Page 90 of Wicked Knight

“So, what else is new?” I try to joke, but there's nothing funny about the situation.

“Oh, Dmitri,” she rasps, a tear tracking down her cheek. She wipes it away, but more come. It hurts me to see her like this.

Once again, I'm stumped. “Sorry, Spider. I've thought of everything I could to keep the peace between our families. The only thing left to do is running away.”

She smirks through her tears. “Running away? Like when we were eight? Do you remember that?”

“Of course.” The memory is still as fresh in my mind as waking this morning.

We thought we could go to the North Pole. We got as far as the field across from our homes and had to turn back because she wouldn't go into the woods. She was too scared of the trees.

“Maybe that's the answer.” I’m half joking, half not. “Running. If I asked you to run away with me, would you go?”

She gazes into my eyes, and she must see the serious side of me because her tears subside. “You’re being serious.”

“I guess I am.” The crazy part of my mind contemplates this bizarre idea. You don’t just run away from the Knights and think you can live free of them, but I’d try it if that were the answer.

“What about football? The Patriots?”

“I'd find the way. So, tell me, what's your answer?”

“I'd say yes,” she replies effortlessly.

“Would you?”

“Yes.”

“What about ballet?” I brush my nose against hers.

“I'd say yes, Dimitri.” Her voice holds a wistful tone that grips my heart.

“Then maybe we should just go. Pack our things, get in my car, and drive away.”

Hope sparks in her eyes, but it dies just as quickly. I've never seen her look so sad as she steps away, pulling out of my arms. When she meets my eyes again, she looks lost.

“I'd say yes,” she repeats. “I'd say yes if it were just me to think about, but it's not.”

My brows knit, and I take in the haggard look in her shoulders and body. It’s the kind of look that tells me something else is going on. Something more we haven't spoken about. Something that made her say what she just did.

“What's else is there? What did your parents say?” It’s obvious this is to do with them. After all, it was her father who dissolved the contract.

“My father is in trouble.” A tremor laces through her voice.

In all the weeks we've been together, that's the first time she's mentioned her father.

“What kind of trouble is he in?”

She shakes her head. “I can't talk about that, but it's a kind where I have to marry Ryan Konstantin in a month's time.”

Those words hit me like a ton of bricks, and I stare back at her as if she just spoke in tongues.

“What?”

“My father needs the money. I shouldn’t even be talking about it, and I know you most likely don’t care about my father because of your brother, but I can’t turn my back on my family.”

“Mackenzie, I can’t let you marry Ryan Konstantin.” Apart from the fact that she’s mine, that fucking psycho is the kind of fucked up you don’t want to know.

“I have to.”