Page 67 of Blood & Snow
"We'll talk about this later."
When I'm done picking up I flop back on the couch,staring at the snowflakes on the window.
Everything I'm doing now started out as a means to provide for them and make her life easier.
Part of me feels resentful that she's not more appreciative, but I can see the concern in her eyes every time she questions me and I deflect.
I had no idea what I was walking into when I went for the job interview, and now I'm stuck.
The burner phone buzzes so I pull it out of my pocket, dreading what he wants now.
It's a text.
Xander: 7:15: I need you tonight. Wear the dress and earrings I gave you.
I stare at the screen, my thumbs hovering over the keys.
My eyes flick up at the archway into the kitchen and I feel panic needle at my conscience as I type my response.
Me: 7:16: I can't. I'm with the children.
He really can't pick a worse time.
Irina is already suspicious that I’m not being honest and if her friend really does work at the hotel I'm claiming to work at it will only be a matter of time before it's confirmed I’m lying.
But his response comes immediately without mercy.
Xander: 7:16: Your sister is home. Be ready in an hour.
I grumble as Anya shuffles past me, dashing into the kitchen.
I'm on a fucking leash here and he can't see that every time he jerks the chain my sister grows more wary of my secret life.
I can't keep doing this.
Me: 7:18: What for?
Again. His response comes immediately.
Xander: 7:18: Business gathering. Don't keep me waiting.
I close my eyes and lean back against the couch cushions.
The very black dress and diamond earrings that made Irina skeptical to begin with.
Xander is completely out of touch with how this feels.
He's lived life in such a way to get everything he wants when he wants it without a care abouthow it affects anyone around him that he can't even see how much this will affect my life.
I don't think he's heartless.
If he were, he couldn't be so gentle with me after sex.
But his consistent demands are crippling me.
In the kitchen, I can hear Irina helping the children with their homework.
If I go in there and tell her I’m leaving she's going to hound me for answers I don’t have.
