She’d come out of her room with a beautiful bridesmaid gown, one that fit her perfectly, looked gorgeous on her, with her hair all twisted back. She’d looked me in the eyes and asked me, worry tugging at her every feature, how I was.
“I’m all right,” I’d told her, my chest so tight, my heart nearly burst. “You take care of yourself, little sister.”
“Me? It’s you I’m worried about.” Sasha is always sincere. It’s almost childlike how honest she is with her feelings, her thoughts.
It cut me to shreds, knowing what I was leaving her to face. Marriage with that complete savage.
My stomach lurches and I close my eyes, trying to calm the churning. I’m doing this for me, but I’m doing it for her too. I’m going to free us both.
“Out,” the driver grits, “I’ve got my own plane to catch.”
I’m sure he does. If he betrayed my brother, a high-ranking Bratva member, he’s planning on disappearing for a while.
I wonder what Ryker paid him for the betrayal. It doesn’t matter. “I need my suitcase.”
I’m smart enough to not get out of the car with my suitcase in the trunk. Sasha, smart cookie that she is, picked up on the oddity of my bringing a suitcase to my wedding. She’d asked me about it as I’d left the apartment. I’d played it off. “I’m never coming back to this apartment again.”
But the bigger reason is that the suitcase now holds my money, money I’ll need to dismantle my father one piece at a time.
It’s a vital part of the plan. Despite the value of its contents, however, I’d had to load it in the trunk. My brother would have been suspicious if I hadn’t. But now, I have to be careful to guard the contents. That money is my path forward.
So, I’m not getting out of the car so that he can drive off with my suitcase in the trunk.
“I’ll pop it for you,” he answers, his frown deepening.
“Can you lift it out? It’s heavy.”
His frown turns into an absolute scowl. But he thrusts open his door, the car still running and stomps toward the back of the car.
I get out too, running my hands down my leggings as I move toward the back of the car.
He shoves the rollie at me, the thing bouncing off my feet. I catch it before it topples, relieved it’s in my hands. “Thanks for nothing,” I snark, because he didn’t need to be a dick about it.
“You’re welcome for driving you,” he growls back even as he turns away, circles the car, and climbs into the driver’s seat. The car peels off, leaving me on the tarmac alone.
I stand there for a moment. Do I just get on the plane? Stand here and wait? What should I do?
A steward appears in the doorway of the jet, his smart uniform perfectly pressed. “Hey.” He waves me forward. “Katarina?”
I roll the suitcase to the bottom of the stairs and then start hefting the thing one step at a time. He meets me halfway down the stairs. “I’ll take that.”
I almost hate to give it to him. But it would be suspicious not to hand it over. Then again, if he’s in league with Ryker, maybe he already knows what’s in my suitcase.
It’s a gamble either way, and so after a half second debate, I lift the suitcase, blowing out a breath, as I hand over the luggage.
He turns, carrying it into the entrance of the plane. “You stash wedding presents in here?”
My brows lift. He doesn’t know about the money, but he does know I’m skipping out on my wedding? How much did Ryker tell him? “Yeah. Something like that.”
It’s more like an anti-wedding present. I’ve never been a soft woman. But I wonder how many women have been paid to skip out on their own wedding…
I push the thought aside. One, it doesn’t matter. But two, it isn’t true. He bought a casino with the money he paid me.
I’m still wearing Ryker’s stupid ring. It would have looked weird to my family if I’d gotten in the car to attend my wedding without it.
Ava, my sister-in-law, mentioned it was a two-carat diamond. Not that I care, other than it might be worth something later if I need to hock it.
I follow the steward into the plane. “Neat ride,” I say, looking around at the luxury finishes.
