Page 54 of The Pakhan's Forced Bride
I’m not ready for this.I clench my jaw and let out a frustrated sigh.
Emmanuil glances at me, his brow furrowed.
I don’t react, so he returns his attention to the meeting.
“Are we predicting another dual attack? LA and San Diego in one strike?” Emmanuil asks, leaning back and folding his arms over his chest.
“We should play it safe and say yes. The more prepared we are, the more likely we’ll be to catch these assholes and put an end to this,” Nestor replies.
“Fair enough. Well, I have two teams I can put in my most lucrative spots. I wouldn’t mind an extra team, though, if someone has one available.”
“I’ll send my men down to San Diego,” Benedikt says.
“I plan to stick around in LA for a week or two, so I can help set up here with Ardalion,” Nestor remarks.
Over the course of two hours or so, we plan out a decent preemptive plan of defense against these assholes. It’s crazy they’ve managed to get this far without being caught already. I put it down to the fact that I’ve been distracted by Belle, and Benedikt has been distracted by searching for her.
But now we’re ready. It’s a solid plan, and near the end of it, I’m relieved that the meeting is coming to a close. I can’t sit here with Benedikt for a moment longer. I’m desperate to get back home and check in with Belle. I need to make an excuse for why she can’t go out for a few days. Just until Benedikt has left LA.
Hopefully, he isn’t planning to stay as long as Nestor.
“The other issue I want to discuss is my sister, Belle,” Benedikt says, glancing at each of us. My throat goes dry. “She’s been missing for over a month, and I have zero decent leads. Everything has come up empty. I’m sick with worry, and I need to ask for you guys' help. We’ve been so focused on Phoenix, as everything pointed there, but it’s time to start looking in our own territories. I need each of you to agree to my men carrying out an investigation in your city.”
“I think we should focus on one thing at a time,” I snap, trying to change the subject back to the original discussion. The last thing I need is for Nestor and Emmanuil to start helping him or for teams of Benedikt’s men to be hunting for her in LA.
Emmanuil’s guys have already unknowingly seen me with her at that event. If he starts circulating images of her, it’s going to quickly come back to me.
“Excuse me?” Benedikt snarls, glaring at me.
“I’m just saying, the attacks are an immediate danger. We should focus on that?”
“And my sister, missing for this long—that isn’t an immediate danger? She could be holed up in some basement somewhere, starving, tortured—what the fuck are you talking about, telling me I shouldn’t treat that as a priority?” He’s fuming, standing up and towering over me.
I stand up too, refusing to let him overpower me.
“You’re being fucking dramatic,” I snarl.
“Dramatic? What the fuck is wrong with you, Ardalion? I always knew you were a fucking asshole, but this is next-level ignorance.”
“Will you two please step back and take a breather?” Nestor asks, trying to get in between us.
Emmanuil is hovering, watching the chaos build. “Guys, settle down,” he huffs. “This is stupid. We don’t need to be fighting between ourselves.”
Neither Benedikt nor I pay any attention to them. I’ve stormed away from the coffee table into a more open space in my office, trying to get away from Benedikt’s stare. I can’t stand looking at that guy.
But he’s followed me, not letting this go.
“What if one of your sisters went missing? Imagine you came to me for help and I told you it wasn’t important,” he snaps at me.
Bitter laughter bursts from my lips. “When I saved your wife, you made it seem like it meant nothing,” I shot back at him. “I was responsible for her being rescued—you made that seem like it was trivial, but you’re here now, asking for my help again.”
“I don’t fucking want anything from you. I was talking to myallies, not some smug rat who thinks he’s better than everyone else.”
“For fuck's sake, can we please fucking calm down?” Nestor shouts, throwing his hands in the air, frustrated and annoyed. “Or should I just let you two idiots duel it out?” he says sarcastically.
Movement at the door of my office has everyone spinning to see who’s just walked in.
My heart sinks right into the pit of my stomach. My throat closes.
