Page 44 of Cruel Promise

And then I lose sight of him.

I try pushing through the sea of bodies, but I can’t find Dimitri. Everything is too loud and dark and chaotic. My anxiety spikes. My vision blurs. My heart pounds so fast it hurts.

I manage to stumble over to the bar and catch myself on it, taking in deep breaths. Where did Dimitri go? Does he even care that he lost me?

The bartender, a handsome young man, sets a glass of water before me. “You look like you could use it.”

“Where’s Dimitri?” I ask.

He stares at me blankly.

“Dimitri?” I repeat. “Dimitri Ivanov?”

“You mean the owner? He’s usually in his private booth upstairs.” He points to a second floor of the club, and sure enough, there’s Dimitri. He’s chatting with a man, laughing and sipping on a drink.

“Thank you.”

The bartender gives me a nod.

I head up the stairs on wobbly legs until I reach the second landing. Before me is a private booth with another velvet rope blocking it off—this one is purple. Men and women lounge around in the booth, including Dimitri.

A bodyguard stops me from progressing farther.

“Dimitri,” I say.

He glances over at me. “Ali, it’s all right. She can come in.”

The guard opens the rope and motions me on through. I remain standing before Dimitri’s private group of friends. They all stare at me curiously. Some of the men give me hungry looks.

So do some of the women.

“Dimitri, you left me,” I say, my voice getting washed out by the music.

“What was that?” he asks.

“You left me!”

“Ah.” He settles back into the booth, his arms around two beautiful women—one a redhead, another a blonde. “Sorry about that.”

“You said you’d help me.”

“Did I say that?”

I stare at him for a second. “You did.”

“Oh, well … sorry. I’m a little busy right now.”

“Doing what?”

The redhead scoffs. “Can you stop interrogating him? We’re trying to have fun here.”

I blink back sudden tears that threaten to spill over. “I just want to go to my apartment in New Haven. You said you’d take me.”

“I never made that promise,” Dimitri replies. “Why don’t you go have some fun? I’ll check in with you later.” But he’s already turning his attention to the redhead.

I doubt he’ll check back in with me at all.

Defeated, I head back down the stairs into the main section of the club. Bodies push against me. Bump against me. Some man even tries grinding against me. I hurry back over to the bar where I know the bartender is at least nice.

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