Page 41 of Wrapped in Perfection

"A pretty shitty one from the sounds of it. Which brings me to my next question."

"What's that?"

I step several feet in front of him. "Why has her stuff not been moved here?"

He scowls. "She's not stepping foot in her old place."

"No, she's not," I agree. "But she wants her laptop and samples. Why haven't you gotten them for her?"

He scrubs his hands over his face. "Don't come in here and act like I'm not doing everything I can for my sister."

"I didn't say that."

"Didn't you?"

"No. But she's adamant she needs her things. So I'm asking you, what's stopping you from getting them? You're a man of means. What is the situation?"

Chase sighs and points to the barstool. I sit and he takes the seat across from me. "Nothing is in her name. Not the lease, or her bank accounts, or whatever else he did with her money. I spoke with the neighbor who helped break up our fight and called the police. He said Mitch changed the locks. I talked to my friends, who are cops. She's not getting anything back unless she's invited into the apartment, and she's only going back in over my dead body."

"You beat him up?"

"Not enough." Chase scowls.

I nod in agreeance. I don't know anything about it, but he's not in a body bag, so it's not enough. "The cops were called?"

"Yeah. I walked in on him hitting my sister in the face."

Anger flares through my bones.

"When was this?"

"Several months ago."

"And that's why you made Anna move to Chicago?"

He points around the room. "Yes. I bought this so she would have a place to come far away from him."

"You knew he was beating her?"

Chase's face turns red. "No. Of course I didn't. But I've tried to get her to leave him for years."

I hold my hands in the air. "My bad. I shouldn't have asked that."

He sits back in his chair and folds his arms over his chest. His face hardens. "Don't fuck with her, Dmitri."

"I have no intention of hurting her."

"She isn't meant to be a plaything, either."

"I don't use women, and I'm sure as hell not going to start with your sister."

"No?"

"No." I should be insulted but can't be mad at the guy for assuming anything. I'm actually happy to see him looking out for Anna. "How long was he hurting her?"

Chase sighs. "I don't know. She won't talk to me about it. She told Vivian he assaulted her one other time about a year ago, but she wouldn't go into details. And she kept saying it was her fault."

Oh, my kotik.

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