Page 101 of The Brutal Arrangement

My wife grounded me, and I wasn’t afraid to admit it now.

“Yes. I took a test a couple of weeks ago,” Lucy said.

“Oh…” Grandmother sighed and clasped her hands together, seeming sincerely happy about that news. “This is wonderful.”

“So one minute, you’re not sure if you can trust her, then the next, you’re a happy relative gushing about her expecting?” I asked, not caring if she was bothered by my tone.

“I’m sorry, Lucy.” She looked at me, too, frowning deeper. “I’m sorry I wasn’t quicker to call for help. I’ve been overly nervous about the Kozlovs’ intentions. When Lucy showed up instead of Katerina, it felt like the first step of a big trick.”

“I don’t know if Katerina’s intentions match what her uncle wants,” Lucy said. “In fact, by asking me to take her place, I’m sure of it. She was adamant about hating her uncle.” She furrowed her brow. “She went so far as to admit that she thought her uncle could’ve been behind her father’s death.”

“We’ve all wondered that,” Grandmother replied. “Anton and Thomas had never seen eye to eye. There was no brotherly love between those two.”

Forgiving my grandmother wasn’t something I was in a rush to do. She disappointed me in being so slow to help my wife, and I didn’t care for how slow she was to trust her being here. Withthis news of our baby on the way, it looked like she’d come around, but I wouldn’t chance anything with my wife again.

I’d talk withallthe men in the organization if I had to. I’d personally warn every member of the Ivanov Syndicate of Lucy’s standing with me.

Satisfied that the situation was under control now, I turned to Lucy as my grandmother left us.

“Are you sure that you are okay?” I asked, needing to check again.

She nodded, reaching up to kiss me. “Yes, Damon. I am. I knew deep down that you’d come to save me from any danger.”

“I always will.” Letting out a deep breath, I frowned and hated that I would ask her to wait for me upstairs. Being close to her would appease me after this scare and tension, but first, I was more than primed to unleash all my anger. “Are you okay to go upstairs and wait for me there?”

“Where are you going?” She nodded, though, obeying my wishes even if she was curious about them.

“I need to speak with more guards here about today’s incident.”

“Oh. Sure.”

I caught Sloane’s attention and gestured for her to come over. Even though everyone would be on the same page now—not listening to my father no matter how lucid he seemed and also that Lucy would be safe here—I didn’t want her to be alone.

“Sloane, I have something to handle. Could you…?”

Lucy laughed lightly. “Okay, cut it out. I don’t need a babysitter now. I’ll be fine waiting for you upstairs.”

“No, no, no. I’m freaked out about what happened.” Sloane draped her arm around Lucy’s shoulders. “And I want to talk shit about Ana with you, too,” she said in an exaggerated whisper.

I smirked, annoyed that she’d have that attitude. We were a family, backing each other up. But seeing Lucy roll her eyes the way she did, I knew that she was taking Sloane’s comment as a joke.

“Can you stay with Sloane for a while?” I asked Lucy.

She sighed. “I don’t need a babysitter…”

“Soon we will, though,” Sloane said, laughing. “For our babies!”

Lucy lightened up, smiling more. Tugging on the front of my shirt, she pulled me in close for a kiss. “Don’t be long, okay?”

If I were ever prone to pouting, that would’ve been a fine time to make that expression. Hearing someone tell me to hurry wasn’t what I wanted to pay attention to before I headed down to deliver a punishment.

“Okay,” I replied, caving to my wife’s wishes.

When I approached the stairs to go back down to the dungeon, I raised my brows at Maxim and Saul following me.

“I can handle this.”

“We know you can,” Maxim said. “But maybe we’re fucking pissed, too.”

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