Page 10 of Dangerous Promises

"Are you... healed?" I ask.

Anton smiles. "Never. Only more numb." His smile grows until he chuckles to himself. I have no idea what he finds so amusing.

"So I can... hope to become more numb?" Maybe numb would be nice. Maybe it would be better than all-consuming guilt and anger.

"Yes," he agrees, smiling back at me. "Numb is a wonderful feeling."

"I believe you," I say, finding a giggle that I didn't expect.

"Come. Let's go home," Anton says. He goes to wrap his arm around my shoulder, but just as he does his face darkens instead. He poises to strike at whatever he sees when suddenly I'm shunted from behind and go face first into the grass.

"Sorry. Couldn't let you touch her before I took my shot," Alexei says, winking at Anton before he comes for me. I try to crawl away but a boot hits my back and shoves me harder into the ground. "Going somewhere, princess?"

Chapter

Four

Sage

“Don't interfere!"

These are the muffled words I choose to shout when Alexei Rushkoff has my face pushed into the grass and my uncle is most certainly attempting to come to my rescue. It's barely legible and I'm sure Anton won't listen to me anyway, but I can't take the chance of him getting in my way.

"You're not in a position to be calling the shots, princess," Alexei says as he digs his boot further into my back. I groan through a mouthful of grass but am still able to catch him before he can fist my hair and pull me up. Instead, I take hold of his wrist and pull, dragging him to the ground beside me.

"Sage..." Anton's cautious voice reaches me.

Alexei makes a satisfying noise as he hits the dirt, panting now that we're both down.

"Don't!" I say, sitting up to point my finger at my uncle and narrow my eyes in warning.

"Yeah," Alexei echoes, licking his lip as he draws my eyes back to his. "You heard the girl. Don't come any closer, DeMarco."

Alexei's lip curls as he slowly rises from the ground at the same time as I do. We watch each other carefully as we cautiously find our footing and rub away the grass sticking to our clothes.

With Alexei, it's always hard to tell if he's come to play or is coming for the final kill. Though it seems unlikely he would choose to end my life in the middle of the day in front of my family, I don't underestimate him. These fights never feel like life and death to me until they are.

I get not even a second to recover before Alexei is running at me. He makes the first move, pulling a knife from his belt that he swipes towards me. I'm lucky, dodging it even though I lose my footing to my still healing leg wound, just barely missing the blade driven by his tense muscled, tattoo-covered arm.

Knowing this cemetery like the back of my hand, and probably better than anyone else ever has, becomes my advantage. I shift my eyes to the tree root that sticks slightly out the ground, and when Alexei rushes at me again for his next hit, I step into the path of the tree.

Just as I intended, he trips over the root, landing down on one knee with his balled fist catching the ground and his slick hair hanging over his eyes.

Before he can react, I jump onto his back. He rears upwards as I lock my arms around his neck and pull back to choke him.

I'd love to think we look evenly matched, but I know that isn't true. We never needed to be. I wasn't an even match for Victor Rushkoff. But still it's me, not him, that stands here alive today.

Behind me, there's gasping and mumbling, which I try not to focus on but I know it's likely my uncle calling in reinforcements.Which pisses me off. There's no need for reinforcements. I win or he kills me. That's it. That's all the outcomes.

Alexei trips all about the ground as he tries to dislodge me from his back. I tighten my arms around his neck in a headlock and hold on, tensing as I try harder to stay put.

I feel Alexei's chest rise on a deep gasp before he tumbles forward. My eyes widen as I go flying over his back and onto the ground with anoof.

The air punches out of me and I groan as I stare up into the sun, soon blocked by Alexei stepping into its path and leaning over me. His smile is wicked and his arms tense where he braces them on his knees.

"So easy to get you to submit," he smirks.

I narrow my eyes at him, pushing the hair out of my face. I've gotten a few good hits on him in our time. I sliced his arm up once. The tattoos on his bicep healed wonky because of it. I take comfort in the fact that there's some part of him that will always have a reminder of me.