Page 28 of Under Control

However angry he had been before, now he wasreallypissed.

After slamming down beside her on a pristinely covered white chair in a row of dozens of seats, he observed as the hundreds of wedding guests found their spots. A hush fell over the crowd as gentle wedding music began with elegant harps and violins. The salty ocean breeze and relaxing nature sounds permeated through the air, hitting him in the bones—in the wrong fucking way. Just beside him, someone was releasing doves into the air to the tune of the harp. Sure, it was all pretty fucking beautiful and shit.

He was going to puke.

He crossed his arms tightly, wishing he’d taken Delta’s advice and brought a gun.

Beside him, Danica also crossed her arms and sank back into her chair. He could tell she was upset. And really, he didn’t blame her much. Her people were clearly assholes, and they were up to something—something Carrick really didn’t like.

Things weren’t going well.

He looked over the crowd, trying to get eyes on Petrov and his sidekick. But his view got stalled out by the bridesmaids starting to waltz down the aisle to some typical wedding tune. Little girls were throwing pink flowers and petals into the air, whacking guests in the face. Some dude caught one in the eye and started sneezing uncontrollably.

As Carrick exhaled in pure irritation, he remembered every reason why he hated weddings. The arch alone brought back vicious memories.Lauren wanted an arch like that, he thought, observing the decorative flowered piece at the altar. He’d always been against such a fussy wedding, and they’d had many arguments over it.

It was all so fucking stupid.

Lauren had never understood how he viewed it.

A wicked feeling flashed up his esophagus, and he found himself coughing into his fist, trying to keep it super quiet—but Danica noticed. Her wild gaze flashed to him, probably trying to figure out what was going on. And that was something she would never know. Thankfully, the urge to cough went away, and Carrick was able to catch his breath.

He carefully closed the steel trap in his chest and shut out the truth. When Lauren had died, so had his heart. That part of him was gone forever.

And it’s never coming back.

Chapter Eleven

Danica

As the ceremony ended, Danica stood then turned to look around at the crowd. She was feeling even more nervous. Carrick’s presence wasn’t as comforting as it had been before.

From her vantage point, she could see white-uniformed employees starting to usher guests to the bars on the patio, just outside the clubhouse. Cocktail hour was just starting. It was going to be the worst part.

“We done?” Carrick grunted down onto her.

She turned to him, looking up into his cold face. As she assessed, she felt a chill running up her arms—but didn’t know if it was the evening ocean wind or his dead gaze.

He was so damn emotionless.

Just heartless.

Straightening her back, she replied curtly, “I imagine we are expected for dinner.”

“I don’t give a f—”

But Danica spun away from him before he could finish. As she marched, her stomach dropped, turning violently as she started putting one foot in front of the other. Carrick had been her only chance. And now, what was he? She felt so alone. She’d known it was a terrible idea to come to this wedding. What had she expected would happen?

She was never going to be able to stand up to Petrov.Never.

She shouldn’t have let Carrick convince her otherwise.

Her shoulders slumping, she saw her cousin Varya, the bride, getting ready for photos in the green grass against the ocean backdrop. At the very least, she had to congratulate her. And seeming to have a sixth sense, her cousin looked up in the distance, seeing Danica and waving effusively. Varya’s eyes flickered up to the reception hall, pointing and smiling. Danica smiled back, a bit forced. It was going to be a big dinner, a big party.

And that was everything she didn’t want.

As her cousin became distracted again with the photographer and her now-husband, Danica took in a deep breath and turned to the reception hall. She was expected to be there. There was no turning back now.

The distance between Danica and Carrick stretched as she moved through the crowd. All she could hear was Russian being spoken, and her abilities in that language were rusty, to say the least. It only intensified her isolation. Briefly looking backward, she realized that Carrick was quietly watching her, allowing a greater expanse to develop between them than ever before. The elastic band between them was ready to snap.

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