Page 41 of Disguised as Love

I turned and opened the door to find Ilia standing there. A wave of guilt flew through me. He’d had very little rest since arriving in Russia.

“Go get some sleep,” I told him.

He shook his head.

“You’re no good to me sleepwalking. I’ve got this…behemoth with me,” I insisted.

“She’s right. You need rest. We’ll switch up again this afternoon like we planned,” Cruz said.

Ilia’s jaw clenched, and his eyes narrowed. He didn’t like Cruz giving him orders. He still didn’t care much for Cruz at all.

I put a hand on his arm, and it drew his gaze down to me.

“It’s okay,” I said softly.

Ilia’s eyes tossed daggers at Cruz before he finally nodded and headed off toward the back stairs and the servant quarters.

Cruz and I turned in the other direction toward Mama’s room. When I knocked and entered, it was to find it empty. Panic would have filled me if the maid hadn’t told me Mama was downstairs at breakfast. This surprised me as Mama had rarely been up before ten, even to say goodbye to Papa when he went off to work.

We started toward the stairs and found Malik and Yano at the top with suitcases in hand.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“The apartment in Petrogradsky. You didn’t think I was going to stay here with that asshole and his son acting like they own the place, did you?” Malik snarled in Russian. “Besides, I have things to tend to in the city.”

I could feel Cruz’s eyes on all of us, wanting to know what Malik had planned.

“Antonne and I are going into St. Petersburg, too. I have to find a dress for the funeral. Maybe we could have dinner together?” I asked.

Malik’s eyes narrowed, drifting between me and Cruz and back.

“Maybe. Text me when you’re ready, and I’ll see if I can fit dinner in,” he said and then headed down the stairs. Yano grimaced as if he’d like to apologize for Malik’s brusqueness, but then just followed my brother.

Cruz and I made our way down right behind them. Voices from the dining room told me that Mama and Rurik were there, being waited on by our staff?by people Papa had trusted. I couldn’t face it this morning. I didn’t think my shield was thick enough after everything I’d found out the day before, but as I went to turn and leave, I ran into Damien.

“Where are you all going?” he asked, eyes flicking to the suitcase in Malik’s hand and back to me.

“Not that it’s any of your damn business, but Yano-san and I are going to enjoy some of the delights of the White Nights. I’m not sitting in this tomb, twiddling my thumbs, and waiting to bury a father everyone knew hated me,” Malik snarled.

Damien didn’t even acknowledge him. It was as if Malik wasn’t there. Instead, his eyes were on me. My skin crawled, and Malik did nothing to defend me. Instead, he stormed off, leaving Damien blocking my path.

My body wanted to run after my brother, to flee just as I had when I was fifteen and Damien had laughed when I’d told him no. To this day, I could hear the cruelty in his voice as he’d grabbed my wrist and tossed me down on a chaise lounge, his body landing on top of me. He’d said crass things while trying to pull off my tiny bikini, but they weren’t things I remembered very well because my fear had made the blood pound in my ears, blocking the majority of them out before I’d found the vase and used it.

I’d gone to Papa back then, but my father was no longer here to defend me. I took a step back, and Cruz’s arm went around my waist. The reassuring heat of his body as it surrounded me filled me with relief. My hand gripped Cruz’s forearm as Damien watched every move with narrowed eyes.

“My father wants a word with you,” Damien said to Cruz.

I could feel Cruz’s muscles flex underneath my palm.

“It’ll have to wait. We have an appointment with Alexia,” I told Damien. His jaw ticked, unhappy that I’d challenged him.

“Go get the car, Raisa. I’ll meet you out front in a moment,” Cruz said behind me, dismissing me just as Damien had, and it pissed me off. It pissed me off enough to want to forget them all. To go into town, find Malik, and insist he obtain fake papers for Mama so I could take her with me to the States without dealing with any of these assholes.

I yanked myself free of Cruz’s embrace and stormed down the hall with Damien’s snicker following me. My teeth were clenched tight, and I was ready to break a few dozen more vases over his head?and maybe Cruz’s as well.

Cruz

TROUBLE

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