Page 6 of The Brutal Arrangement

Except Nik.

That was my duty.

As his twin, I felt an innate obligation to be the one to find him and bring him back.

Besides, it wasn’t like I’d be distracted like Maxim was, not any time soon. Even though my role was in the basement level, in the dungeon where I was not known as Damon but as Demon. Torture was my expertise, but with the need to locate Nik, I could diversify my efforts toward keeping the family strong.

I glanced at the couple, happy for them and excited for them to bring the first heir into the family. Yet, deeper in a locked crevice of my heart, I experienced the pang of loneliness that came with the idea that what they had wouldn’t be mine. There wasn’t any chance I’d be meeting a woman or starting a family. Too many women feared me to stick around for long.

It doesn’t matter.

Having a woman wasn’t on my radar now.

Because no woman would be able to dissuade me from devoting all my attention on searching for Nik—whether he wanted to be found yet or not.

3

LUCY

It only took me a few days to understand why Joann was so upfront about the need to mind my own business. I also learned why that Uber driver wanted to get the hell out of here too, when he dropped me off.

With little snippets of what some of the men said in passing, it was too clear that this was no standard wealthy residence I now lived at to keep clean and tidy.

This was a property owned by a crime family.

The Mafia.

When I realized some really bad players could be in and out of here, I reminded myself that I needed these damn paychecks. The pay rate was too good to give up. Another email from Mom’s facility suggested that she’d do better at another place, one I couldn’t afford yet.

But maybe if I stay here until winter, I can have enough saved up for a down payment?

I bit the inside of my cheek as I dusted in one of the parlors, relying on the autopilot task of cleaning to give me the chance to think, worry, dwell, and brainstorm.

Realizing I was in a dangerous household should’ve sent me into panic mode. Some sixth sense should’ve triggered the instinct of fight or flight, ending with my running out of here.

But I didn’t. I couldn’t because while I caught bits of whispers and conversations that alluded to Mafia matters, I wasn’t in harm’s way.

So long as I did as Joann said—keep my head down and stay out of the way—there was no plausible reason for any crime lord or soldier man to targetme.

And that was exactly what I did. It was what I’d planned to do, no matter what.

Clean. Blend into the background. Keep my head down. And ignore it all. Sticking with that method, this gig was an easy one. I was grateful for the steady employment and more-than-decent pay. It wasn’t my business if these brutes came and went through the huge mansion, talking about a “demon” they wanted to take down next. Or how they had to transport “captives”. It also wasn’t any of my concern about old vendettas and strategies to remove power.

Ignoring it all was the smartest plan I could adhere to, and it wasn’t a challenge when the house remained mostly empty. These men never stayed in the kitchen or more communal rooms for long, usually just going to the study to confer with another leader-like guy. Or they’d take guest rooms. Sometimes, they’d have meetings in private wings that I wasn’t supposed to go into. Joann handled those.

I also stayed away from anything that might have seemed like “evidence”. The one day I dusted in the study and knocked a list of what seemed like house listings off a desk, I panicked that someone would think I was messing with top-secret materials only intended for criminals’ eyes.

Unfortunately, though, that empty-house feeling changed too soon.

Joann approached me as I dusted the pain-in-the-ass molding around a fireplace no one ever used, cringing just enough for me to assume she came bearing bad news.

Please, please don’t tell me I’m fired.

I couldn’t think of a single reason I would’ve been fired, but I was caught up in this feeling of dreading when the other shoe would drop. It was such a blessing to be working for good pay in a house without bitter, insecure women who’d be catty toward me. Even though I was cleaning a residence for criminals, this opportunitywasa blessing when I had to do all I could to provide for my mother.

“Lucy, a quick word.”

I swallowed, my throat dry with this instant spike of apprehension. Joann was a sweet, older woman who was fine to get along with, but I read the nervousness on her face. “Sure. What’s going on?” I smoothed my hands down over my apron.

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