Page 21 of Deceitful Promises

“I just … Hell, there’s no excuse.”

“Not an excuse. A reason.”

“I wanted to make you smile,” he says simply.

I don’t reply. Is he trying to mess with my head? Why would he do something so cruel and follow it up with something so warm and meaningful? When we reach the parking lot, he opens my passenger-side door. I sit down, hands on my knees, squeezing down to feel something, the pain of my fingernails, anything but sadness.

“Dad’s calling me,” Aiden says. “Do you mind if I answer?”

“Why would I care?”

It’s not even a question, just a numb statement. I wish Dimitri were here. He’d know how to make this better. He always knows how to make everything seem less horrible. He’d smirk, look in control, and know exactly what to do. Then Mikhail would make a joke, and everything would be okay.

“Put it on speaker,” I say.

“Are you sure?”

“Please.”

He sighs, then answers the phone. “Dad, I’ve got you on speaker with Ania.”

“Anna, I want to say?—”

“Ania, Dad,” Aiden snaps. “This isn’t your fucking fairy tale. Using the name Molly wanted won’t turn back time.”

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry.”

Aiden sighs. “I’m sorry, too.”

Despite the fierceness, this brief exchange tells me a lot about their genuine love for each other. After a pause, Theodore says, “You were right. I should’ve told her. I just … She’s talked about how eager she is to see you, Ann—Ania.”

“Reality is always tougher,” Aiden says. “After what happened to her …”

“Does she think theSokolovscan touch her now?” Theodore says, but it’s a rhetorical question in his eyes, I think, now that my father is dead.

“They can get to anyone,” I say, thinking of my brothers.

“Pardon, dear?”

I don’t bother repeating myself.

“We need to give her some time,” Theodore goes on. “Once the shock has passed, I’m sure it will be the reunion we all wished for.”

“Hmm,” Aiden replies.

After a pause, Theodore says, “Keep your phone nearby.”

Aiden hangs up, then runs a hand through his close-cropped hair. The movement reminds me so much of Mikhail with his floppy hair. “That was a mess.”

“Yeah.”

“Are you …” He stops himself. “Let’s swing by a diner or something.”

He was about to sayhungry, I guess. I haven’t even got the energy to tell him no. I need to plan a way to escape, especially after that little display. I can’t even think about the way my mom ran away from me. I need a plan. I don’t have my phone, but what if I just chose my moment, ran from the diner, asked to borrow somebody’s phone, and then called my brothers? That’s possible.

I go along with it, mentally rehearsing what I’ll do when the chance presents itself. There’s going to be a window, and Ihaveto take it, even if there’s this silly whisper inside me telling me to pirouette my way into my kidnapper’s arms.

We drive until we reach a diner, and then he parks up. When he climbs out, I tell myself to push the car door open and run. All I’ll have to do is tell a Sokolov that I’m on the East Coast, and that will be enough. Maybe Theodore and Aiden don’t think the Sokolovs are impressive, but I know the truth. I know that my brothers have done dangerous, scary things.

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