Page 85 of A Devious Arrangement
The front door slams shut, startling us.
“Fuck. I’ve got to go,” Bash says, disappointment clear in his tone.
“Hurry,” I say, biting my lip. I’m probably pushing this flirtation a bit too far, but it’s clearly working.
Bash pulls on his hair, groaning. “Wait right here. Preferably naked. I’ll be right back.”
A laugh breaks from my chest, and I wink. “Yes, sir.”
“Jesus fucking Christ. She’s trying to kill me,” he mumbles, rubbing his hand over his face.
I’m still laughing when the door closes behind him. He’s somehow eased my agitation, at least for now.
With several hours to wait, I lift my phone and make my long-overdue call to my brother. I’ve avoided this ever since I started to question my feelings, but after everything I’ve just learned, I need to hear his voice.
“Hello?” Nikolai answers, his voice edged. “Anastasia?”
“Yeah, it’s me. How are you?” I can’t help picturing him in that house, surrounded by the people who killed our mother. We were wrong to go to them in the first place, and now, Nikolai’s wide open for an attack. If I tell him about what happened to Mom, he’s going to lose it, so I’ll have to keep it quiet a littlelonger. He deserves to know, but I can’t trust him to not be reckless.
Even if I’m not responsible for my mother’s death, I still owe Nikolai for all of the years he sacrificed to take care of me. My teeth grind together as my brother continues to speak, but I don’t hear him. My mind is working through every decision. No matter how many options I go through, I keep coming up with the same thing. I can’t leave him there.
I can’t wait.
Chapter 39
Bash
It feelslike we’ve been here forever, but we’re only on our second complaint. Not that I’ve been listening, having tuned it out long ago. My fingers drum on the wooden chair in a repeated pattern as I force myself to remain seated.
I’d asked Damon to put in a call to get the tiara back. One look at Anastasia tonight let me know I’m done messing around. I’m going to hell for putting that helpless look in her eye when she realized Nikolai is being kept by the same people who murdered her mother.
I just need to get through this bullshit meeting, and then I can keep her distracted until we get the Kokoshnik Tiara. My cock grows stiff, thinking about all the ways I can make her forget.
My robe’s stifling tonight, and I adjust it for the fifth time. The fabric gets caught, and I shift on my seat, yanking it out. I can’t get comfortable. An uneasiness has settled into my bones, and the longer this takes, the less I think it’s because I miss my girl.
There are alarm bells ringing in my head that something is not quite right, and I’m itching to get out of here.
“Snap out of it,” Xander says as he stands up.
I mirror his actions as three men bow to us, then return to their spots. My brothers and I resume our seated positions. All this up and down reminds me of church.
Xander’s keen gaze is on me. “Seriously, what’s going on with you?”
“Something feels off,” I whisper.
He doesn’t dismiss me. Instead, his head tilts to the side, and I swear I can see him thinking. He shrugs. “Your girl’s at home. We’re all here.” He looks at Matthias, who’s already watching us.
He’s pissed.
“How are the girls?” Xander asks, cutting off whatever our older brother was going to say.
He pulls his phone from his pocket, hits a few buttons, then raises a brow at us. “Fine. What’s up?”
Xander points at me. “Bash is feeling off.”
“What kind of off?” Matthias asks, but I’m no longer paying attention.
I followed Matthias’s example when he pulled out his phone, and now I’m watching Stasia dressed all in black as she leaves the house through the side door. She’s holding a fucking rope. Prickling crawls up my neck as I flip through the security cameras as she makes her way past the two men I left to keep her safe. They’ll both be looking for new jobs tomorrow. I have half a mind to put in a call and have my soon-to-be wife stopped, but something tells me I know exactly where she’s going, and I’m going to be the one who catches her.
