Page 103 of The Promise

He was waiting on the side of the freeway, somewhere between New York and Vermont, on a small dirt road that led off into an abandoned farmer’s field.

Alec promised to deliver Karine to him—unharmed and without alerting anyone else at the lodge. It was still up in the air on whether that part of the plan would actually work considering it was the one thing Roman hadn’t been able to think too long about before making hard choices.

Not for one second had he believed Karine would be comfortable driving for an extended time alone with a man she only barely knew—what choice did he have?

With the time crawling past four in the morning, Roman had been waiting at this spot for nearly two hours.

And only one thing dominated his every thought. Karine’s revelation had about killed him on the spot—how monotonous she had delivered to him the scene of her sister’s assault and murder over a phone call.

A fucking phone call.

It wasn’t something he was sure to forget anytime soon. Not the sound of her voice, or the picture she’d painted.

There’d never been any doubt for Roman that she was keeping something from him. Something that happened to her when she was younger. Some trauma that had somehow woven into her very soul. He’d expected it to be related to Maxim, and maybe that was his bias—or ignorance—showing, because despite knowing Dima was a real piece of work—Roman never once considered that horrible thing that Karine had kept hidden would be him.

How terrifying the last year of her life must have been as—even if only subconsciously—she’d realized that she was getting closer and closer to being delivered back into the waiting hands of her monster. What was the likelihood that Katina’s sudden presence didn’t somehow correlate to a stark, horrifying reality to Karine? There was something twisted about the way Dima had clearly left Karine living, broken, and then orchestrated her eventual return to him.

Why?

Had she just been too young for his tastes, or was his mind more warped than was comprehensible? Honestly, Roman was willing to bet it was a bit of both. And knowing all of that did nothing to quell his urge to get Karine as far away from Dima as possible.

Forever.

What was more fucked up about it all? Now, more than ever, Roman finally felt like he got her. Like he truly understood where the fragmented pieces of Karine had been born, and why.

If only, somehow, that could make it all better. As if some magical roadmap to healing her had been laid in his hands ... but, no.

That’s not how this worked.

Roman lit his third cigarette in a row—the only thing distracting him from all the pains and aches criss-crossing his body from head to toe. Even the way his cheek stung every time he grimaced, pulling at the tender, glued slice on his face, was forgotten as hot smoke burned the back of his throat and lungs.

Nobody could say he didn’t know how to handle stress. He did—it just wasn’t healthy.

The doctor wouldn’t have been pleased to hear what Roman had gone and done when he’d specifically been told to rest.

Whatever.

It would all be worth it when he saw Karine’s face.

He was halfway through his cigarette when he saw the headlights of Alec’s car approaching down the dirt road. Gravel crunched under slow-moving rubber. He crushed the cigarette under his shoe, and waited with his arms crossed over his chest.

The car stopped only a few feet away in front of him, and Alec got out first, moving to the rear to open the back door.

Roman hadn’t realized he was holding his breath, until he finally saw Karine’s slippered feet touch the ground. A smile twitched at his mouth. She hadn’t even bothered to put on her shoes.

But she was here.

Everything would change now.

Wrapped up in a quilt, Roman had to wonder if she’d even bothered to change out of her nightclothes when Alec barged in on her. That had been a risk, too—a risk that Katina might show herself if not handled just so.

She was frail in the headlights of Alec’s car—walking straight to him through the stream of bright yellow where he waited. Small, yes, but still beautiful. She kept her head up, her shoulders straight—Karine radiated a strength that he hadn’t noticed before.

But he loved it.

Loved her.

Alec stayed back, and Roman nodded at him over Karine’s shoulder.