Page 30 of The Brutal Arrangement

A tall man appeared, wiping his hands off.

Blood.

The big man used a white rag to clear off blood from his bare hands. In a suit like that, hiding a massive, muscular body, he could’ve appeared distinguished and royal.

As I let my gaze drift higher, stopping at the deep scowl on his face, I shook even harder.

Oh, my God.

What have I done?

How can I be married, even with just a contract, tohim?

“This is my bride?” he growled, sounding annoyed.

I suddenly wished I weren’t.

The guard who’d ushered me in cleared his throat. “Yes, Damon.”

Damon?

I blinked quickly as horror flooded my mind.

I’d heard that name before. As a maid in the Kozlov house, I’d heard a mention ofDemon.The guards there treated the names interchangeably.

Damon.

Demon.

It had to be one and the same.

This can’t be true.

Katerina had set me up to marry a monster of a Mafia man who truly looked like he was a demon in the flesh.

Big, tall, powerful.

And angry.

I couldn’t tear my gaze from the blood on his huge hands.

It was true.

Katerina hadn’t asked me to stand in as her to marry just anyone.

She’d asked me to marry a monster.

Dread sank heavy in the pit of my stomach, and I fought back tears, determined to be strong.

This is for you, Mom.

All for you.

12

DAMON

Those three men who set fire to the warehouse wouldn’t own up to anything. Even when I did my worst, cutting off their fingers and breaking their bones, they wouldn’t tell me shit.

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