Page 78 of Dangerous Promises

Chapter

Thirty-Two

Sage

I'm awoken by the sound of thunder in the pitch black. I startle upright as I turn on my night light. The faint glow shows me it's three in the morning. The storm is blocking out the light of the moon that usually keeps me company.

I clutch my belly, feeling like I've awoken from a bad dream with the ring of the thunder in my ears. I feel sick about the state of my family. I could never keep the nightmares at bay, but now I'm adding new ones. Ones where Dad never adjusts to the new normal. Ones where I find I have to prove myself over and over. Ones where Dad figures out what I've done before I can tell him. Then never speaks to me again.

There's a new kind of fear pulsating in my peripherals.

Not just about keeping everybody alive, but keeping everybody together. Our two families have had enough conflict and scandal to fuel generations of hatred and fury. Why do I find myself wishing that we could find a way to come together again?

Sitting up in bed, I clutch the blanket closer to my chest to keep myself warm. Wondering how long Anton will be able to hold on to power over my dad. The second he lets it go everything will go back to the way it used to be. I never liked the way it used to be.

I gasp as a sharp blow of thunder and lightning blows my window open. My heartbeat picks up in my chest as rain starts to pool on the sill of the window.

I consider getting up to shut it when instead a tattooed hand clutches onto the sill, slipping at first. My eyes widen as the hand grips the window more forcefully and in a sharp movement there's a tattooed Rushkoff sliding through the open window and standing in my bedroom.

I hold a hand to my mouth, surprised to see Alexei here but unsure how to breathe just yet.

He stands with the storm raging behind him, drenched, when our eyes meet.

I dart a glance to my bedside table, wondering if I should be going for the knife that's there.

"Not here to kill you, princess," Alexei says as he turns around and shuts the window behind him, blocking out the cold and the storm. He runs a hand through his hair, shaking out the rain and sending droplets flying.

Without saying anything I stand and go to my bathroom, returning with a fresh towel. I hand it to him but his eyes narrow, looking suspiciously between me and it.

A small smile graces my lips. "You think I could kill you with a towel?"

With a grunt he takes the towel and dries off his hair as well as the rain from his arms. He looks funny standing there in his all black clothes with colorless tattoos and my pink towel around his shoulders.

"What are you here for?"

He throws the towel on my dresser. "I came to ask about your dad."

I nod, sitting down on the edge of my bed. Unsure why that answer is slightly disappointing.

"You wanna know if he's going to accept this truce or not?"

Alexei nods.

"I'd lean towards no," I continue. "He's not very happy with the way Anton is running things. For now, though, Anton is still running things."

"You have to make him come around." Alexei makes the request like it's simple and obvious. A scoff comes out of my mouth of its own accord. As if I haven't thought of that before? Just make him. Jeez.

"I can't make my dad do anything."

"As far as we've all been aware, the DeMarco princess has Dimitri wrapped around her finger," Alexei says, twirling his finger in the air as he approaches me.

I scoff even more at that. Everything I ever did was because I never had a say in anything. I didn't have freedom and control over my own life, let alone my father's. "Well, you were very wrong."

Alexei sits on the edge of the bed. Annoying me with his wet clothes touching my fresh bedsheets. "You can convince him that this truce is needed."

I want to say something, but I can't. The only time I've ever been able to break free of my chains was when Dad wasn't around.

"He doesn't listen to me," I say honestly. "He barely listens to Anton, and he still thinks all of this is far too delicate for me to understand."