Page 57 of Broken Promises
He started to walk out, but I called out to him. “Do you at least have a name, or do I keep calling you ‘asshole’?”
He spun around and marched to my side of the table.Damn it.I knew my smart mouth was going to bite me in the ass one day. The man gripped my throat and squeezed as he pulled me from the chair. I reached up and held onto his wrist as he applied pressure while walking me backward until my body slammed into the wall.
His green eyes bore into mine as he leaned closer to my face. I could smell alcohol on his breath as he spoke. “You’re going to watch that smart fucking mouth, or I’m going to invite some friends in here to shut you up. And I’d really hate to destroy you before the big finale.”
“Big . . . finale?” I managed to eke out as I felt my face growing hot.
He released his grip enough for me to take a full breath, but didn’t let go as he whispered, “It’s my time to rule as the second son, and I have to have an offering for the family.” His hot breath brushed across my cheek as he added, “And you’re mine.”
What he said made no sense, but slowly, he began to release his hold on my throat. He let go completely and stepped back from me as I fell over, grasping my throat and coughing as the pain radiated across my neck. Lifting my head, I saw him straighten his tie before turning around and walking to the door.
Just before he walked out and left me alone, he turned and, with the most malicious smile I’d ever seen, he said, “And my name, little Hannah? My name is Sergey Lenkov, the second. Welcome to the family, big sister.”
My eyes grew wide, and I tried to gasp, only to start coughing again as he began to laugh and walked away. There’s no wayhe was my brother, was there? I didn’t remember my mother having another child, so who did he belong to?
Now, I knew I had to get out of here. He’d left me alone, so I had to at least try. There was no way I would become an offering for his demented ass. And there’s no way I would let Pearl experience that horror. Looking around the room, I didn’t see a phone, so I carefully walked through the door Sergey left open and swung my eyes around, finding nothing.
As I moved with silent steps down the small hallway leading away from the dining room, I heard the faint sound of a printer. This house wasn’t as big and luxurious as the last one I’d been taken to, but somewhere, there was a computer, so there must be a phone for me to try to call for help. I followed the sound of the printer, and when I was outside the door, I tried to look through the small gap to see who was inside.
A head of floppy hair was sitting behind a laptop, and slowly, I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. Waylon looked up and his eyes grew wide as I pressed a finger over my mouth, asking him to stay silent. He nodded, and I took a step closer to him.
“What are you doing here?” he whispered. “You’re going to get both of us in trouble.”
I took another few steps and whispered back, “I’m already in trouble, and I need your help. Please, do you have a phone, or can I use your computer? I need to call for help.”
“If they found out I did that, they’d kill me now and you later. I . . . I can’t.”
“Would you at least make a call for me?” He seemed unsure, so I added, “It’s to my new job. I need to tell them I won’t be in, so they don’t come looking for me. You know their reputation.” I’d let my co-workers know I was going to work for Callahan, but I never divulged my relationship to the owners.
He ran his hand through his long hair, brushing it away from his face, only for it to fall back down as he debated my request. Something inside him must have reasoned my appeal was valid because he pulled out his phone and punched something into it. He turned it so I could see he’d pulled up the number to Callahan in Pierce Bluff. I nodded, so he pressed the call button and handed me the phone.
My heart was racing and my hands were sweaty as I listened to the ringing, hoping someone would pick up. If this didn’t work, I was out of ideas besides fighting, and I had no doubt these men could easily beat me.
“Hello?” I heard James ask, and I nearly cried hearing his voice.
“I’m trying to reach James Callahan. This is Hannah Johnson,” I said, trying to play the game I fed to Waylon and hoping to keep James on the line long enough for his system to track my location.
I wasn’t even sure they could do that, but I was grasping at straws.
“Hannah?” James asked with an even tone. “Reply with ‘okay, I’ll hold’, if it’s you.”
“Okay, I’ll hold.”
I looked at an observant Waylon and mouthed, “I’m on hold.”
He looked over my shoulder at the closed door and walked over to it to listen.
Half a second later, I heard multiple voices on the line. “We need twenty-two more seconds to track the call, but say whatever it is you need to say for whoever is listening.”
“This is Hannah Johnson, and I was supposed to start work next week. I wanted to let you know that I’ll be unable to start on the date we agree. I’ve had a family situation arise, and my younger brother needs me for a few weeks. Is there any way I can delay my start date?”
“Eight seconds,” I heard Devlin say.
“I love you, baby. We’re coming for you,” Rhys whispered as Waylon jumped from the door and snatched the phone from my hand before disconnecting it and shoving the device into his pocket.
Immediately, he grabbed my wrist and muttered, “Play along.”
The door crashed open, and Waylon yanked me, causing me to fall to my knees, and I cried out at the real pain. “I caught her coming out of my bathroom. I got to her before she was able to use the computer.”
