Page 16 of The Brutal Arrangement

“It’s a prime opportunity to see if Anton is sending his niece to us as a Trojan horse. If she’s coming here to spy on us.” Maxim’s frown darkened.

“I’m willing to do anything for the family,” I said. “But Katerina?” I shook my head and grimaced at the idea of trying to call hermine.

“What’s wrong with her?” Sloane asked.

“Nik should be the one to marry her,” I replied.

“Because he’s older than you?” she asked, glancing at Maxim as he headed toward the weights.

“No. Because Nik’s always gotten along with Katerina,” Saul answered. “Ever since we were kids. They would always end up bickering. Like they couldn’t help it.”

Maxim hadn’t replied to my claim that I’d do anything for the family. I would. I always had. But I wondered if he truly believed this was a wise move. Ifhewas willing to let a potential enemy into the family like this. As the acting boss andPakhan, it’d be his call to approve the deal.

“Do you think she can be trusted?” I asked him as Saul and Sloane carried on talking near the bench she sat on.

Maxim smirked. “You know how I’ve had my reservations about Katerina.”

I nodded.

“I’ve always been skeptical about how close Nik and Katerina have seemed over the years. But” —he sighed and glanced at Sloane across the room— “I realize that I might have been extra cautious of Nik getting close to Katerina because of my issues of trusting women at all.”

He wasn’t alone in that. All of us brothers were jaded because of the ultimate betrayal our mother, Beatrice, had done years ago.

“It sounds like this agreement was made before they were even…” I cringed, unsure how to word it. Nik and Katerina hadn’t ever truly seemed likefriends, but something. “Whatever they were.”

Maxim nodded without pausing in lifting the dumbbell. “It was. I looked over what Grandmother found. It was written between Father and Thomas, but well, it’s not like Father can think back that far anymore. He’s just not there yet.”

We shared a worry and dislike of our father being so weak and fragile now, but despite that, we were all grateful he was alive and improving slowly.

“To answer your question, though, truly and without any prejudice or bias that stems from my lack of trusting many women, no. I don’t think Katerina can be trusted. That’s why I’m going to move Sloane to another property.” He gave me a sober look. “So when Katerina is here, she’ll be distant from my fiancée.”

“I don’t blame you for taking that step.”Fuck. It sounds like he’s going to enforce this arrangement, then.

“We will all keep an eye on her,” he added. “One way or another, Anton has to be up to something to remind us about this arrangement now, so soon after Father was poisoned and Nik was taken. He knows this is shitty timing—or he’s taking advantage of how our concentration is split up.”

“Something is fishy about it.”

“Which is why—even though I agree with Saul that Nik would be a better person to marry her to fulfill this arrangement—I know I can count on you to do whatever it takes to keep the family safe. You can endure this arrangement, Damon. And once we have rooted out whether she’s a threat or not, you can annul it and dismiss the experience as a mistake.”

I stared at him, seeing how he wasn’t bluffing.

It would be a mistake to stay married to Katerina. But so long as an end could be in sight…

Whatever.

“You have my word.” I clapped my hand on his back. “I’ll do whatever you think is necessary for the good of the family.”

Besides, this is probably theonlyway I’ll ever have a wife.

One forced to join with me because no one else had ever been willing to embrace my darkness.

7

LUCY

That peace and quiet I began this job with was gone. Every day, more arguments ensued. Anton Kozlov was a hotheaded jerk, and whenever I heard him ranting at someone, I couldn’t help but flinch and want to hide. Staying out of the way was one thing, but with how naturally furious he seemed to be by default, I wanted to stay completely invisible. Just in case he would notice me and turn his wrath on me.

Worst, though, was when I overheard him fighting with Katerina. Those arguments came more and more often with every passing day. While I heard their raised voices constantly, they were typically in another room and I couldn’t follow precisely what was said.

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