Page 56 of Broken Promises
The sun was two hours from coming up when Lucian arrived, and it didn’t seem like we were any closer to finding out who had Hannah or where they’d taken her. The lab work was inconclusive as to any relationship with Hannah due to degradation of the sample, but they did say that Hannah’s blood type wasn’t possible if that woman was her mother.
“Adding to Regan’s suggestion, I’m going to bounce something off the wall, if that’s okay?” Lucian asked, and I rolled my hands, silently asking for him to get on with it.
The later it got, the shorter my fuse, and I felt like I was seconds away from blowing.
“We all know Sergey had a fondness for the ladies.” A few of us nodded, so he continued as he sat forward, resting his forearms on his knees as he spoke. “Did he manage to get the U.S. Marshals to agree to conjugal visits with one of them?” Devlin sat forward and his brow furrowed as he listened to his brother. “I know the Bureau was so eager to get someone to flip, they would’ve agreed to hookers and blow just to secure the testimony. So, what’s to say Sergey didn’t work out a little deal for himself?”
“That would explain how deals were being made while he was under the feds’ control. His whore could relay his pillow talk and secure him an empire while he was washing his slate clean by testifying against everyone. Then, he would be at the top of the pile,” Devlin remarked, and I was starting to see their point.
“How would we determine if it happened, and who she was?” James asked as Lucian’s men sat listening.
“The files would have codenames for anyone who had access to Sergey that wasn’t a fed, so we need to go back to that,” Lucian stated.
We dug through the files the Marshals kept on Sergey, and sooner than I anticipated, it seemed we’d found something. After entering the information into Devlin’s system, something popped up that I wasn’t expecting—a name from long ago and a possible connection.
Looking over at Devlin and Lucian, I smiled as I asked, “Are you two going to settle this once and for all?”
The madman and the lunatic stood from their seats, and the rest of us joined them. This battle wasn’t going to test just our patience but also our reserve. We were going to have to balance shock and awe with covert and concealed.
And somehow, we had to destroy every one of those fuckers and save Hannah. No matter what, I was getting my woman outof that madness, and for the rest of our lives, I was going to hold her in my arms and ensure the monsters couldn’t find her.
And heaven help anyone who stood in my way.
Chapter 24
Hannah
Isat at the table in shock as the man walked into the room and took a seat across from me. As soon as I saw him, I remembered him from the house Rhys and my brothers had rescued me from. I’d mentioned him, but it wasn’t until he walked in that I knew there was something else going on.
“Who are you and what is your fascination with me?” I asked as I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back in my chair.
He smirked at me and poured himself a cup of coffee without saying a word. I’d guess he was playing mind games, but I wasn’t easily intimidated. Where all this newfound bravado was coming from, I didn’t know, but I’d like to think Rhys had something to do with it.
The man retook his seat and sipped on his beverage while staring at me, so I gave him the same treatment and stared back. One of us would break, and at that moment, I vowed it wouldn’t be me.
“I wouldn’t say I have a fascination with you, Hannah, but there’s a connection between us that is deeper than you can imagine,” he remarked with a sinister smile.
“Connection? Is that why you keep kidnapping me and dragging me into whatever this bullshit is?” I asked, flittering my hand into the air.
“Poor Hannah.” He chuckled and added cryptically, “You have no idea what’s going on, do you?”
I popped a grape into my mouth and chewed it before I replied, “Why don’t you explain it to me, since you think you have all the answers?”
He threw his head back and laughed, and over his shoulder, I saw a mop of shaggy hair peek around the corner before ducking out of sight. Waylon must be listening in, though I couldn’t begin to decipher why. It was taking everything in my soul to be brave and not let the fear wracking the inside of my body show. Whatever this was and whoever he was didn’t matter. Getting Pearl, myself, and anyone else they had stowed away to safety was the most important thing right now.
“I suggest you show me some respect, before I make your life a living hell,” he said, and it was my turn to chuckle. My reaction to his threat seemed to anger him, and he slammed his hand onto the table.
I brought my eyes to his and it was my turn to smirk as I saw my laughter had pissed him off. Raising my eyebrows, I advised, “If you tell me what’s going on, then we’ll be on the same page and maybe I’ll be more . . . amenable.”
“She said you’d be a pain in the ass, but I didn’t think you’d be this annoying,” he remarked and rolled his eyes.
I perked up at the mention of a mystery woman and leaned forward to ask, “Who?”
“That’s not important right now. What is important is for you to understand the role you’re expected to play. And if you don’t, well . . . I’m sure my friend explained what would happen to you if you fought.” I gave him a slow nod, and he added, “Or what would happen if someone tried to save you?” Again, I slowly nodded. “Then we understand each other.”
What he didn’t understand was I never agreed to play by their fucking rules. If I gave in, Pearl and I would meet a fate she wouldn’t recover from, and I’m not sure I’d want to. I had to keep him off-kilter until I was able to find a way out of this.
He pushed away from the table and stood up, pulling his sleeves at the end of his suitcoat. “Then I’ll leave you to it.”
