Page 22 of Broken Promises
Lost in thought, I didn’t hear the back door open and didn’t know I was no longer alone until Hannah placed her hand on my shoulder from behind. Spinning in my chair, I smiled up at her as she placed her coffee onto the small table and took a seat next to me.
“I wasn’t expecting you to still be here,” she said before taking a drink from her steamy cup. “Did you sleep well?”
“I was under the same roof as you, so I slept great,” I replied and saw her blush as she ducked her head.
I could tell she wasn’t used to getting compliments, so I decided to give them to her every day until she began to believe my words. She was beautiful. She was amazing. She was unique. And she was all mine.
“Have you heard anything about the test?” she asked as she placed her cup down and shifted in her chair to look at me.
Licking my lips, I leaned forward as I explained, “I spoke with my cousin, James, late last night, and he gave me the test results.”
Her blue eyes cast down to her lap as she spoke. “It’s true, isn’t it? That monster is my father.”
Reaching over, I took her hands in mine and waited until she looked into my eyes before I replied. “Sergey Lenkov has been proven to be your biological father, and your brothers and sister are excited to meet you.”
Her eyes filled with tears, and I reached over, wiping them away as I spoke gently to her. “I can’t imagine what you must be thinking right now, but I can say with complete certainty that Sergey can’t hurt you. He’s been dead for close to five years.”
“But that’s not true, is it?” she asked. “He made some kind of deal that did hurt me, and I have no idea what else he promised of me.”
“No one will touch you. I swear to it,” I replied with force in my voice.
I meant that too. Hannah was mine, and I would plow through anyone, including the madman and the lunatic, to ensure she was safe and protected. I could tell she had questions, so I carefully stated, “Ask whatever you need to, baby. I’ll tell you whatever I know.”
“I read that he was killed in a safe house before he was going to testify against someone. Do . . . does anyone know who killed him?”
I wanted to sidestep the question, but she deserved to know the truth. “I’m not going to uncover all the details, but Stella, your sister, was the one who finally destroyed him.”
She sat back, shocked by my admission. “Why . . . you know, maybe it’s better I don’t know all the details.”
“You deserve to know the truth, but I don’t want you to think your siblings are bad people. They each have justifiable reasons for the decisions they’ve made, and I swear to you, they are good people who made tough choices for the right reasons.”
“I just wish I could figure out how my mother met him.”
“Your Granny never told you about him?” I asked, and she shook her head.
“Give me a minute, would you?” she asked as she went to stand.
I stood with her and stopped her from leaving by pulling her into my arms and hugging her close to me. Kissing the top of her head, I felt her relax into the hug as she draped her arms around my waist and pressed her head to my chest.
“I know you and I are brand new, but I need you to trust that I would never let anything else happen to you. No matter who agreed what to whom, you’re mine, and no one gets to hurt you and live.”
She leaned back and looked up at me as she asked, “You mean that, don’t you? You’d kill someone for me.”
Worried she feared the demons I fought to keep locked up, I cautiously inquired, “Is that a bad thing?”
She placed her head back against my chest as she responded, “It’s the best thing ever.”
I squeezed her, realizing I’d been falling in love with her for months, and it was that exact moment I recognized it. Not wanting to scare her away with talk of love and forever, I kissed her again and said, “Take care of what you need to while I make us fresh cups of coffee and grab something from my truck.”
She nodded against my chest before I reluctantly released my hold on her and followed her inside. She walked into the bedroom while I placed a cup under the machine, replaced the pod with a new one, and pressed the button. Leaving the machine to do its thing, I grabbed my keys, unlocked the front door, and walked outside to my vehicle. There was a small baggie in the center console, and after slipping it into my pocket, I walked back inside, securing the door behind me.
I switched the cups out in the kitchen and waited for the second one to finish as I watched her carry a small box and some files to the back porch. After sweetening the coffees with thecreamer she had in the fridge, I walked outside and placed her cup down as I retook my seat.
Hannah was busy going through the box, lifting out single pieces of paper, scanning them quickly, and repeating the process until she found what she was looking for. She handed me a few papers and sat back while I looked over them.
One was a letter from her Granny that I assumed she’d received after her death, and in it, the old lady outlined how her daughter left, tried to return, and then disappeared again. Looking over the paper, I asked, “So, your Granny wasn’t aware of you until after your mother left?”
Hannah shook her head. “She assumed my mother was lying about me until the state let her know I was in the system. The birth certificate we found at the courthouse had a name listed for my father, but I’m not sure he’s even a real person.”
