Page 44 of Beautiful Beast

“You’re not going to hit me back?” I challenge. Of course, that’s the last thing I want, but if I’d ever slapped my father, I would’ve gotten an even worse slap in return.

Erik looks at me over his shoulder. “I told you before, Anya. I don’t want to hurt your pretty face.”

His words somehow sting more than if he’d just hit me.

Erik tells me we’re going to meet with a man named Viktor Smirnov and that my sister and father will be there.

“This is the man you want to marry Nadia to?” I ask as we drive to the restaurant where the meeting will take place.

“Yes. You’ll get to meet him, and so will Nadia. That’s more than you ever got. And besides, Viktor might not even want Nadia. Maybe you’ll get lucky.”

Maybe, but I doubt it. Luck has not been on my side lately.

“Maybe I’ll get lucky, and you’ll die during this war between you and Dante.”

I can feel Erik glance at me, but I don’t turn to him.

“You know what I find fascinating about you, Anya? You’re afraid of me, and yet you’re not. You’re unlike anyone I’ve ever met.”

“I guess I’m just special. I’ve faced a lot of bad things when it came to my father. I guess, in a strange way, it prepared me for you. You don’t beat me every day, so that instantly makes me less afraid of you.”

“And yet …”

I sigh. “And yet, you have the power to destroy my sister’s and my lives. That makes you terrifying. You know Nadia is my weakness, and you’re exploiting it just like you said you would. I shouldn’t be surprised. You’re just doing what you said youwould do. Men like you have no love in your hearts. I’ve resigned myself to that.”

“Have you really?”

I look at him in surprise. “What do you mean?”

“You talk a big game, Anya, but I don’t think you’ve resigned yourself to a life of unhappiness. I still think you hope for it. Crave it deep inside. I’ve seen you over the past week, you know. Looking out windows with a wistful expression. You want more than this life, and you keep hoping for it. That’s what’s going to hurt you the most of all.”

“No. You being unwilling to grow a heart is what will hurt me the most of all. Don’t blame it on myself. It’s all you, Erik. You’re the monster here.”

Without a word, he sets his hand on my knee, silently reminding me I’m his.

The moment I see Nadia in the restaurant, I can’t hold myself back. I walk straight to her, but before I can hug her, my father steps into the way.

“Anya.” His tone is clipped and cold like usual. His gaze slides to Erik. “I didn’t know you were bringing her.”

“She’s my wife, Sergei. She has the right to be here.” At times, it seems like Erik has the capacity for kindness, but I know kindness is not why he does things. His motives are purely selfish.

“You just couldn’t wait to marry Nadia off the second I was gone,” I say.

Father’s eyes narrow into slits. “It was Erik’s idea initially. How could I say no?”

I nudge him with my shoulder to get out of the way as I hurry to Nadia’s side. “Are you ok?” The bruise on her face has healed, and she looks just like the sister I remember.

“I’m ok,” she whispers. “I’ve been keeping my head down.”

I make a point of sitting beside her. Erik takes the seat beside me, leaving my father to sit across from us. I can tell it annoys him. Everything I do annoys him.

A man approaches the table. Classically handsome, tall, rich. He would look like a prince if it weren’t for the fact that I know how to spot a Bratva man a mile away.

“Viktor,” Erik says, not standing up for him, I notice. My father scrambles to his feet, however.

“Erik.” Viktor lays eyes on Nadia and me. “So, which one did you say I would marry?”

I can feel Nadia tense beside me. I take her hand underneath the table, and she squeezes my hand back with everything she has. It hurts, but right now, I don’t care.

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