Page 10 of Beautiful Beast

If we’re not in charge, neither of us is happy.

“You’re taking a risk coming to see me in the middle of the night with no backup,” I say.

“Who says I don’t have backup? I’m not here to start an all-out war. This is a warning, Erik. Don’t come onto my territory ever again. You thought you could steal one of my gun shipments, but you’re not going to get another chance. If you come at me again, I will end you.”

“Why not just end me now and get it over with?”

“Because where’s the fun in that?” He smiles once more before breaking out into a whistle as he walks away.

I only scoff and get into my car. Some fucking Italian isn’t going to ruin my night.

Not when I was having so much fun.

ANYA

Planning an escape isn’t easy when our entire mansion is guarded by heavily armed men. My father doesn’t like to take chances when it comes to us.

Of course, he doesn’t care if he hurts us himself. It’s all about image for him. He can’t lose his precious daughters. Think of the scandal!

“How are we going to do this?” Nadia whispers as we converge in her room for the night. For the past couple of days, I’ve paid attention to the comings and goings of our guards. It’s a tight schedule, so escaping from the house will be impossible.

“Tomorrow, I pick out my wedding dress. Chances are, Father will only send one guard with us. We have money stashed away. You keep it on you since Father will be less likely to suspect you of anything. The moment we get an opportunity to leave the shop, we get into the nearest taxi, have them take us to the train station, and go to Connecticut. Mom has some family there we could stay with. Her sister.”

Whom Nadia and I have never met. Father likes to keep us isolated from other family members. Once Mom died, he cut off all ties to her side of the family.

“What’s her name again?”

“June. Aunt June.” I pause. “I think? I don’t know. Let’s just hope she’ll take us in, and then we can find somewhere else to go.”

“This isn’t a well thought out plan, Anya.”

“Do you have a better idea?”

She ducks her chin, her cheeks turning red. “No.”

“I didn’t mean to snap at you. It’s just that Father has such a tight hold over us. I can’t exactly plan all of this out in detail without him getting suspicious. We’re going to have to wing some of it if we want to escape.” I sit down next to her on her bed and clasp her hands in mine, forcing her to look at me.

“If I get married,” I tell her, “then that’s it. You’re on your own here. I’ll try my best to protect you if I have to get married. I can ask Erik if you can live with us. But we both know the stories about him. We both know he’s evil. He’s probably going to … hurt me.” I gulp.

Nadia gasps, clinging to me tighter. “Don’t say that.”

“He probably will. You’ll be left alone with Father. All of the anger he takes out on me, he might take out on you. I’m not saying this to scare you, Nadia. I’m saying this because you need to understand why it’s important we leave. Why we have to try.”

“I understand. You think I’m naïve and stupid, but Anya, I understand a lot more than you give me credit for.”

I stare at my younger sister. She’s so beautiful and shy and perfect. She doesn’t deserve to have a father like ours.

“I know you do,” I finally say. “I just needed to say it. I think I need to make sure I understand it, too. We’re both going to get screwed over by my marriage to Erik. I can feel it in my bones. I know it. I just know it. So, we have to try and escape. It’s our only chance of freedom. Our only chance to remain together.”

In a sudden motion, Nadia throws her arms around me, and I hug her back just as tight.

“We’re going to be together,” she says. “I have to believe it.”

“And I want you to keep believing.” I let her go. “Tomorrow. We’ve got to do this tomorrow.”

Even though there’s fear in her eyes, she nods because that’s what sisters do.

We stick together.

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