Page 68 of Inheritance

Caroline was halfway through the windowsill, one foot outside, the other snagged in her dress as she searched for footing. She whipped the curtain aside in silent frustration. I flicked on the light. Strands of hair clung to her flushed cheeks, and her wide, guilty eyes met mine.

“I can explain.”

Fabric tore. She tumbled into the room, grabbing at empty air. The nightstand toppled, books thudded to the floor, and a bottle of wine rolled, spilling dark across the rug.

I stared down at her; she stared up at me.

“If that woke Gabriel?—”

“Shh.” Her hiss was desperate, as if she hadn’t just crashed through a window.

I rolled my eyes. “You’ll be explaining it to him, not me.”

I crossed my arms and waited for Gabriel’s thunderous charge down the hall. Seconds passed. Nothing.How had he slept through that?

She scrambled to her feet, defiant in the same way she’d been before we were rescued.

I stepped past her to the window and looked down. Thick ivy climbed the side of the house, strong enough to carry three of her.

“Let me guess. You needed some air? Thought a climb down the side of the house might help? You could’ve broken your fucking neck.”

“Well, I didn’t.”

She sat on the bed—back straight, arms crossed—as if getting caught meant nothing because I had been the one to catch her.

I stood over her, letting the silence work, but that only gave me time to realize she was right to assume that.

Gabriel had asked me to handle her.If I woke him now, he’d lock her down, and she’d never forgive me. And he’d see me as someone who couldn’t control anything on my own.

I sighed and sat beside her, not too close. “So... you went to see Ivan.”

She hesitated, shoulders lowering. “I needed to know if I actually meant something to him—or if I was just entertainment.”

“And what did you find out?”

“He loves me,” she said, eyes on the torn hem. “More than anything, I feel terrible for ever doubting it.”

“And?”

She gave me a sideways glance, but said nothing else.

“You can’t do this again,” I said, voice low. “You got lucky, for making it back, for not getting caught by a guard or worse.”

She nodded once, lips pressed tight.

“I’m giving you one line,” I continued. “Cross it again, and I take this to him. I understand why you did it. It was fucking stupid but I get it. But if you do something like this again at that point it I have no choice.”

Every word landed. She swallowed. “I understand. I just needed to know."

“Good.” I softened my tone just enough to keep her listening. “Once things cool down, you won’t have to sneak out. It’s just too soon, considering the shit we just went through.”

A lie.

But I didn’t know what else to say, and I wasn’t about to blow this up, but I had to do something to make sure this doesn’t happen again, at least for a while.

She was back in her room, safe. If I wanted her trust, I had to offer some of mine first. She’d said she only needed to know if he really loved her—and she came back. If she planned something again, and if she trusted me, she’d tell me. I could stop her then. But what had happened was done, and nothing could change it now.

“Clean up the mess, lock the window, and sleep,” I said with as much authority as I could.