Page 51 of Disgraced (Russian Sinners 3)

“Thank you, brother,” Dimitry’s hand came to my shoulder. “And thank you for all the help in locating her. We got there right in the nick of time.”

His gratitude was a bitter pill to swallow. If he only knew it was all my fault, he’d strangle me with his own two hands. Or possibly gut me alive. With a quick nod, he headed out of the room.

I scouted through her phone to ensure all the gadgets and security on the iPhone worked then headed in search of Dimitry’s woman. It didn’t take long to find her.

“Hey, Anastasia,” I greeted her with a smile. “Nikolai asked me to give you this.” I handed her phone back to her. “He removed all social media access. Just for security purposes. But Dimitry had him add the Rosetta Stone app with Russian already in it.”

She nodded with a little smile. This woman was really something to still have it within her to smile after everything she had been through. “Thanks, and I look forward to the Rosetta Stone.”

“You want a tour of this place?” I offered.

“Sure, but maybe just the first floor. This place is huge.”

I laughed, then added teasingly. “Didn’t you grow up in a palace, princess?”

Why did I call her a princess? The night I kidnapped her, I called her that. I must be an idiot, eager to have my part in the whole scheme discovered.

“No, I grew up in an oversized home,” she answered back, trying to hide disinterest on her face. She didn’t care for the tour but agreed only to appease me. “Unnecessarily oversized home with lots of wasted space since I’m an only child.”

“It still must have been nice,” I commented back. “You are one of those girls who were probably very popular and had friends over all the time.”

“Not really,” she chuckled softly. “I grew up with Olivia and her twin brother. In high school, we met Scarlett and she was so much like us, we sucked her into being our friend. So it was pretty much just us. Oliver had his own room, while Olivia, Scarlett, and I shared my room most of the time, even though they each had their own.”

At hearing Scarlett’s name on her lips, I tensed slightly but quickly recovered. Shit, if they’ve spent so much time together, those two must have been close after all.

“Sounds like a full house,” I muttered, the predicament I caused digging deep into my soul. At the thought of losing Scarlett and my chance at making her happy, I felt hollow and sad. Although my mind whispered, I deserved nothing better. In fact, I should get much worse.

Absentmindedly, I walked Anastasia from room to room, explaining what each room was and pointing out things I thought would interest her. All the while though, Scarlett and the possible future we could have together was on my mind. I wanted it more than I had ever wanted anything else in my life. The past and this fucked up mess behind us, we would enjoy each other, continue to learn our likes and dislikes, and maybe have children together.

“So how do you three know each other?” Anastasia’s question pulled me out of my thoughts. “Do you have any siblings?”

“Dimitry, Nikolai, and I all grew up together in an orphanage.” Her green eyes flashed in surprise. “Nikolai had a sister but thankfully, a family member was able to take her in.”

Having Nadia with us during our time in the orphanage and while under Boris would have been a big problem. We could barely keep ourselves safe, it would have been impossible for Nadia. And to watch her twenty-four hours a day was not possible, even I knew that. Dimitry and Nikolai tried that with me. Since I was the youngest, they kept me protected at all cost, all the time. But even with all their fierce protectiveness, they couldn’t protect me from that fucking, sick bastard. It only happened a few times, but shame and disgrace remained.

Ironically, it took Dimitry gutting the fucking guy that bragged he’d make me his bitch for the man that abused me to stop. Dimitry saved me without even knowing it. When I got strong enough, I hunted the man down and made him pay. He was my revenge.

“How old were you all?” Anastasia’s voice was low and soft.

“Dimitry was about two when he was left at the doorstep of the orphanage.”

“And you and Nikolai?” she asked gently. Anastasia was a good woman, and I could tell by her expression she cared.

“Dimitry is the oldest. He was there first, then when Nikolai’s parents were killed and his uncle dropped him off at the orphanage, Dimitry took him under his wing. I followed behind Nikolai when my parents gave me away. Again both of them took me under their protection.”

I kept my voice void of all emotions but it still hurt. No matter how old I was, it still hurt like a bitch. My fucking parents. They completely erased me out of their family tree, even taking away their last name. Leaving me with a real last name was too much for them to give.

Although, now that I knew who my father was, that last name was worthless. Just as he was. Fuck, just as I became. What I had done to Anastasia resembled awfully close to something that fucker would do!

The saying blood is thicker than water was fucking bullshit. All that my flesh and blood ever brought me was pain. It made me rage with hate. I was the Mad Russian Sinner thanks to my fucking father. My biggest fear was to become like Boris. He was cruel, evil and heartless, relishing in others pain and suffering. Nothing and nobody meant anything to him. I experienced it firsthand.

“Does Nikolai’s sister live close to him now?” she asked, pulling me out of my raging thoughts. “He must love having his family around.”

“No, she was killed,” I told her, anger boiling inside me but I kept it reigned in. One of the men of the powerful political circle killed her and got away with it. “He does have a niece that lives under his roof.”

We walked in silence for the rest of the tour, both of us lost in our thoughts. We exited the house, and I took her to the back of the house where a large eternity pool lay and views of the mountains stretched for miles.

“This is my favorite part of your house, Sergei,” she exclaimed with a smile that came back. I noted she winced each time she smiled and it was a reminder how badly I fucked up. But I still smiled back at her enthusiasm. “It’s beautiful.”

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