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The Island 22
Chapter 22AnyaIt was odd how easy it was to assimilate into his life and his household. My sisters seemed to be just as flexible as I was, and by the end of the fourth day, I felt like I’d lived with him for years. How was it possible to feel so close to someone that I technically didn’t know very well?Not that we hadn’t spent hours getting acquainted. Wrapped up in his arms, and in his huge bed at night, we found time to talk in between touching and exploring each other. We’d had several late nights in a row, and it wasn’t unusual for us to be talking until dawn. Still, it shouldn’t have been so easy with him, but it was.I wasn’t yet comfortable enough to share with him the full story of why I’d been on “The Island,” and what still loomed over my head. I dared hope we might’ve evaded Ivanov. The last place he was going to look was an upscale apartment at the top of Wallingford Tower, right? I wasn’t completely convinced, but I was hoping we had evaded him.That hope shattered Fri
The Island 23
Chapter 23SpencerI seethed with rage as I held and comforted Anya, wanting nothing more than to tear off Dimitri Ivanov’s head. I had no idea who he was, but I would quickly find out, I vowed to myself.Speaking of vows, though I’d technically promised to wait for her to come with me to meet with the slime ball, I had no intention of dragging her along. She needed to be protected from him, and I wasn’t about to have her exposed even one more time to such a disgusting piece of filth.After she finally calmed and spoke with her sisters about the situation, we all made dinner together, which was strange to me. I had a housekeeper/chef for a reason, but the three of them completely disdained the meal Mrs. Fields had left for us and threw together their own. Somehow, I found myself chopping lettuce for the salad, though I hadn’t done the task before.“You should make the pieces more uniform,” said Sasha.I nodded, taking the advice under advisement as I attempted to make the chunks of le
The Island 24
Chapter 24SpencerThere were two scantily clad girls sitting on each arm of his chair, just reposing against him, but when I got closer, it was obvious they weren’t relaxed because they were comfortable. Their vacant-eyed stares suggested they were drugged out of their minds, and I was further disgusted with him.It was a struggle not to show it when he looked at us, his lip curling. “What do you want?”“I’ve come to settle Lev Russo’s debt.” I refused to refer to it as Anya’s or her sisters’ obligation, because they had nothing to do with it.He smirked at me. “You have nothing to offer.”I reached into my pocket to get my phone, noticing from the corner of my eye how Arseny stiffened and watched my every movement. I pulled it out a moment later and held it up, so he could see the banking app I had already opened before entering the market. “I have your million dollars.”He scowled. “I don’t want money. I want the girls.”“You won’t be getting them,” I said confidently. “You can tak
The Island 25
Chapter 25AnyaI fell asleep in Spencer’s arms, but woke to the cold press of steel against my temple in the middle of the night. My eyes snapped open, and I gasped at the sight of Ivanov looming over me. It was his pistol pressed against my temple. “Spencer?” I called his name with all the panic I felt.He shifted beside me, and then jerked upright. There was the snick of a gun cocking on the other side, and he froze. I was afraid to look away from Ivanov to figure out what was going on, but it seemed obvious someone else was there with us, and they had a gun trained on my lover.“We had a deal,” said Spencer in a calm voice, as though he wasn’t currently held at gunpoint. From the direction of his voice, I could tell he was looking at Ivanov rather than the person with the gun.“You forced a deal, along with your treacherous friend. I’m not stupid enough to stay here and wait for the bratva to find me. I’m leaving town, but have come to collect on the debt she owes me.” He pressed
The Island 26 & Epilogue
Chapter 26SpencerI rested heavily against her, humbled by how weak I felt. I also felt disgusted that I hadn’t been more help to her. I turned my head and nuzzled her cheek. “I’m sorry this happened. I thought I’d handle him, but I must’ve half-assed it.”She surprised me with a low laugh. “It’s okay. I told you we should do this together, and I guess we did.”I shook my head, immediately regretting it as there was a throbbing pain in my skull. “No, you did it yourself.”“With Arseny’s help, but you got them here—though that wasn’t your intention. The important thing is, he’s out of our life, and we handled him together.” She curled her fingers through mine and squeezed reassuringly.I wanted to keep arguing, but was a little too addled to do so. My head was throbbing, and if that was Arseny’s idea of holding back, I was thankful he hadn’t given me the full brunt of the pistol against my head. He could’ve faked it a little more, I thought grumpily as the room spun, and I saw two of
The Island 1
Chapter 1AnyaThe atmosphere was somber, and I didn’t even try to maintain a brittle smile as I greeted people arriving in our home. I didn’t care if they thought I was rude, especially since many of them probably came to elicit juicy tidbits to gossip about later.It was a small gathering, which made sense. My father had lost contact with a lot of his friends after Mom’s death, followed by his decline into alcoholism and worse. Of the faces around me, I recognized a few as true friends or family who’d earned the right to be there, but there were several strangers too. I couldn’t help thinking they were just there to gawk and be on the fringes of our family drama.I moved through woodenly, occasionally exchanging words with those who offered sympathy or a kind word about my father. Carrie was in the corner, her face buried in her iPad. Those around us probably found it disrespectful, but I understood. She needed to escape and disconnect from the reality.Who could blame her? I wouldn
The Island 2
Chapter 2AnyaMy mouth dropped open, and I swallowed audibly. “On top of the value of the businesses and all the property?” I shook my head, unable to fathom such a thing. “I’m sorry he left you in the lurch like that.”Dmitri clicked his tongue again in that annoying fashion. “But I’m afraid he’s left you in the lurch, my dear. His debt has transferred to you.”I collapsed against the chair, staring at him in disbelief for a moment. “I don’t see how. I had nothing to do with loans, and I didn’t sign any paperwork. Perhaps there will be something left from life insurance to settle part of the debt, but you’ll understand why I have to ensure my sisters and I have living expenses first, especially since I now know we have to move out of our house.” It was a modest house by most standards, with only three bedrooms and three bathrooms.His voice lost any hint of feigned sympathy, going cold and hard. “You will pay the debt. I’m not a bank, and there are rules. Your father was a fool if h
The Island 3
Chapter 3AnyaThere was eighteen hundred dollars in his checking account, and absolutely nothing in savings. My sisters had personal savings accounts tied to Dad’s, and they had another two thousand dollars between them, but I bet they would’ve expected to have more. I checked the history and discovered he’d been slowly borrowing from their accounts on months when he didn’t have enough to cushion the shortfall. Of course he had. If he would borrow from a loan shark, he wasn’t above emptying his daughters’ savings accounts. I was almost amazed that there was any money left in them at all.Fortunately, I had my own savings account in another bank, but it was rather anemic too. I’d used a majority of it to pay for my last two semesters of school after Dad cut me off. He claimed it was time for me to stand on my own, but now I realized why he hadn’t paid my tuition. He simply hadn’t been able to afford it.When he refused to give me his tax returns for grants and loans, I’d had to quit f
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