Arranged

14

The rest of the day and night dragged on forever. It seemed like Edric took a century to get to the hotel. I stepped outside the lobby doors with Alexei at my side as Edric climbed out of the black luxury car, a look of complete disinterest in the situation graced his well-chiseled features.

I was instantly annoyed by his apparent lack of care. Dominic was his cousin. He should have been as outraged as I was.

"Alexei," Edric greeted.

Alexei nodded once in acknowledgement.

"We haven't heard from the alpha yet," Alexei informed him.

"Let me know when we do."

As Edric started towards the doors, a rush of fury swept through me.

"That's it? You're just going to wait?" I demanded.

He turned back to me, carefully examining me before glancing at Alexei.

"Is her room secure?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

"We will continue this discussion upstairs," Edric said pointedly.

I bit my tongue and followed him through the lobby. I doubted he was fond of the basic hotel. Edric was used to lavish and this was just a step above roach haven in his eyes.

He probably thought it suited me.

The elevator dinged at my floor and I stepped out to lead the way. Alexei and Edric spoke in Russian behind me. In my short stint married to Edric, I quickly realized there were things I was going to have to let go. Speaking in another language to purposely exclude me was one of those things.

Alexei swiped my key card and held the door open for me. He started to close the door behind Edric when Edric stopped him.

"Stay," he said to Alexei.

Alexei being the forever faithful guard, closed all three of us in the room and stood at the door.

"Who else knows?" Edric asked me.

I scrunched my nose. "Uh, like everyone?"

"About you and Dominic," he clarified.

I crossed my arms. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"It's Alexei's job to be observant, Amina. I've been hiding Alonso from my family for years and I couldn't even get it past Alexei."

I chewed on my lip, my eyes flashing to Alexei. I didn't know if this was Edric testing me or if Alexei really knew. There was no way he could have known though.

"I don't know what you think —"

"Cut the shit, Amina. You know I don't care that you're having sex with Dominic. I need to know who else could know though."

One look at his eyes was enough to know he wasn't testing me.

"No one," I muttered.

"Think hard," he bit out.

"I don't even know how he knows! It happened one time yesterday. That's it."

"Are you sure?"

I felt my flat expression. "Pretty sure I would remember having sex with him more than once."

"Did you have him kill your mother?"

"No!"

"Then why is the pack after you?"

"Hell if I know. We were excommunicated when my mom married Rick."

"Then it's not the pack. It's his family. Why do they hate you?"

I didn't want to tell Edric about my history with Rick. It was one thing to tell Dominic. I trusted Dominic. I didn't have an ounce of faith in Edric.

"He was a disgusting person and I'm glad he's dead," I said firmly. "I just wish I had killed him myself."

He sighed. "Don't ever say that outside of this room."

"Before my mom left for the funeral, she said I sent someone to kill Rick. I don't know why she would have thought that."

"You're sure you didn't send anyone? Didn't mention Rick to Dominic in any fashion?"

I shrugged. "I mean, I talked to Dominic about Rick a little. He saw what Rick did to my face the day I left, but I never sent him. He was never gone more than normal time off."

"What do you mean normal time off?" He asked skeptically.

"I saw him every day even if it wasn't his shift," I clarified, growing annoyed by the inquisition.

"Fine. I'll handle this."

I nodded in appreciation. "What do you need me to do?"

"Nothing."

"You want me to just sit and wait?"

"Yes. Your interference will only make this worse. Clearly, they have some vendetta against you."

"I can help-"

"No," Edric stated firmly. "He is my cousin and I will handle this."

It was the first time I had ever heard Edric refer to Dominic as actual family. I knew Edric wasn't exactly warm and fuzzy, but judging by the sternness in his voice, he did care about Dominic on some level.

"Fine."

"Where is Anatoly?" Edric directed his question to Alexei.

"Downstairs."

"Have him stay with her. Don't leave this room. I'll be back with Dominic in an hour."

I reluctantly nodded. As much as I didn't want to listen to Edric, I had to. I wasn't going to risk Dominic's life over my stubbornness.

Alexei followed Edric out of the room and closed me inside alone. I let out a breath and threw myself back on the bed.

I knew it was a bad idea to worry about Dominic. He was fine and me showing any signs of worry would just raise eyebrows. If I wanted to keep sleeping with him I had to be more careful.

The smart thing to do would be end things before they went anywhere.

There was no future with Dominic and I knew damn well he was someone I could have feelings for.

I couldn't risk falling for him. He was exactly what I wanted in a man and the perfect partner in bed and that was a dangerous mix.

As soon as we had a moment alone, I had to tell him.

A knock sounded on the other side of the door. Assuming it was Anatoly, I crossed the room and started to turn the handle.

Before I ever knew what hit me, I was slammed back into the wall, the heavy hotel door pinning me in place.