Page 74 of Beast

Which is a big fat lie.

I’d prefer torture with a thumbscrew to spending the afternoon with Annika.

Plus, I’m still a little pissed at Beast for being a no show last night.

I cross my arms. “I thought my great acting skills at the fundraiser last night might have earned me some reprieve from all your demands.”

Beast gives me a stern look. “Annika is all I’ve got left. If this is going to work, you need to make it work with her.”

CHAPTER 27

BELLE

“I likeit just as much as you do,” Annika says when I open the bedroom door after hearing her knock.

She looks as unimpressed as I feel, and I realize Beast has said the same thing to her as he did to me about making an effort.

She wouldn’t be here otherwise.

I step aside so she can enter. “I didn’t think you’d show.”

When he told me I was to accompany Annika to town today, I spent the morning bracing for her reaction.

She casts a look around the room. “I didn’t want to let Beast down. He’s got this wild idea that we should be friends.”

I close the bedroom door. “I mean, it’s not a crazy idea.”

“But certainly not his best.” Standing at the window, she brings her icy blue gaze back to me. “It will only be disappointing when I have to break your face when you break his heart.”

I lift my brows and say mildly, “You’re coming in red hot just like your cousin. I’m wondering if it’s a family trait.”

She walks toward me. Arms folded. Fierce expression in place. “That’s something you’ll learn about me, I don’t fuck around.”

“Duly noted. But your suspicion is misplaced. I’m not here to hurt anyone or to break anyone’s heart.”

She stops right in front of me, her crystal blue eyes searching my face for something. “Beast is family. I’d kill for my family.”

I refuse to pale beneath her blazing glare. “Wouldn’t we all.”

She scoffs. “We’ll see.”

Annika drivesher Dodge Challenger like she’s competing at Daytona, oozing confidence as she navigates the corners with ease.

“So considering this might be my last few minutes on Earth, want to tell me why you’re so sure I’ll break Beast’s heart?” I ask as the landscape rushes past us.

“Because being an old lady to the club president is hard work, and I’m not convinced you’ve got it in you.”

“Beast obviously thinks I do.”

“Sure he does. But he’s thinking with his dick. Not his heart.”

“Or perhaps he has faith in me.”

She lifts her brow. “What happens when you have to put his needs before yours. That usually requires sacrifice. Especially in club life. Can you do that?”

“That’s usually how relationships work.”

“You won’t be able to letyouremotions cloudhisjudgement.”

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