shit in as it is for students. Who else are you thinking?”
“It’s going to sound crazy,” I admit, folding my arms around myself.
“Trust me, it won’t,” Ivan tells me, so sure of his words.
“What is it?” Dmitri asks, gently rubbing my arm with the back of his hand. “You can tell us, Krasotka.”
Krasotka. I make a mental note to ask what that means later.
“It sounds nuts,” I reiterate, just to make sure they’re prepared. “But maybe it’s not a student. Maybe it was someone taking pictures before I got on the boat to make it look like it is.”
“Someone who works for your family?” Ivan asks.
“No, I doubt that,” I say quickly. “Everyone there treats me like family. I just…” I swallow the words, trying to find the right ones. “I think maybe my mom could have something to do with this.”
Dmitri tilts his head. “Your mom?”
“Kim,” I correct him, hating the maternal word attached to her title.