Page 26 of Forced Marriage Vows

The rest of my day is spent doing tedious menial labor. I nearly slip up and kill Zakharov, which wouldn’t have been ideal. Thankfully, Ivan was there to stay my hand. If I had murdered him, I would have had a civil war on my hands on top of my fight with Igor. He’s still a respected member of the Bratva, after all.

When I return home I find Anastasia in the living room, watching a TV show. She looks comfortable, not at all like the hostage she keeps calling herself. As soon as she notices my presence however, she stiffens, sitting up on the couch.

“Hey, sweetheart. How was your day?”

“I need my cameras,” she informs me, bypassing a hello.

I arch an eyebrow. “I can get you new ones.”

“No,” she says fiercely. “I want my cameras from my apartment, and my laptop as well. There’s a lot of stuff on there that I can’t lose.”

“Fine. I’ll arrange a means for you to get it.”

Which will be difficult because by now I’m sure Igor’s got several men hanging around her apartment just waiting for her or anybody to return.

“Okay,” she says on a short nod. And then she peers at me. “How wasyourday? Kill anybody?”

“Unfortunately, no. I managed to hold myself back. Just barely, though,” I say lightly.

I can tell she’s unsure whether to believe me or not. She shrugs before leaning back down on the couch, dismissing me. I huff out an amused breath and head to my room to take a shower.

When I step out of the bathroom, it’s to my phone ringing. The call is coming from one of the guards watching the building.

“Yeah?” I say upon answering.

“Sir, Anthony Vasiliev is here and he’s demanding entry.”

My jaw clenches. Fucking great. “Let him up.”

No use delaying the inevitable. I put on some clothes before heading back outside my bedroom. Anastasia’s still on the couch, oblivious to her brother’s impending arrival. When the doorbell rings, though, she lifts her head in the direction of the door curiously.

I open the door, and my best friend glares at me in greeting.

“Hey, Ant,” I start, putting on an easy tone.

“Cut the shit. Where’s my sister?” he asks, pushing past me and heading into the house.

This is going to be fun…

CHAPTER 9

Anastasia

I’ve seen Anthony in a lot of moods—happy, sad, devastated, angry. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen him as furious as this. He only takes one look at me before letting out a relieved breath and running a hand through his dark hair.

“Anastasia,” he says in a chilly voice, “we’re leaving.”

“I’m afraid that’s not going to happen, Ant,” Mikhail says from behind him.

My brother whirls around to face his best friend, jabbing a finger into his chest. I hurriedly rise to my feet in hopes of defusing the situation. Then I remember Mikhail deserves every single bit of Anthony’s anger, so I cross my arms over my chest to watch.

“What the fuck are you playing at?”

Mikhail lets out a breath. “I can’t talk to you when you’re like this. Calm down, Anthony.”

“Calm down? You kidnapped my little sister!”

“The two of you really like throwing that word around, don’t you? I didn’t kidnap Anastasia. I brought her here to keep her safe.”

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