Page 54 of The Promise

He noticed, then, so fucking aware of how his heart always seemed to quicken every time Karine came into view. Michelle was already walking away, headed towards the other end of the large lodge where she was being housed. He’d given her the option of using the smaller property across the lake, but she opted to be in-house with Karine to get as much time in with her as possible.

Karine looked to be in a better mood now—she smiled with a wave at him from the bottom of the hill. He considered going down the path and meeting her halfway, but he wanted to watch her walking towards him. Wanted to focus on the way her hips swayed sensually in that flowy yellow dress she was wearing. Even the way the gray shawl she’d taken outside draped the delicate line of her shoulders. Or how her hair blew in soft waves behind her from the cool breeze.

He could get used to this.

Watching Karine.

From the corner of his eye, he saw one of the bulls at the front of the house, tucked off to the side near a bush. The guy had been on the phone, but now he was putting it away and walking towards Roman, too.

“For fuck’s sake,” he grumbled under his breath.

What next?

Just when he was settling 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.