Promise to Keep (Vow To Protect 2)

When he draws his hands away from my skin, it’s as if he’s carved out my lungs and dragged them away too.

It takes a long time, so damn long, for him to say something. But it’s not to me. It’s to Kai. “Do it.”

His voice is so low, and I barely hear it, but Kai immediately goes to work on his laptop. The screen on the wall comes to life so we can all see what he’s doing.

He types at blinding speed. His hands fly over the keys, and screen after screen flashes in front of us. I don’t understand most of it, but I see banks, passports, money, anything and everything a person might need to start over.

For the first time in a while, Kai speaks up. “You need a way to access this if something happens. I propose the five have this information to be handed to whoever needs it when it’s time. That way, no one can access it accidentally.”

I snort. The last part is for me, and I realize Adrian’s not the only one who feels betrayed by my departure.

But I don’t have time to deal with Kai’s feelings right now, not with a volcano about to erupt next to me.

He won’t look at me now, and I get it. I do. My stomach is in knots, and I can’t believe I’m saying all this or doing it. A huge part of me wants to take it all back and say forget it, just to see the dreamy-eyed way he looked at me a little bit ago again. But I know I can’t. My mother should have done this for me. She should have protected me this way, knowing how my life could have turned out. Maybe she’d been naïve, but I can’t afford to be, not when it comes to ensuring another child isn’t harmed the same way I was.

I slide off the chair to kneel at his feet and run my hands up his thighs, but he keeps his eyes locked on the screen, refusing to look at me.

It takes me fisting his shirt to pull him my way before he turns those frozen eyes to me.

“You, of all people, have to understand why I’m doing this. You saw what happened to me. I need to make sure our child is safe. If I don’t, then I’ve failed at the only thing I’ve ever been given. The only job I’ve ever had. I won’t let it happen.”

His thumb traces across my cheek, and something in his face eases. “Angel…” he breathes. “I wonder what kind of force you’d be if your father had seen your potential and made you his heir instead of his burden.”

Tears slide down my cheek again. “Then trust me when he didn’t. Let me be your partner in this. But first, we take care of our child. It’s our responsibility.”

For my entire life, I’ve been the victim. But now, I can no longer afford to be. I let Rose get killed while I could do nothing. Since then, I’ve gone over and over what I could have done to protect her while I had the chance. The chance being at any single point before that night. I won’t be a victim anymore, and neither will our baby. Not while I’m breathing.

He gathers me up in his arms, turning me across his lap. “Angel,” he says again in barely a whisper.

I can only wrap my arms around him and cling. Praying he doesn’t push me away, not now, when I’m finally doing the right thing.

We stay that way, our bodies entwined, and I don’t even care that Kai is feet away. Let him see. Adrian is my entire heart, and I won’t let it slip from my grasp again.

His breath is hot against my neck, and his fingers dig into my rib cage like he is waiting to lose me all over. If anything, I need to fix that. Make him see I don’t want to go anywhere. Never again.

The room is dead silent, and I realize Kai has stopped typing. I lean away, and Adrian releases me enough to look over his shoulder. Kai is sitting, his hair tousled, a lollipop between his lips. His gaze is intent on the screen above him, so I turn my focus there.

There’s a string of text, lines of code, I suppose. Not that I can read any of it.

“It’s done,” he declares around his candy.

Adrian nods against my neck. “Leave us. We’ll talk later. Make sure you speak to the others about it all. I don’t want to hear about it again unless it needs to be used.”

Kai snaps his laptop shut, sweeps his suit jacket off the back of his chair, and slips out of the room in seconds.

As soon as the door is closed, Adrian lifts me from his lap and slides my ass across the table in front of him. “I hate this, Angel. I don’t need to tell you because I’m sure you see it. But I also understand why you’re doing this.”