Page 13 of Broken Promises
“Let me guess . . . since she’s blacked out the cameras, you got mad and confronted her, her anger pushed you past the breaking point, somehow you got tangled in each other, then your fucking internal dialogue caused you to push her away, almost like you’re saving her.” He paused before asking, “Am I close?”
“Seriously, how the fuck do you do that?”
“It doesn’t take a genius to know when someone’s fucking up a situation,” James remarked casually.
The darkened cameras began to show their true images on the monitor as, one-by-one, Hannah removed the covering from each. Her posture appeared defeated, and from her closed-off movements, my actions hurt her worse than I thought.
“I shouldn’t have kissed her. She’s still healing from . . . she’s . . .” I had no real reason other than my personal promise to never get involved emotionally or physically.
“She’s a grown woman who would’ve said stop if she wasn’t into it. Why did you stop?”
I exhaled deeply, knowing James was the only person who truly understood my lifelong issues with abandonment. My mother left me when I was five, James was ripped out of my life when I was twelve, and the only person I trusted not to leave was Regan, and that’s only because she had some of the same issues as me.
“She can do so much better than me. I’m too old, too jaded, and too set in my ways,” I rationalized, and James scoffed through the phone.
“You’re full of shit is what you are.” He paused before adding, “I thought you understood from Lucian that if you chose to pursue Hannah, no one here would have a problem with it.”
“Since when do I need permission from Lucian or anyone else to do anything?” I asked as I turned to check the monitor. Hannah was sitting on her back porch, typing something into her phone. “And what century are we in? Because the last time I checked, neither Hannah nor any other woman needed a man’s approval to make decisions in her life.”
Under my breath, I mumbled, “That’s some Sergey bullshit right there.”
“Listen, dick, he didn’t mean it like that, and you fucking know it. All he was trying to say was he would be proud to have his newfound sister in a relationship with you.” James paused and softened his tone to add, “You’re a good man, Rhys, so why not give yourself the chance at happiness?”
I wanted to tell him that men like me don’t get a chance at happiness, but all that would do was drag this conversation out further. I’d hurt Hannah, and that’s all I could think about as I watched her shuffle into her bedroom and close the door. That was the one room where there wasn’t any surveillance, and the longer she stayed hidden behind the door, the more anxious I became.
“Are you listening?” James asked, and his voice drew my attention away from the monitor.
“Not really,” I answered truthfully.
“I said she texted someone named Samuel and asked if he still wanted to grab a drink, then she ordered a ride share. So, I guess it’s time to either go and claim her, removing the bullseye on her back, or you can sit back and watch her with some weak asshole who couldn’t give her what she needed if he had instructions.”
“I’ve gotta go,” I replied and disconnected the call over the sound of James’s laughter.
There was no way in hell she was meeting anyone for anything. I knew I’d screwed up, but she was playing with fire. I’d be damned if I let some pathetic little man try and move in on Hannah.
She’d been mine since the moment she fell asleep on the plane with her head resting on my shoulder. I’d felt a jolt of electricity when she touched me, and our kiss earlier was the hottest embrace I’d ever had.
There was something magical about Hannah, and if I wanted to make up for my past mistakes, I was going to have to grovel.
Chapter 6
Hannah
Icould continue to sit around the house, feeling sorry for myself and allowing my anger at Rhys to grow, or I could do something. One of my co-workers, Samuel, had been asking me for the last few weeks to join him for a drink at a bar downtown. His boyfriend was the bartender, and he’d promised I would be safe to enjoy myself. I kept telling him no, but after the shitshow this evening had turned into, I needed a drink, some loud music to drown out my inner dialogue, and no drama.
After setting a time to meet, I ordered a ride share for forty minutes from now and went into the bedroom to get cleaned up. I was showered from this morning, so all I needed to do was freshen up my makeup, touch up my hair, and find something to wear that gave me confidence without showing off the goods.
I wasn’t one to show off too much skin, but after my attack, I’ve been reserved to the point of scared. Tonight, I wanted to forget about all of it—the kidnapping and subsequent shame, the newfound family that apparently comes with its own kind of bullshit, and Rhys and his little display of power. He literally kicked my door in, kissed me like I’d never been kissed before, then pushed me away, basically telling me that I wasn’t what he wanted.
It stung, but at least I knew now, so I wouldn’t make the same mistake again. After checking myself over, I shrugged at my appearance, hoping I wasn’t under or overdressed for the evening before I walked out to the driveway to wait for my ride.
Sitting on the steps, I glanced over my shoulder at the camera and shook my head as I turned away. When my ride was close, I armed the security system, made sure the door was locked, and walked to the edge of the driveway to wait for my car. As soon as it pulled up, I checked the tag, asked the driver his name, and verified the child locks were off before I got into the car.
I was pissed, not stupid.
The bar I was meeting Samuel at was near Centennial Park, and the traffic getting into the small downtown streets was packed. I sent him a message letting him know I was on the way, and he texted back a picture of two drinks and the caption, ‘Wish you were here!’
I chuckled at his silliness and smiled as the driver maneuvered through the traffic. Tonight was exactly what I needed—an evening away from the chaos and secrets I’d engrossed myself in for the last six months. Rhys said he’d have the results tomorrow, and if they showed what we all seemed to expect them to show, then I assumed I would be meeting my siblings sooner rather than later.
