Page 18 of Sinful Promise

Clearly, we’re not that good of friends, seeing as this has been going on for a while, and she didn’t want me to know.

Zara sighs when he makes no move to leave. “Dimitri, please.”

My brother turns his attention to me, and I’m sitting up straighter as he regards me with an unusual amount of scrutiny.

Dimitri gets to his feet. “If anything slips through the cracks, it’s on you, Danil. Emily’s life is in your hands.”

My blood turns cold as his words ring in the air between us.

What the hell has Emily gotten herself caught up in?

5

DANIL

Neither Zaranor I speak until the elevator doors have closed behind Dimitri. Zara wasn’t even comfortable speaking, though he is up in the study and if he overheard something I’d freak out.

And I don’t get freaked out easily.

“Zara, what the hell is going on?”

I bounce my leg up and down, trying to help calm my nerves, but it only seems to exacerbate them.

“I need you to promise me you won’t tell Emily, you know.”

“Zara—”

“I’m serious, Danil.” Zara shifts her position so that she’s sitting crossed legged.

“Okay, sure, I promise.” I don’t bother hiding my annoyance at this whole thing.

I thought Emily and I were close enough friends that she would feel comfortable telling me she was in trouble. I can’t stand thefact that I’m not evenallowedto comfort her about this when she is clearly freaking out about this entire ordeal.

Zara chews on her lower lip as she looks at me.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen her look so worried before.

“Do you know Emily’s friend, Jana?”

“Sure, what about her?”

“Well, Jana got her a gig as a hostess at some party a while back. Apparently, most of the guests in attendance weren’t…morally sound.”

“Fuck.” I run a hand over my face.

I knowexactlythe kind of parties she’s talking about because I’ve been to a few of them myself. I’m all too aware of what goes down. “Emily worked at one of these parties?”

“Yes.”

The hostesses at these parties are forced to wear incredibly revealing outfits in order to add to the whole experience.

It’s disgusting, and I’ve been forced to step in a few times when it looked like boundaries were being crossed. Most of these guys are absolute pigs who think just because they’re rich means that they’re entitled to a woman’s body.

I made sure they knew how very wrong they were.

“Apparently, there was a guy there who was being a bit inappropriate. Emily thinks he’s the one who’s been leaving her these…gifts.”

There is no doubt in my mind that Emily would have garnered some unwanted attention by wearing one of those skimpy hostess outfits.

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