Page 60 of A Devious Arrangement
Stasia, clueless to my thoughts, starts to explain. Her words come tumbling from her mouth like she feels like she needs to say this. Like, she’s been holding it in.
“When my mom died, my dad sort of fell apart. I was young then, so I didn’t really understand, and Nikolai took care of most things, but once I was ten or so, I noticed he absolutely sucks at computers.”
There’s a nearly invisible curve to her lips as she thinks about him.
Fuck, is it weird to be jealous of her brother? Probably.
“I just sort of learned out of necessity, and luckily, it came easy to me. I handled our bookkeeping and pretty much anything else that needed to be tracked.”
She pauses for a second, and any sign of a smile vanishes. “I think that’s why it bothered me so much when I found out my dad had spent all of our money. I should have known. It was my job to know. I honestly thought he was just moving through life on autopilot, so I never once questioned him on where he’d go.” She lets out a dry chuckle. “Turns out he got into debt with some seriously under-the-table loan sharks. No paperwork, no trail that he’d been betting our lives and we’d been descending into poverty.”
There are tears in her eyes when she says, “I should have stopped him. I want to hate him, but it’s all my fault. Everything is always my fault.”
I pull her into my arms, and she buries her face into my chest. Her small frame is shaking with each breath she takes.
Fury burns through me like an out-of-control wildfire. If her father wasn’t already dead, I’d kill him myself.
Her hat falls to the ground, and I stroke my fingers through her hair, murmuring calming nonsense. I know what to do with pissed-off Stasia, the one that can give it right back to me, but this sadness she’s showing me has my heart ripping open. She’s been carrying a guilt she hasn’t earned, but I have a bone-deep certainty that her debt isn’t the only thing torturing her. There’s a rawness that speaks to years of pain.
“It wasn’t your fault. Don’t blame yourself, Princess. Your dad fucked up, then left it on you.” I reassure her again and again. I palm her neck and stroke it with my thumb, back and forth, until she relaxes in my arms. I’m happy she’s showing me this now. I’ll wait for the rest.
The clacking of high heels and low voices approaching from the hall has us pulling apart. Stasia’s looking around, eyes wild like she’s an animal about to be trapped. The look of prey on guard nearly has me coming undone.
There are only a select few people who would dare come this way, and I have no desire to be caught by any of them. The closet descends into darkness as I close it behind us, just in time for the office to beep open.
Matthias’s deep voice is muffled through the door.
Chapter 29
Bash
“You didn’t haveto come in with me. I’m just grabbing a file,” Matthias says, and there’s shuffling in the office right outside our hiding spot.
“We’re kid-free. I’m going to enjoy every second we get.” I stiffen at Scarlet’s tone. It’s a low purr that can only mean one thing. If those two fuck out there, Stasia will be mortified.
It’s not hard to make out what the muffled sounds are. There’s a loud thud against the wall, followed by Matthias’s groan. Scarlet’s replying moan.
A shudder crawls down my back. I feel dirty just thinking about it. Stasia’s facing away from me, her head bowed low, and she’s holding herself around her stomach. She looks like she’s trying to curl into a ball and disappear.
I like throwing her off-balance, but not like this. I take out my phone. I only have one idea, and it’s going to earn me a beating of a lifetime. The glow from the screen illuminates the back of Stasia’s neck. It’s bright red, and the color continues up the tips of her ears. My stomach feels sick seeing her this way.
Fuck it. If I die, I die. Matthias is going to be so pissed, but it’s the only option.
Me: Meet me at the Elysium.
There’s a buzz from outside, but it goes ignored. There are more muffled moans, and this time, Stasia jerks back, her back brushing my chest. She’s trembling, and I hate it. I wrap my arm around her middle and hold her to me, dropping my mouth beside her ear to speak. “I’m getting us out of this. Just hang on.”
My words are supposed to comfort her, but if anything, she’s shaking more.
Me: SOS motherfucker. Get there now. Sissy Scarlet can come too.
There’s a loud groan of frustration, one that has fear prickling my arms. I’m so going to pay for this.
Matthias: If you aren’t dead, you’re about to be.
There’s shuffling and then the loud slam of the door closing behind them. I drop my forehead to her shoulder.
“I’m so sorry, Stasia. I didn’t mean for that to happen.”
