Page 21 of The Promise

He took that as permission to continue. “They’re there—you’re going to have to accept that because you don’t seem to have very much control of them at the moment. Maybe you manifested them for a purpose, but now they protect you when you can’t deal, you know? I’m not sayin—”

She cut him off with her hand slicing wildly between them in the air. It was like there were hands pinning her to the bed with every word he said, and she just needed him to stop. She fought against the urge to run and let those words sink in, but failed when she ended up running for the bedroom door after flying off the bed.

Roman was faster than her, though. He stood in her way, blocking the door with his impressive size and hard stare.

“Let me go.”

She raged against him.

Pushing.

Crying.

Begging, too.

He didn’t even touch her—didn’t move, either. Not once did he stop her from hitting him, those emotions of hers tumbling out in the worst way.

“I can’t let you leave, Karine,” he told her softly, “You could be a danger to yourself. To others. We gotta get this figured out first, huh? Come on, sweetheart.”

She heard him.

Karine simply didn’t want to.

“You don’t know me,” she sobbed, her strength and desire to run depleting fast. “You know nothing. You have to let me go. I don’t care what happens to me.”

“Karine, I care about what happens to you.”

It all stopped, then.

Her crying.

The fighting.

Even the way he positioned himself in the doorway to block her loosened a bit as those words fell between them. She parted her lips, testing the words she wanted to shout back to protect herself from the hope that dared to grow in her heart. They stuck in her throat instead. He refused to look away.

Roman wanted her to see he meant it—every single word.

Then, he reached for her and she let him. His arms wrapped around her, and despite the feelings trapped inside her that she fought to ignore, she sagged in his embrace because it was fucking easy. He wouldn’t let her fall, but he also wouldn’t let her pretend, either.

“It’s okay,” she heard him say. “We’ll get it figured out, Karine. We will.”

She wished she could walk away now. She didn’t want to hear any explanation he had for the voices in her head, or who they were. Maybe her life was better caged behind the walls of a mansion that didn’t quite feel like home with a constant flow of medication at the ready to make everything bad go away.

Maybe.

“I’m not crazy, Roman,” she whimpered, the words muffled as she dug her face into his chest. She didn’t want him to see how hard she cried, or that she couldn’t control the flood of tears. “I’m not.”

He held her tighter.

“I know you’re not crazy. You’re just a little unwell, babe, and I’m the only one trying to help right now. You have to let me help you, Karine. Please, let me help you.”

FIVE

Karine needed help. That was the whole truth, plain and simple. Technically, it didn’t matter what the other facts were about her current situation, and Roman wasn’t even sure if it was up to him to dig into the past and uncover all the secrets the Yazovs were keeping as to why this had happened to her. What he needed to focus on right now was keeping Karine safe ... and stable.

At least until someone could help her.

This meltdown had not been like the first. If anything, it was worse. He thought he was prepared for another one, but he wasn’t. The calm Roman kept throughout explaining facts—as he knew them to be—to Karine about Katee and Katina was nothing short of a miracle. Self-control he didn’t know he possessed, until he realized she wouldn’t give him a choice.