Unbroken (Fighting for Gisele #3) Read Online Free Page B

toward the manager’s desk, clearly impatient. The manager didn’t give any indication that he’d seen Gisele the day before. She breathed a sigh of relief, even though that had been prearranged.
    As before, the manager checked Gisele’s identification, taking pains to be thorough. When satisfied, he said, “I’ll show you back to your safe deposit box.”
    “I’m her brother,” Alek said. “I’ll go with her.”
    Gisele’s heart pounded so hard that she was sure the others could hear it thump in her chest.
    “I’m sorry, sir,” the manager said. “That is expressly forbidden by the trust documents, as well as the bank. Only Miss Shelton will be permitted to view the contents.”
    Alek towered over the man by several inches. He glowered at him, but to the manager’s credit, he didn’t back down. “You gentlemen may wait in the lobby there.” He motioned toward the chairs where Micah and Zeke had sat just the day before.
    “Gisele, tell the man that I’m going back there with you.” Alek wasn’t used to being told no, and in this situation he was even less agreeable to it.
    Gisele took her brother’s arm and guided him toward the waiting area. Her pulse raced, but she kept her voice even. “Just relax, Alek. I am more than capable of opening a safe deposit box.” She released his arm, hoping he’d keep going toward the chairs under his own volition.
    “It’s unacceptable,” Alek said, but with less conviction than he’d had a moment ago. “I feel I’m falling down on my duties.”
    “Not at all,” Gisele said. She managed a smile to reassure her brother. “I’ll be back in five minutes. There’s no reason for concern. I’m in a bank, after all.”
    Alek wasn’t mollified, but he had no grounds to further object. Without giving her brother a chance to come up with a new argument, Gisele walked swiftly over to the manager, who guided her away from the main room.
    Once Gisele was out of sight, she relaxed a little. The manager took her to the box and opened the metal door, as he had yesterday. When he delivered her to the private room, he said, “Just buzz when you’re finished.”
    When the door shut and locked behind her, Gisele dropped into the chair. Having Alek breathing down her neck was grueling, and it wasn’t over yet. She opened the box to retrieve the items, taking time to reread her father’s letter and note. It wasn’t quite as shocking as it had been the day before.
    There was no time for sentimentality. Alek was waiting for her, and the sooner she got this over with the better. Gisele pulled out the letter intended for her brother’s eyes, and reached back into the box for the wedding rings. The other documents she returned to the box for safekeeping.
    The manager responded promptly to the buzzer and led her back to the waiting room, where Alek was pacing. He stopped when he saw her. Gisele wrapped her hand tighter around the rings, feeling a bit emotional. She didn’t need to hide how emotional she was at receiving her parents’ treasured rings.
    Standing in front of Alek, she opened her hand to allow him to see. “My father left me their wedding rings,” she said, with tears in her eyes. “It was just so…thoughtful.”
    Alek looked at the rings without comment. “What else?”
    His cold attitude didn’t affect Gisele. She expected no less. He wanted to know whether her father had left anything of monetary value to her, although he certainly didn’t voice the words blue diamond .
    “There’s this letter,” Gisele said, holding the paper out to him. “My father left money too—about five hundred thousand, it says there. That is a lot. I’ll be able to finally get my own place.”
    Alek snatched the document and read it. But he didn’t return it to her. “I’ll keep this safe for you,” he said, folding the letter in half.
    Her brother had confiscated her letter, probably so he could read it to Yuri, in case she didn’t do that herself.
    Gisele was