The Promise (Darkest Lies Trilogy Book 2) by Bethany-Kris (fiction book recommendations .txt) 📕

in to enjoying this scene with Karine, someone had to interrupt it.

Peter hurried to Roman, but Karine was still only halfway up the hill. He waved at her to make sure she knew he wasn’t trying to blow her off.

“What the fuck is it now?” Roman asked, not trying to hide his contempt at all.

The bull was unaffected. That should have been bad sign number one.

“You have to hurry up here,” the man replied.

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve just spoken to Marky. He’s been trying to get in touch with you directly, but your phone’s been turned off since you got here, basically. They need you back at Brighton Beach pronto. You’re going to have to leave as soon as possible.”

The fuck?

“Says who?” Roman asked, narrowing his eyes at the man. He was also aware of Karine edging closer. This was not a conversation he wanted to have in front of her.

“The FBI,” the guy replied. “Apparently.”

Roman threw a nervous glance in Karine’s direction, just to check how close she was, but thankfully, she was still out of earshot. “What do you mean the FBI?”

“They’ve been sniffing around—asking people questions about the shit that went down in Chicago,” Peter replied, shrugging, “A couple of agents trying to get a sit-down with the boss, or someone else. Maybe you. Who knows?”

“And if the FBI has somehow made a connection between me and the Yazovs, then Leonid and Dima can’t be far behind,” Roman muttered to himself. “That’s just fucking perfect.”

Not.

Peter didn’t offer Roman any other option when he said, “The order came down from your father—he wants you to head back to New York fast. Get the hell out of here before they find you here, and start watching your every move.”

Roman clenched his teeth so hard his jaw actually clicked.

“You’re leaving me here?”

Oh, Christ.

He’d become so absorbed in what Peter had to say that he hadn’t noticed her walk up behind him in no time at all. He thought he had a few more seconds with her out of earshot, but no. Not that it would have helped because he hadn’t even heard her steps approach. Karine was good at that—floating.

Roman whipped around to face her, and immediately saw the heartbroken expression on Karine’s beautiful face. Whatever hope and happiness she had built in the past hour evaporated into thin air. Her smile was gone, and it cut him deep.

Behind him, he could hear the bull shuffling away with a quiet, “Shit, sorry, man.”

He didn’t give the guy any more attention, instead focusing on Karine to say, “I have to go, but I’ll be back, just like I did last time. It’s no different—you can trust me.”

She moved closer to him, searching his eyes frantically for a lie. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep looking at her because this wasn’t going to end well. He could already tell—she was panicking.

“So, you’re just going for a meeting somewhere? Is it for a few hours, or—”

It was like a dagger was being thrust deep inside him and twisted into his heart before being ripped back out again. Emotional pain was just as real as physical, he was learning.

“No, not for a few hours. I have to go back home for a while. I’ll leave tomorrow, so we’ll have tonight together before I head out. At least.”

He offered that lamely.

She didn’t miss it.

Karine squinted, her brows dipping dangerously as her eyes flashed like lightning. Through tight lips, she asked, “For how long?”

“I don’t know,” he had to admit.

Not that he wanted to.

He wouldn’t lie, though.

Not to her.

She shook her head, and before he could reach for or stop her, Karine had twisted away from him and was running back in the direction of the lake.

He considered letting her go—but not for long.

Roman headed down the pathway after her, but not with quite as much speed. She was too close to the lake, and he’d seen that look in her eyes before when she first saw it—like she’d already decided that if things ever got worse, that’s where she’d be headed. Deep under those calm, dark waters. He didn’t trust her to not hurt herself, not when she felt like he was betraying her. Even if that wasn’t true. That didn’t mean her feelings weren’t quite real to her.

He reached her just at the bottom of the hill, some distance from the lake, thankfully. Catching her from behind, he pinned her to his chest. Her breaths came out hard, and he could feel her quivering, her shoulders heaving. She didn’t fight—too hard.

“Karine, stop, please, you need to talk to me,” he murmured in her ear, dragging in her floral scent with his next inhale. She always smelled like a wild meadow, fresh and free.

She relaxed quickly, sooner than he expected, really, her muscles lightening in his hold. She liked being held by him as much as he liked holding her. If only that was the case now. He loosened his grip on her, but that was a mistake. She slipped away from him.

“Karine, stop!” Roman grabbed her wrists that time, refusing to let her go even if she did flinch from his tight hold. “You’re not going to do this right now.”

His words didn’t help.

“You don’t have to worry, Roman,” Karine hissed, her eyes filled with tears. “I don’t want to jump in the lake, I just want to get away from you.”

Fuck.

Those were the words to kill him.

That was all he needed to see.

Karine crying was his kryptonite. He released his grip, and she stepped away from him, but then she stopped. With eyes already reddened from the tears flowing freely down her cheeks, she glared. If only she’d just listen ... let him talk, then maybe he could explain—

“So, when were you going to tell me that you’ve brought me here just to leave me as soon as you could, huh?”

Her lips quivered, and he could tell it was hard for her to get the words out. But she