Page 40 of Vengeful Vows

He huffs as if I said more, and it instigates a lengthy period of silence between us.

I don’t know what to say to make things less awkward. I’m not the best communicator in general, but it is worse in hostile situations.

For every mile we travel, the more withdrawn Ark becomes. The distance between us is so great that I don’t bother tilting toward him when Darius turns down the street my building is on. I say my farewell from where I’m seated before curling my hand around the lock mechanism.

“Thank you for the opportunity, but I think it will be best if I s-stay with my current employer.”

A click sounds two seconds before I yank on the lock. It doesn’t budge an inch. I’m trapped in a car with a man teeming with anger and on the verge of hyperventilating.

“P-please let me out.”

Ark acts as if I never spoke. “Running won’t solve anything, Mara. Hiding won’t solve anything.”

“Please let m-me out,” I repeat as if his words aren’t gospel.

Running hasn’t gotten me anywhere fast, but it is better than staying and being abused.

When I say that to Ark, his thighs twitch and his hands ball. There’s no doubt of his emotions. He’s furious. Not at me. At himself.

“Ark—”

“Your schedule will be forwarded to you tomorrow morning. If there is anything you need to adjust, you can either contact Rafael or myself. Rafael’s schedule is erratic, but I will be available all weekend. I don’t haveanyplanned engagements.”

Is that his way of telling me he is prioritizing me above anyone else or that I’m merely an employee to him?

It seems a bit of both, and it makes me more angry than grateful.

“As s-stated previously, I appreciate the offer?—”

“I need you, Mara,” he interrupts, freezing both my words and my heart. “I won’t be able to do this without you.” His whispered words burrow into my heart, deep down where no one has touched. “I won’t survive it.”

“It” seems like so much more than his political career. It appears personal, extremely personal, and it squashes my objections to microdot in an instant.

“Okay,” I murmur, choking back a sob before I repeat myself, a more heartfelt response above me. “Okay.”

The carnage left of my heart tries to pull itself back together when the clank of the central locking system disarming booms through the cabin of the car. I’m relieved my exit is no longer blocked, but I am also torn about leaving.

I’d stay if Ark asked.

He doesn’t, though. He presses his lips to the edge of my mouth before he orders Darius to walk me into my building.

Confused and emotional, I farewell Ark with a tight smile before shadowing Darius’s somber exit.

17

ARKADIY

How is it only Monday? The past weekend was the longest in my life. It dragged, easily the equivalent of a month. I’m tired and moody since my sleep schedule has been just as lagging, and the only thing I was looking forward to this week is late.

Where the fuck are you, Mara?

Forever impatient, I pull my phone out of my pocket and select a frequently called number.

Rafael answers two rings later. “I was beginning to think you had lost my number.” His laugh hacks my nerves. “Run out of shampoo already? I only restocked your bathroom Saturday morning.”

After working my jaw side to side, I get to the source of my frustration. “Where is she?”

I haven’t spoken to Mara since my disastrous attempt at acting like I wasn’t choked with fear that it took my team over an hour to find her Friday night, but she gave me her word that she would be here today.

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