Page 131 of Restitution

My mum places her hands on her hips at his bad language. She’s probably gearing up to slap the back of his head and tell him she’s going to wash his mouth out with a bar of soap. He winks at her, which makes her roll her eyes, but she’s battling a laugh.

Good. She’s been mired in grief since we returned to the manor, and I was starting to get really worried about her.

Luciella runs out of the front door and stops dead in her tracks, her wide eyes fixed on Base, who also freezes as he goes to walk around the front of the car.

His cheeks go bright red as he clears his throat. “Hi, princess.”

She crosses her arms and chews her lip. “Hi,” she replies softly, moving forward until she stops beside me. “Are you staying for a while?” she asks him, her tone full of hope.

A tall man comes up beside Base and speaks in quiet Russian. I faintly hear him give Base a warning, something about an introduction being more important, and I narrow my eyes.

Base stares at Luciella for a long second then swears under his breath and opens the passenger-side door.

I know who it is before the curly blonde hair comes into view,and I wish I could take my sister inside the house so she doesn’t need to see this. The way her small hand clasps Base’s, her stiletto-clad foot pressing into the cobbled path as she steps out of the car, seems comfortable, as if she’s had plenty of practice touching him. But the mafia princess is far too dressed up to be here, her earrings alone probably worth more than the manor.

Yeah, our house is huge and flashy, but can she not see we’re in the middle of a shitstorm and not throwing a damn ball? If someone attacks, she’s not going to get far with a long dress and heels on.

The impracticality of her even being here has me internally groaning. I bet her father forced Base to bring her – to show her off to the family he should have married into. I can’t believe my best friend is fucking married.

Dez leans into me. “Who’s the kid?”

Base holds his arm out for her, and she hooks hers into it.

“Fuck no. Tell me this is a joke. She’s young.”

Base plasters on a fake smile. “Everyone, I’d like to introduce you to Nikita.” His voice is strained, his brown eyes flicking to the man who warned him. “My wife.”

“What the fuck?” Dez mutters under his breath. “Luciella is a million times better.”

I look at my sister – at the blood draining from her face and the way her lips are flattening to stop her tears from flowing – then back at my friend. “He didn’t have a choice. He had to marry her.”

I understand why he took the deal. I would do anything for Stacey. I’d even cut my own dick off to make sure she wasn’t harmed in any way.

Despite the pain written all over her face, my twin stepsforward. “Hi, I’m Luciella. Kade’s sister.”

Nikita glances at Base. “Oh.” She takes Luciella’s outstretched hand. “N-Nice to meet you. May I call you Ella? Your name. It is hard to… to pronounce.”

The girl sounds nervous. Does she know about the deal? As far as I was aware, she just thought it was an arranged marriage.

Luciella blanches but nods and steps away, her eyes on Base for a split second. “You can call me whatever is easiest. I’ll show you to your room. We have fresh bedding and robes set out. I assume you’ll be staying together?”

“Of course,” she replies then slips her arm from Base’s and greets my mother, Ewan, Dez and Tylar. Then she stops in front of me, ignoring the dogs coming between us. “My father is very fond of you, Mr Mitchell. He wishes to work with you one day.”

My eye twitches. “No thanks. Tell your father to stick his offer—”

Stacey grips my hand and smiles at Base’s new wife. “I’m Stacey. You must be tired from your travels.”

“I am. Kade is lucky man. You are more beautiful in real life.” Her English isn’t the best; her Russian accent is strong but understandable. “You could be model.”

“You should sleep,” Base says, raising his eyebrows at her and pushing his hands into his suit pockets. “You were falling asleep on me the entire drive.”

“Who’s fault is that?” Then she looks at me as if I give a fuck. “We were up all night consummating our marriage.” She tuts and looks at my mother. “Newlyweds. Can you blame us?”

I grimace. Stacey looks at Luciella. Nikita giggles. The bodyguard beside Base nods, but I can see the twitch in his eye – the comment annoyed him. No one else makes a sound, butLuciella looks like she’s about to burst into tears.

Milo and Hopper are growing uncomfortable. They’re protective of my family and all these people have them agitated.

The detectives are waiting patiently, and I just want this day over with already.