Page 95 of Beautiful Beast

“Ok, then. Let’s go.” He takes my hand and leads me toward the stairs. He stops as my father comes running down, breathing heavily. “Sergei?”

“Alek is dead. Upstairs. His throat torn apart.”

Erik’s eyes flash as he quickly looks at me before he turning back to my father. “Ok. I’ll get to the bottom of it. You stay here.”

“Alek is dead?” Ivan asks, moving through the murmuring crowd. “My man? What do you mean he’s dead?”

“Upstairs,” my father breathes out. “I found him like that.”

“What were you doing upstairs?” I ask.

“I was looking for Nadia because I don’t trust her with you, and I was right not to. You came downstairs just a moment ago. And then I found a dead body upstairs. Care to explain, daughter?”

Everyone in the room looks at me. I can feel their eyes judging me, even though they don’t know the truth.

“Isn’t Elena upstairs?” Ivan asks. Without waiting for an answer, he goes upstairs, moving fast on his crutches, and it’s like a dam breaks. Everyone in the room starts talking at once. People demanding answers. Looking at me like I’m evil. Men running upstairs to get a look at the body.

Then Erik speaks.

“Everybody, stop!”

The men who are halfway up the stairs actually do as Erik says. Everyone stops talking.

“Now, no one else will go upstairs except for my wife and me. I will get to the bottom of this. Is that understood?”

Everyone tentatively nods.

“Good. Now, move out of my way,” he growls at the couple of men on the stairs. I cling to Erik’s arm like a lost, little child. He’s the only one who can possibly help me right now.

Yes, these are not good men. They’ve all committed crimes. But they don’t take kindly to others killing their own. And I’ve killed one of their own.

“Which room?” Erik growls.

I point down the hall and he storms right for the guest bedroom. Ivan is already in there, staring at Alek’s dead body.

“Where’s my daughter?” he demands. “You said she was with you. Was she with you when this happened? Tell me!”

“Elena is safe. She’s in my room with my sister. They’re both safe.”

Ivan storms past me and down the hall. I can hear him bang on my bedroom door and demand for Elena to let him in.

“He needs to know what happened,” I say to Erik. “Before this gets more out of hand.”

“I’m assuming you did this.” He nods at Alek.

“Yes. Which is why I need to explain. He needs to hear it from me rather than Elena.” I run down the hallway to my bedroom. Ivan is still pounding on the door.

My father is also in the hall, looking at me with so much rage in his eyes it makes me cold.

“I told everyone to wait downstairs,” Erik growls.

“I already saw the body,” my father explains. “And this involves my daughter. Both of them. I have a right to be here.”

“Goddamn it,” Erik mutters and grabs his phone and calls someone. “James. You need to make sure no one leaves the house. Not until I’ve had a chance to explain to everyone what happened. Got it?”

James must give his reply because Erik nods and hangs up. “Ivan, stop banging on my bedroom door.”

“My daughter is in there.”

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