Page 73 of The Watcher's Bride

My father’s predatory gaze is focused on Dimitri, ignoring the young women on either side of him—they’re there to distract Dimitri.

He sees me looking around the room and there’s the barest twitch of a smile as he catches my eye. He knows I’m looking for Nadya. She’s not here. I struggle to keep my expression neutral and push down the panic I feel that we have strolled into a trap.

Why isn’t she here? Where is Tatiana?

Leo squeezes my hand. Their absence hasn’t gone unnoticed by him either. He’s trying to reassure me, to keep me calm. I take a deep breath and plaster on a fake smile as we greet them.

“Uncle, Mr. Quinn, a pleasure to see you both,” Leo says, the lie rolling smoothly off his tongue.

“Leo, my son. Sit,” he orders, though it sounds less commanding given that his voice is slightly slurred.

How Leo maintains his composure with the man responsible for killing his father calling him son I don’t know, but he manages it. “Thank you,” he says, going to sit next to his uncle.

“Ah, no, I want the pleasure of your lovely, crippled wife sitting beside me,” he says cruelly, finally acknowledging my presence.

Leo tenses, his grip on my hand tightening.

I squeeze back gently. “I would be honored, Pakhan,” I reply demurely.

Leo releases me after a second too long and we take our seats. Dimitri snaps back into focus, a smug expression on his face as if we’ve revealed some vulnerability. My father wears an equal look of triumph.

Thankfully, Tatiana’s arrival distracts them. “Sorry I’m late,” she purrs huskily. “It takes time to look this good.”

She does look stunning. She’s clad in a backless skin-tight, low-cut dress with big splits in the sides that leave nothing to the imagination. She glides around the table greeting everyone with kisses on their cheeks and leaving a waft of perfume. I try not to be too annoyed as she lingers when greeting Leo before sitting in the remaining seat on his other side. But then I realize that perhaps I should look a little jealous. Isn’t it normal for women to feel threatened by beautiful women?

We make it through a tense dinner with Dimitri and my father watching our every move. I get the distinct impression that they’re testing us. I also fear we’re failing. Is Leo’s usual polite indifference to Tatiana and her flirting now stilted? Is my jealousy not enough or too much? Leo ignores me, pretending to treat me like the burden he tried to convince Dimitri I was, but every now and then he brushes his hand against my leg under the table to reassure me it’s just an act.

“So, Norelle, how is married life treating you? Did your father choose your match well?” Dimitri asks.

I balk. I was expecting to be largely ignored in the way all women seem to be in his company. Leo was supposed to be the one to handle his questions.

“I am… adjusting to my new life,” I reply hesitantly. When he looks at me as though he’s expecting me to say more, I add, “Leo has been kind.”

I know the moment I sat that it was the wrong thing to say. “Kind?” he snorts. “Leonid, this bitch is making you soft. You’re the man, act like it.”

“Don’t call her that,” Leo replies icily, barely concealing his rage as he glowers at his uncle.

I glance at him pleadingly. He can’t reveal how much he cares for me. He said so himself, it will only put us both in more danger.

Dimitri snorts. “My, you are fond of her, aren’t you?” he says in surprised delight. “She must be a good fuck. Perhaps you were holding out on me, nephew. You knew what a great lay she is and wanted her for yourself. I think I should get a piece of the action and find out what I’m missing,” he taunts, leaning forward to grip my thigh painfully.

“Don’t you touch her, or I’ll break your fucking hand!” Leo roars, jumping from his seat.

Dimitri leans back, satisfied. Leo clearly gave the reaction he was looking for. Leo seems to realize this too as he desperately tries to regain his composure, sitting back down.

“Forgive me, Pakhan, I spoke out of turn.”

“Can’t let that go unpunished, can we?” Dimitri says as if chiding a small child for having a temper tantrum. He turns to my father, who has been quietly watching in amusement as the events unfold. “What do you think is a suitable punishment,Quinn? When Leo was young, I used to give him lashes with the belt. Perhaps we should whip his bride instead.”

“Hmm, tempting, but she has a rather high threshold for pain. I used similar methods when she was young. No, I think you should do exactly what you suggested. He can watch while you fuck his pretty new bride,” my father suggests without a trace of remorse for the heinous thing he’s telling someone to do to his own child.

Dimitri lets out a roar of laughter, and for a moment I fool myself into thinking this is all some sick joke. But then his eyes land on me again and I see the naked desire in them, and I realize how depraved this man’s sadistic desires are. With a nod of his head, Leo and I are grabbed roughly and pulled from our seats by Dimitri’s henchmen.

“Excellent! I must say, Quinn, I like your new approach to keeping order,” Dimitri laughs.

I struggle and fight but it’s no use, they’re far stronger than I am. Leo manages better than me, managing to land blows on his assailants, but there are too many, and despite his skills as a fighter, he’s overwhelmed. One of the men grabs a heavy candlestick and brings it down on his head in a sickening crunch and his body goes limp.

“Leo!” I scream, terrified that they’ve hit him too hard.

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