Page 109 of Dangerous Promises

I stand out of the booth and come closer to her, watching her men as they keep their hands ready. "What does that mean?"

"I was paid to deliver your message. I did that. But I let him know also that you'd never get the chance to act upon it."

My heart races as I come to terms with the fact that we're in the middle of a life or death situation right now. The way Angie's men inch for their guns and the way she acts so cryptic with me is off-putting. Isla and I are alone here and I can't shake the feeling that we'll be fighting our way out.

"And why is that?"

Angie runs her tongue over her teeth.

"You did something. What did you do?" Isla accuses again, getting into Angie's face.

"If we're speaking freely," Angie says, shrugging Isla off her. "It's you that's done something. It's been entertaining to watch these two fuck around the past year but you're taking it entirely too far now."

Isla shakes her head. It's not often I see her lose her cool but we both know how much we have riding on this plan, just for Angie to meddle her nose in it and fuck it up.

"You're a neutral party, that's none of your fucking business."

Angie gets up in Isla's face. "You shouldn't fuck around when it comes to Chet, that's in my best interest too."

"So you did do something," Isla says, pushing back just as hard into Angie's face as was done to her.

"I am a neutral party. I don't have loyalties or alliances, but I do have a sense of self preservation. And Chet taking over thisterritory will end me. I can't let that happen. So I can't allow you to weaken the DeMarcos by handing Sage over to Chet. You never said I couldn't relay your message to them as well."

Isla's shoulders drop and she rolls her eyes. I feel my body relax at that, too.

"You told Sage?" Isla scoffs. She looks back at me and smirks.

I feel a smile forming as well. We might just get out of this unscathed after all.

"I told her father," Angie says, and it's like both Isla and I turn in slow motion to stare at her in disbelief just as she adds the final nail. "Everything."

Oh, fuck.

I hear the roar of high-powered car engines coming closer from the distance. More than one. My eyes go to the door, fixated on what I can hear outside and what I expect is going to come rushing through at any second, angling for my head.

"Angie… what exactly did Chet say when you told him he wouldn't get to accept my deal?"

Angie gulps, looking nervous for the first time since we started here.

"He asked where you were. I said here."

I feel my heart plummet to the floor as tingles spread all over my body. No amount of deep breathing is going to stop what is about to happen or my wish that it wasn't. This isn't exactly what I had in mind when I walked in here today.

"Alexei-"

"I know," I respond to Isla.

She comes closer to me and frantically whispers. "We have to assume Dimitri is coming for you-"

"And that Chet-"

Car tires screech outside as a car comes to an abrupt halt. My face hardens, and I move to the door, ready to confront DimitriDeMarco about what the fuck it is he thinks he knows before he and Angie in their misinformation get us all killed.

"Alexei, no," Isla says, grabbing my arm.

The door slams open and Dimitri storms in, cane gone, eyes frantically searching the bar.

I shrug Isla off just as he spots me.