Page 22 of Final Installment
The cold hard reality washed over him like an arctic tsunami.He and Dafina were strangers only weeks away from tied together legally and spiritually.He’d seen enough of the disastrous marriage between his parents to know how badly these sorts of arranged situations could go.His mother had been utterly devoted to his father who had been cruel and cold and abusive toward her.
And how am I any different?
He had made no effort at all to get to know Dafina.He hadn’t even picked out a proper ring.He had taken one of his mother’s less loved pieces from the safe, had it cleaned and handed it to Dafina.She hadn’t said anything, but he’d seen the disappointment on her face.Instead of apologizing and offering to let her pick out a ring, he had grown annoyed with her for being ungrateful.
I’m punishing her for something she didn’t do.
It was a painful thing to admit, but there it was.Dafina didn’t want to marry him any more than he wanted to marry her.There was so much riding on this union, and not only peace.
Money.
Money he needed badly.Probably even more than the Dushku family needed to get their hands on their tied-up cash.
Determined to be better, he approached the door that he had seen Ana storm away from earlier.He stepped back and waited for Dafina to answer only to be met by Elona’s scowl.“Oh, it’syou.”
“Yes.It’sme.”Her withering gaze made him want to shrink away, but he stayed rooted to the spot.“I need to talk to your sister.”
Elona rigidly guarded the doorway, pushing it closed until only a sliver of her face was visible.“She’s not in the mood for visitors.”
“I’m not a visitor.I’m her fiancé.”
“Are you?Really?What kind of fiancé have you been?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”Irritated, he insisted, “If your sister has a problem with me, she can tell me to my face.She doesn’t need to send her bulldog out to attack me.”
“Wow.”Elona sneered at him.“Are there any other animal names you’d like to throw at me?”
Abashed, he gritted his teeth at his stupid mistake.“I didn’t mean—.”Aggravated, he called out to his fiancée.“Dafina!I want to talk!”
Elona kept her foot against the door, making sure he couldn’t force his way inside.He might have tried it, but after watching those clips of her swinging a bat, he thought there was a good chance she would knock him flat on his ass if he did.
She turned back, and he heard murmuring and crying.Facing him again, she said, “Dafina will see you tomorrow for brunch.She’ll text the details later.”
“I’d rather we talked now.”He was speaking to Elona, but his voice was raised for Dafina to hear.
“And she’d rather take a shower and go to bed so kindlyfuck off.”Elona started to shut the door, and he reached out to stop her.Her eyes widened at his movement, and she forcefully pushed harder, nearly smashing his fingers in the process.He snatched his hand away at the last second and heard the click of the door locking.
Barefoot and holding his shoes and clothing in the plastic shopping bags, he stormed down the stairs and right out of the house.On edge, he gritted his teeth and quelled the urge to yell or throw something.This was turning into a disaster—and nearly all of it was his fault.
“Not a word,” Luka warned as he heaved himself into the front passenger seat next to Devil.
Heeding that warning, Devil silently lowered the windows.He turned up the air conditioner, blasting cold air that carried the smell clinging to Luka outside.
Luka glared at the hideously scarred mechanic but let him have his moment of fun.“Go ahead.Laugh.”
“I’d rather hold my breath.”Devil grimaced.“You smell like a biker bar’s bathroom.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”If anyone would know what that smelled like, it was the behemoth behind the wheel.
“You want to find out if I’m telling the truth?”Devil pulled away from the mansion.“You look like you could use a drink—or ten.”
“Getting piss drunk is probably not the best idea right now.”
“I didn’t say it was a good idea.”
I shouldn’t.I really shouldn’t.I need to go back to Besian’s, shower and go to bed.
Instead, he found himself asking, “Is there somewhere I can shower?”
