Chapter 33
Chapter
Thirty-Three
Alexei
My eyes are heavy but I still hear where my phone buzzes somewhere nearby.
It pulls me from sleep slowly at first, but then quickly when I realize I shouldn't have been asleep in the first place.
Startling awake, I rush to cover my eyes as the morning sunlight assaults me through the window. Sage's window.
Fuck.
Sage is still sleeping soundly beside me. I'm in her bed in nothing but my underwear. Damn.
I reach over to find my phone and silence the buzzing. Several missed calls. Isla's is the next to come in, I answer it before it can make much more noise.
"Alexei, shit," Isla starts. "Where have you been? We have a problem."
"What kind of problem?" I say, keeping my voice low.
"The mark beyond the ter-," she pauses, "why are you whispering?"
I don't have time for this. Annoyed, I check over my shoulder to make sure Sage is still asleep. "Get to the point," I say to urge her on.
"The DeMarcos lost a big piece of territory to Chet last night. It could hurt them. It's a good time to urge them to stick to the plan." Isla's voice is desperate but excited and I almost admire her for thinking a simple piece of territory would be enough to change things.
There's nothing we can do about that. Only Sage can.
"I can't change Dimitri's mind."
"Don't be annoying. Please just use this. Has Anton reached out to you?"
I check the missed calls on my phone before going back to her.
"Yes."
"Well did you answer him?"
"No."
"For fuck's sake, Alexei!"
"Yeah, yeah, I'll call him back now."
I hang up on Isla before she can get another word in. Doesn't matter what Anton has to say, though. If I didn't believe that Sage was the only one that could change Dimitri's mind I wouldn't have come here last night.
I stand up and head for where I'd left my shirt and pants hanging over her dresser. They're still damp. I dial Anton's number back as I carefully put my clothes back on.
"Rushkoff."
"Hello to you too, Anton. I'm just returning your call."
I slide on my pants and buckle the belt.
"I'm sure you've heard," he says.
"I may have," I say, keeping things purposefully vague.
"Figures," Anton says. "Well I need Freddie to get it back. And I… I need…"
"Yes?" I say, a bite in my tone as I slide my damp shirt back over my head and try not to shiver at the cold.
"I need you to help."
I let the silence fill the space over the phone as I put my shoes back on, leaving my undried socks behind.
"Rushkoff…" Anton says, annoyance bleeding through his voice.
"We will help," I say. "It was never us who were a threat to calling off this truce."
I hang up, standing and readying to leave the way I came in, but can't help sneaking a look back at the bed when the phone rings again.
This time it's Fallon.
"Word travels fast," I say as I answer.
"Yeah, so I'll meet you at the gate. Best to get this done quickly."
"Yep," I agree.
"How long will you be?"
"I'm close," I say, hanging up on him as well.
Before I head towards the window I find a hesitation in my step. I turn back to look at Sage who has rolled over now, her arms outstretched and hogging the side of the bed that I just left.
I am so fucked.
I open her window and jump down the two floors where I land upright in the garden bed below, only a small stumble in my step. I straighten my shirt and tuck it in, hoping it dries quicker in the sun. I step out of the garden bed just as Freddie comes strolling around the corner.
He purses his lips and nods. "Hm. You were close," he says, ignoring the obvious as he hands me an assault rifle and directs me towards the front gates.
"Come on."