Page 43 of Dangerous Promises

I don't think I will ever live down the guilt I feel that he wasn't the first thing on my mind when I ran into that room. That he was my afterthought. All because of her.

Now, I'm glad I killed her bodyguard. So she can know even half of this feeling that I do.

I saw Victor's cold, bloody body, missing an eye, sprawled out without a care to it. And I ran before anyone saw me. I didn't come back for over a week.

And here I've been playing gentle with her. For what fucking reason? Who knows? Because they're right. I could've killed her by now. At any time of my choosing. It would have been easy and it would have been fun. It never had to be quick.

Now, as I cock my arm back and let the knife fly free, it's the image of Victor's dead body that flies through my mind. It's that image that fuels me as I let the knife fly and it heads directly towards Sage's skull.

Chapter

Seventeen

Sage

My intuition tugs at me at the same time as the whistle of the wind does. I duck my head instinctively, and the knife that had been flying right towards the back of my head lands in the tree in front of me, swinging back and forth with the force it was thrown.

I turn over my shoulder and see Alexei, a combination of both shock and rage resting on his face.

"Seriously?" I exclaim, coming to my feet and brushing grass from my legs. "How long have you even been here? Like ten minutes? You couldn't keep it together for even ten fucking minutes?"

"An hour, at least." He takes his time stepping into my space until I can fully see him.

"What the fuck!" I say again, gesturing towards the knife.

He steps around me and rips the knife from the tree, settling it back into his belt. "You knew I was here. You can't say you weren't planning the same thing."

I huff, knowing he's got me there. "Well. I was going to wait at least an hour and ahalf."

A smirk appears on his lip before he smothers it.

"What are you even doing out here?" Alexei asks.

"Enjoying the sun," I say, rolling my eyes.

"It's been raining all morning."

"Well I was enjoying the atmosphere," I argue back. "Until you tried to kill me again."

He raises his brow. "Why are you always so surprised when I do that? Do I seriously need to explain to you what the point of all this is?"

He's right. I am always surprised. I'm not even sure why.

I sit back down in the grass, wrapping my arms around my legs. "I was clearing my mind. Plotting newverypainful ways to kill you."

Alexei snorts. "How was that going for you?"

"Good, thank you. Not like you'd understand."

He crouches, resting his hands on his knees as he hovers over me. "Killing? I understand killing far better than you do, princess."

I huff a sigh and settle back further into the grass. He would never understand the grief I have. Trying to explain the impact is a losing battle. But I also find myself wanting to make him understand. Victor was a horrible person. He betrayed everyone he knew and loved. Especially Alexei. I killed him in self defense. Our grief isn't the same.

Stormy eyes sear into me, calculating as they run over my face and the rest of my body. I hate when he looks at me like that. It's always been like he can see further into my soul than I'd planned to let anyone.

"You think your grief is bigger than mine," Alexei says, letting the words out on a whisper that seems to disappear on the wind. My head snaps to his, watching him as he stares into the distancelike he canseethe small yet powerful words disappearing into the thin air, too.

"It is," I argue sheepishly, strangely shy all of a sudden.