Page 61 of Final Installment

“No!”Dusan firmly said, shaking off her clawing hands.He then wrapped his arm around my sister’s waist and gathered her close.It was an intimate move that silently signaled these two were much closer than anyone in this room suspected.

“What is going on?”Luka demanded.

“Luka, she’s pregnant, and the baby is mine.”

Pregnant?

Oh.Well.Thatexplained everything.The illness, the mood swings, the secrecy, the phone calls.

Was this one of the friends who had treated her well during her earlier visit to Albania?Had she fallen in love with him?A whirlwind romance?

My mother’s wails echoed off the dining room ceiling, and someone—Besian, I thought—dropped a series of F bombs.There was a sudden crash, and my grandfather toppled to the floor, taking a chair and a service of cocktails and canapes with him.

The room erupted into chaos, and across the frenzied crowd, I felt the furious glare of Luka searing my skin.The rage burning in his hateful stare terrified me.I took a step back and then fled for my life.

Chapter Fourteen

Ihatethisfuckingfamily.

Luka had expected some kind of bullshit to erupt before the night was over, but this?For Dafina to let the wedding planning get this far only to embarrass him?To find out a man he considered a friend had betrayed him?Had stolen the woman who was meant for him?

He ignored the obvious relief that washed over him like a cleansing wave.It didn’t matter that he was glad not to have to marry Dafina.He had been betrayed—and someone had to pay for that.

Worst of all, Artan had collapsed but wasn’t dead.The man was like a cat trapped in the sagging skin of a scrawny old man.How many lives was this now?Six?Seven?

He now sat in a chair, trembling and clutching at an inhaler he had produced from his pocket.Skender tended to him, scowling at everyone and obviously unimpressed with the chaotic turn the evening had taken.

He watched Dusan and Dafina as they faced off with Rina who was mad enough to breathe fire.The two women screamed and shouted at each other, both pointing fingers.

“How could you betray our family like this?”Rina shouted at Dusan.“Your sister is one of my best friends!She’s Marley’s friend!You stole my brother’s wife!”

“I’m not your brother’s wife!”Dafina screamed.“He doesn’t own me!”

“It was arranged!It was an agreement between our families!”

“Fuck that agreement—and fuck your family,” Dafina snarled.“I’d rather slit my throat than marry your brother!”

“I’m sure that can be arranged,” Rina threatened.

“Enough!”Luka shouted, his booming voice drowning out theirs.“Just shut the hell up both of you!”

Rina glared indignantly.“I’m trying to defend you.”

“I don’t need you to defend me, Rina.”He turned his frustrated gaze on Dusan who had the decency to look chagrined.“Does your brother know?”

Dusan nodded stiffly.“He does, and he’s not happy about it.”

Suddenly, all the phone calls he had silenced from Darko made sense.

“Luka, let’s just get out of here.”Rina tugged on his arm.

“We can’t,” Besian interjected.“Not until this is settled.”

Rina frowned at their uncle.“Settled?It’s done.Dafina is pregnant.There’s nothing else to discuss.”

“You know it’s not that simple.”

His uncle was right.It wasn’t that simple.They were running out of time to abide by the rules of the contract.A pit of dread opened wide in his stomach as he trailed his uncle into the service hallway to speak privately.Luka blew out a frustrated breath.His chest felt too tight, and he couldn’t breathe.