39. Bash
Chapter 39
Bash
It feels like we’ve been here forever, but we’re only on our second complaint. Not that I’ve been listening, having tuned it out long ago. My fingers drum on the wooden chair in a repeated pattern as I force myself to remain seated.
I’d asked Damon to put in a call to get the tiara back. One look at Anastasia tonight let me know I’m done messing around. I’m going to hell for putting that helpless look in her eye when she realized Nikolai is being kept by the same people who murdered her mother.
I just need to get through this bullshit meeting, and then I can keep her distracted until we get the Kokoshnik Tiara. My cock grows stiff, thinking about all the ways I can make her forget.
My robe’s stifling tonight, and I adjust it for the fifth time. The fabric gets caught, and I shift on my seat, yanking it out. I can’t get comfortable. An uneasiness has settled into my bones, and the longer this takes, the less I think it’s because I miss my girl.
There are alarm bells ringing in my head that something is not quite right, and I’m itching to get out of here.
“Snap out of it,” Xander says as he stands up.
I mirror his actions as three men bow to us, then return to their spots. My brothers and I resume our seated positions. All this up and down reminds me of church.
Xander’s keen gaze is on me. “Seriously, what’s going on with you?”
“Something feels off,” I whisper.
He doesn’t dismiss me. Instead, his head tilts to the side, and I swear I can see him thinking. He shrugs. “Your girl’s at home. We’re all here.” He looks at Matthias, who’s already watching us.
He’s pissed.
“How are the girls?” Xander asks, cutting off whatever our older brother was going to say.
He pulls his phone from his pocket, hits a few buttons, then raises a brow at us. “Fine. What’s up?”
Xander points at me. “Bash is feeling off.”
“What kind of off?” Matthias asks, but I’m no longer paying attention.
I followed Matthias’s example when he pulled out his phone, and now I’m watching Stasia dressed all in black as she leaves the house through the side door. She’s holding a fucking rope. Prickling crawls up my neck as I flip through the security cameras as she makes her way past the two men I left to keep her safe. They’ll both be looking for new jobs tomorrow. I have half a mind to put in a call and have my soon-to-be wife stopped, but something tells me I know exactly where she’s going, and I’m going to be the one who catches her.
I stand, not able to stay another second longer. Damon grabs my wrist as I go to walk off the dias. “Where the fuck are you going?”
“My girl needs my help.”
“Everything okay with my little sister? You’re not fucking this up, are you?”
Everyone is watching us, curiosity written in their silence, but I don’t give a flying fuck. I just need to get out of here.
“We’re good. I’ll let you know if we need your help. Right now, I just need to catch a thief.”