Page 130 of Dirty Grovel

I feel only relief as we pull up in front of the tower. The twenty-story building stretches up towards the cloudless sky, all gleaming glass and harshly angular architecture, like a giant middle finger to poverty.

“Where are we?” Sydney asks, speaking for the first time since I forced her into the SUV.

“Oleg’s penthouse,” I explain as we’re ushered into the doors by the uniformed doorman. “This is where I first lived with him before we moved to the mansion.”

Sydney’s eyes widen as we walk through the foyer towards the private lift reserved for Oleg alone.

“Jesus,” she mutters as Ilya taps in the six-digit code that will unlock the elevator and take us up to the penthouse. “Is this place for real?”

“It’s the perfect place to be if you need a little extra protection,” I say. “It has biometric locks, twenty-four-hour surveillance,foolproof security features, and panic buttons in almost every room in the place.”

Her jaw drops. “Will I need it?”

“Hopefully not. But it never hurts to have the option.”

The elevator doors sweep open, right into the foyer of the penthouse. The first thing I notice is the giant Russian pacing between the two walls like a caged animal.

“Sutton!” Oleg barks the second he sees me. “Are you alright?”

“He didn’t even get within twenty feet of us,” I assure him. “I just got spooked.”

“And with good reason. We can’t trust that fucker further than we can throw him.” His eyes veer to Sydney, whose lips are sealed together. “You okay?”

Her wan smile fools no one.

But what Oleg does next takes us all by surprise.

He reaches into his pocket, pulls out a set of keys, and offers them to Syd. “Make yourself at home,” he says. “This place is yours.”

Sydney’s jaw drops. Mine does, too. “Wait—what?” my sister stammers, her eyes fixed on Oleg.

“Consider this your new home,” he tells her. “Family takes care of family.”

Sydney looks down and I’m pretty sure she’s fighting tears.

I don’t blame her. I’m this close to ugly crying, too.

“I… I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” Oleg assures her. “Just so long as you feel happy and comfortable here. I’ll have my guys bring over your things in the evening.”

Sydney looks at the keys for a long time. Then she reaches out and gingerly takes them from his hand.

“I think… I may need to lay down for a bit.”

Oleg inclines his head graciously. “Your room is the first one on the right.”

With a furtive glance in my direction, she slumps to the room. She’s still giving me strange vibes. but I don’t want to accuse her of anything before I have hard proof.

“She’s more traumatized than I thought,” I say, watching her go.

Oleg wraps his arms around my body. “Give her time. You don’t get over an abusive relationship in a day. The most we can do is be there for her. Support her. Give her the boost she needs to restart her life.” He guides me into the kitchen. “It’s what I would’ve done for my sister.”

I count myself lucky to be able to see this side of the infamous Beast of Palm Beach. There’s a beauty in the man that none have seen.

Even in his darkest moments, that’s what I choose to focus on.

“Thank you,” I whisper, pushing myself on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”

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