Page 72 of The Brutal Arrangement

“Or is this more leverage to use over me?” That had to be it. If he didn’t care about me, that was all that remained. Power over me. Control over me. I didn’t know why he had such a mandate to control and overpower me like this when I posed no threat. I didn’t know any secrets to spill. I wasn’t valuable in any other way. But that had to be the only reason he was doing this. To remind me that he was in charge and I’d always be at his mercy.

I was no one.

I was a nobody in this criminal organization.

I had nothing.

He’d taken over my mother’s care for the same reason Katerina had dangled it in front of me like a carrot.

It was just a reason to bow and surrender.

I shook my head, hating that I could be in such a pathetic situation.

“Let me guess. You took over my debt and my mother’s care so I would owe you now, instead of her?”

He scowled. That was the only reaction he made.

“Now that I’m here and under your thumb, you’ve made sure that I won’t leave. That I won’t be able to haveanypower overanythingin my life.”

I wished this were so unbelievable that he’d laugh off my guess. When he didn’t, only staring at me with such low-burning anger, I had my answer. Itwasbelievable. He really was doing this to control me even further. I just wished I knew why. He didn’t care about me. He didn’t know me. And he sure as hell didn’t love me to warrant his actions for my mother’s care. In any other circumstances, this should’ve been a case of a husband wanting to provide for his wife, ensuring his mother-in-law was comfortable and safe because he was acting out of compassion.

That wasn’t the case.

I knew better than to let my stupid heart get me so optimistic.

I’d never believe in love again.

All because of my husband’s failure to care for me, I would never let the idea of love and companionship enter my head again.

Shaking my head, I turned to walk away and go back to bed.

28

DAMON

Letting Lucy walk away from me took a lot of patience. She was my wife, expected to submit to me. And she had, sexually. With my loose wishes to get to know her more and let her into my life in non-sexual ways, though, I was coming to see that she wasn’t as meek and mild-mannered as I thought.

When she left the room after I showed her that I had taken over the care for her mother, I was so confused that I couldn’t be mad. It made no sense. I’d done somethinggood. I’d made a decision to do something that I thought was considerate. And she’d twisted it into something worse.

“Damon?”

I didn’t turn to see my grandmother in the hallway. Slowing until I stopped, I let her catch up to me.

“Are you all right?”

I furrowed my brow at her. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You’re acting differently.”

I rolled my eyes. “Grandmother, it’s fine.” So, I’d had to kill a couple of soldiers earlier this morning. Sometimes, those hard choices fell on me. “They were rats.”

“No. No.” She grimaced and shook her head. Aware of the violence that came with this life, she’d never flinched at what I did in the basement. Everyone respected my position as the family’s “demonic” enforcer.

“You’ve been acting more aloof than usual since the beginning of this week.”

Damn her for noticing. Days had passed and I’d kept my distance from Lucy. I hadn’t wanted anyone else to know, though.

“It’s nothing to worry about,” I told her.

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