Page 46 of The Agreement

Things usually took the same turn by the end of the night. Music turned up impossibly loud, and alcohol passed around to keep any of them that wanted to drink their weight in an upright position.

Karine only knew all this by observation from afar. It wasn’t like she was invited to the table, or the after-party. Her father had no interest in involving her in these festivities—she served no purpose but distraction if she joined.

Not that it affected her one way or another. She had become adept at enjoying herself on nights like these. Nobody had any idea what they were drinking, or how much of it. Discarded bottles and glasses scattered all around the ground floor of her father’s wing became a game for her to find and indulge when her constant shadow’s back was turned. The other thing she was very good at was camouflaging herself in the background—never drawing attention her way because she didn’t want it. Karine managed all of this while sipping on discarded drinks.

A cocktail of mixed alcoholic beverages along with the bottle of pills she found in Masha’s bag were all she needed to start feeling good again.

A damn good night.

If she’d asked Masha for the pills, she wouldn’t have been denied but usually on nights like these, things tended to get busy—and lost—with the party. Especially Karine, and her whereabouts. It was always all-hands-on-deck in these scenarios, and Masha needed to help the other household staff members to keep the party running smoothly.

Karine used that to her advantage, helping herself to the pills and gulping them down with the half-drinks she’d found. By the time she staggered out through the back of the house to the stony patio, it was like walking on clouds.

The sky might have been dark.

Not through her eyes, though.

The wicker chairs arranged to be cozy on the patio were usually left unused. The Yazov family, or whatever was left of it, wasn’t exactly the type to lounge around all day. Certainly not together.

What even was family?

She had never known it.

Karine deposited herself in one of the chairs, sprawling out with her arms thrown wide. The night sky overhead was an inky blue with a smattering of stars like freckles on a happy child’s face. She gazed at them for what felt like years while she tried to recall the happy dream she was having that morning.

Why couldn’t she remember it anymore?

Was there a tree?

A little girl?

Yes.

She could still hear the laughter.

Pressing her eyes closed, Karine tried to bring back that feeling of absolute abandon—something had made her giggle like a child. What was it?

“Are you alive?”

The deep voice broke through her hazy, high thoughts, and even before she opened her eyes, she recognized who it belonged to.

It was him.

The man from the pool.

The one who sent chills running down her spine and straight to her toes with nothing more than a flick of his brow. Karine took her time to open her eyes and see him, dragging in a slow breath all the while. She wanted to savor the moment.

Standing, he loomed over her in the chair, shaded by the ornate lantern-style lamps that hung in the patio. He was mostly hidden in silhouette above her, but she could somehow still look straight into his eyes.

A smirk—sinful and sly—curved those lips of his that had so entranced her earlier in the day. All over again, they did the same, making her own part with another quick inhale while he stared back at her.

“I don’t know how to,” she replied softly.

He was standing so close to her that she got a whiff of his masculine scent in the light breeze. A combination of musky cologne and cigarettes. Heavy, and delicious. She pulled in another lungful of air just to taste it again on her tongue.

“What is that supposed to mean?” he asked, leaning a little closer.

Karine froze up. They were nearly close enough to touch, and she wasn’t sure she could handle that. She still wasn’t sure why he made her react the way he did.