Chapter 50
Chapter
Fifty
Alexei
My heart breaks as I hear Sage slip through the roof and land behind the bar.
I drop my head just as Chet removes the knife from my throat to gleefully greet Sage.
The others look just as grief stricken as I feel watching Sage make another sacrificial decision.
We all know things are far worse now than they were only moments ago.
Chet has two of his men manhandle Sage into the chair across from mine, though her hands aren't bound like mine are. Possibly the only good sign that Chet is underestimating what she's capable of.
Sage's eyes are filled with shame when she sits down across from me. She gives me an apologetic little shrug, telling me I should've known she wasn't going to let anyone die. I want to both strangle her and comfort her.
I knew she wouldn't, but I hoped she would cut her losses and run. At the very least, I had to try. Like me, the others are fools if they thought she would cower away instead of giving herself up. She hasn't shown an ounce of self preservation in the whole time I've known her.
"Now that's better, isn't it?" Chet says, clapping his hands together. "The family is all back together again."
"Don't include yourself as family," Sage says, spitting on his shoe. He takes a step back and gives her a disgusted look, shaking his head. When he turns around again his playful glee has returned and he reaches his hand out towards her.
"Don't you fucking touch her," I say, my voice low with a growl.
Something inside me snaps. I can see he only meant to stroke her cheek, or push her hair behind her ear, but the thought of him touching her even in a gentle way makes me want to vomit.
Chet's hand pauses in mid-air as he smiles curiously towards me. At least distracted enough that he doesn't actually touch her, his attention returning to me as he eyes me up and down with a squint in his eye.
"You know, I'm disappointed in you, Alexei," Chet says. "You always showed so much promise."
He shakes his head, his long coat flowing behind him as he paces like a teacher giving his students a detention. There's a similar look of authoritarian disappoint on his face, too.
"Though, never as much promise as Victor." He spins to face me with a smirk. "That turned out very differently than I'm sure everyone thought. That you would outlive him at all, let alone early enough to become his successor."
His mood changes unpredictably, anger coating his features as he moves towards me with a predator's pace. Though I don't mind his attention if it keeps him distracted from her. "Remind me again who is responsible for that, nephew?" Chet looks over his shoulder and smiles at Sage.
"I'm responsible," I say, surprising everyone. Including myself with the clarity that flows through me with that answer. Is it the truth? Maybe not. But it's my truth that I've been running from for too long now. "It all came down to me, and the choices I made." My voice doesn't even tremble.
"No," Sage says, drawing Chet's focus. And I could kill her for bringing the attention back onto herself when I had him zeroed in on me. "It was me. We all know I killed Victor Rushkoff."
"Sage shut up now, I swear," Dimitri says, rolling his eyes. Anton elbows him in the ribs and widens his eyes like he wishes his stupid brother would stop fucking talking.
Chet chuckles as he watches us, eyes flickering between us.
"It's always you isn't it, little Sage?" Chet says, he leans so close in to her that I can see her nose wrinkle.
He grabs her face and sniffs her, closing his eyes as he runs his nose along her cheek and inhales.
I fight the urge to vomit, pulling against my restraints as my inner instinct begs to rip free and stop this.
The others react similarly, struggling against their restraints as they shout threats and profanities before they are subdued again.
"See?" Chet laughs. "Look at them all scramble to save you, little Sage."
The way he holds her in his gaze has me fuming. I know he hates her father. But I can't understand why after all these years, and even in these circumstances, where Dimitri is right there, supposedly the one he wants, and Chet is still looking at her.
He grabs her head and tips it back.
"Enough!" Dimitri shouts, panic lacing his voice for the first time today. "We have been through enough of this. This has always been between you and me. So let everyone else go."
Chet abruptly lets go of her head and it swings violently forward.
"This has never been just you and me!" Chet shouts, his face going hard and turning to anger instead of amusement. "This is all because of you," Chet's face softens as he looks at Dimitri and runs a finger over Sage's cheek, "she is the consequence of what you did to me."
"Don't," Dimitri warns, teeth bared as he laser focuses on where Chet's finger traces circles on his daughter's cheek.
"I won't pay for my mother's-" Sage starts, trying to peel away from his hand, but Chet interrupts violently.
"This was never for her," Chet says, teeth gritting as his angry eyes train on Dimitri. "This was always for Isabelle."
Dimitri's eyes narrow but he says nothing, even though I'm sure the story is very different from his side. Sage's confused face looks to Anton who watches her just as carefully in return. Something passing between them with each lie that is peeled back and exposed.
Chet deflates, smiling as he sighs. "Alas, that is not what we're here for. In time, Dimitri. In time." Chet turns his eyes back on me. "Today is for you, nephew."
Great.