Page 12 of The Brutal Arrangement (The Ivanov Syndicate #2)

Leaving this mansion felt like a trick. A test. As if Katerina were trying to determine whether I’d run away and flee. I was tempted to. The moment I was past the gates, I debated just disappearing from all of this.

But I couldn’t.

I couldn’t abandon my mother. And after visiting her for a few hours, watching her sleep, I knew that I had to sacrifice whatever I could to make sure she’d be cared for.

When she woke up, she didn’t really recognize me, and it hurt.

But as I visited and sat with her, I spotted how filthy and low-quality this facility was.

I heard the staff and knew that they didn’t give a damn about their patients.

She’d fare much better at Dream Garden, and I resolved to tough out this unusual situation of an arrangement.

For you, Mom.

I held her hand before leaving, hating the increasing nerves that filled me.

I’m doing this for you, and I will see you in a better place soon.

Minutes ticked away, bringing me closer to “meeting” my husband. Locked in a hazy blur of simmering panic, I left the facility and saw the Kozlov man waiting for me in the car. The ride back to Katerina at the mansion was more of a smear of time.

Anticipating this life-altering change, I struggled not to hyperventilate. Going numb was all I could do as Katerina gave me a dress to change into. A thick veil covered my face, but I didn’t try to shove it aside when we were in the car that evening.

“Lucy?”

I couldn’t react. I couldn’t answer her next to me in the backseat.

This ride felt surreal, and I feared that I was stuck in panic mode and that I’d remain frozen forever.

I’d never done something like this. I wasn’t an adrenaline junkie or risk-taker.

I played by the rules. I followed the law.

I was a good person, a normal person. Doing this “favor” for her was twisting me in knots so tight that I felt like I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think.

Trapped inside my mind, I felt like I was witnessing my life from an out-of-body experience, unable to move or speak.

“It will be okay. I know this is weird and nothing that you expected. But I am confident things will turn out okay.”

Her words went in one ear and out the other. This clandestine, cloak-and-dagger shit wasn’t something I’d ever feel comfortable with.

But I had to see this through.

I can do this.

I need to do this.

I can manage.

I can do this.

The mantra filled my mind as the car parked.

Katerina had already told me that she’d stay hidden in the car, so woodenly, dully, I exited the car.

Will they notice how badly I shake?

Does this veil hide how my lip is trembling?

How soon will they realize they’ve been duped?

They won’t kill me, right?

I tried to force a swallow, but my throat was so dry that I could barely manage it.

I can do this.

I can.

It had to be no different from before.

Just keep your head down.

Don’t be a bother.

Stay quiet and follow their lead.

I can do this.

In another dizzying blur, I was out of the car and unable to listen to Katerina’s last words of thanks, her paltry reminders that she’d let me know when it was safe to divorce him.

Suddenly, I was outside in the night air. My body moved of its own accord as I locked into this numb state of utter fear.

A guard from this house came out to usher me away from the car, and like a lifeless puppet, I followed. No bags or personal possessions were allowed, and if I weren’t so numb and trapped in my mind, I would’ve stopped to comprehend how much I was like a delivery being dropped at their door.

I can do this.

I can ? —

Loud, thudding footsteps sounded from my right, and I tensed just a few feet inside the foyer. Rigid and stiff, I only allowed my eyes to pivot toward the source of the noise.

A tall man appeared, wiping his hands off.

Blood.

The big man used a white rag to clear off blood from his bare hands. In a suit like that, hiding a massive, muscular body, he could’ve appeared distinguished and royal.

As I let my gaze drift higher, stopping at the deep scowl on his face, I shook even harder.

Oh, my God.

What have I done?

How can I be married, even with just a contract, to him ?

“This is my bride?” he growled, sounding annoyed.

I suddenly wished I weren’t.

The guard who’d ushered me in cleared his throat. “Yes, Damon.”

Damon?

I blinked quickly as horror flooded my mind.

I’d heard that name before. As a maid in the Kozlov house, I’d heard a mention of Demon. The guards there treated the names interchangeably.

Damon.

Demon.

It had to be one and the same.

This can’t be true.

Katerina had set me up to marry a monster of a Mafia man who truly looked like he was a demon in the flesh.

Big, tall, powerful.

And angry.

I couldn’t tear my gaze from the blood on his huge hands.

It was true.

Katerina hadn’t asked me to stand in as her to marry just anyone.

She’d asked me to marry a monster.

Dread sank heavy in the pit of my stomach, and I fought back tears, determined to be strong.

This is for you, Mom.

All for you.