Page 63 of Broken Promises
“We need to make sure no one gets out the back, or they could slip into the park and disappear,” Devlin remarked.
“I’ll take the back,” Booker stated, and he made brief eye contact with me before he moved through the trees quickly and quietly to his position.
A faint rumble sounded through the trees, and Skid lifted his head with a smile. “That would be my brothers. I’ll message them to cover the front.”
I felt better knowing there more people who wanted to help, but I worried whoever had Hannah was unstable and she may get hurt in the crossfire.
“We need to move,” I instructed and got nods from the group.
As much as I wanted to lead the charge to save my woman, this battle was Devlin’s and Lucian’s to lead. My job was to get to Hannah while they handled whatever bullshit this was. I was strong enough in my manhood to admit they needed to be at the front, proving who they were, to save who knew how many besides Hannah. And they could kill whoever the fuck they needed to if she and any others were safely removed from that house.
I could save my wrath for another time, but if given the chance, I was going to torture whoever thought they could take my woman. Starting with that shaggy-haired fucker who dragged her into this nightmare.
Lucian, Devlin, James, and I headed toward the front of the house, while Skid and Johnson went to the kitchen door, and Lucian’s two other men went to the back. We were going inside all at the same time, and the closer we got to the house, the higher my nerves were ratcheted. Moving quietly around the side of the house, I noticed all the window blinds were closed.
When we got to the front porch, Lucian looked at me and nodded toward the door. I acknowledged his silent request as I kept the gun aimed down with my finger on the trigger. Stepping in front of the door, I exhaled deeply before I planted my left footand kicked it just beside the handle as hard as I could with my right foot, causing the wood to splinter and the door to fly open.
Quickly, I stepped inside as I heard the other two doors being breached, and James was on my back, aiming his gun to the right as I went to the left. Footsteps came thundering down the stairs in front of us, and I lifted my firearm and pointed it at the man running at us with a gun. He saw Devlin and Lucian come in behind us and skidded to a stop and raised his hands in the air with the gun hanging off his index finger by the trigger guard.
Moving farther into the entrance of the grand house, I heard a noise coming from the left, so I carefully approached a closed door. First, I tried the handle, only to find it locked, and then my attention was drawn to the right as Johnson escorted the shaggy-haired man in with his hands in the air and his lip bloodied.
I lifted my chin to the closed door in front of me and raised my eyebrows to the man. He was pushed closer to me, and I asked him, “Where’s Hannah?”
He pointed to the room with his hands in the air and quietly added, “She’s in there with Mother and . . . him.”
Johnson yanked him back as James swept the room to the right. He gave the clear signal before walking upstairs with Skid following close behind. I exhaled, terrified of what I was going to find behind the closed door. I couldn’t wait any longer, and at a steep angle, I shot into the lock, causing it to break apart. With measured steps, I pushed the door open from a safe position on the side. A shot was fired out the door, the bullet missing all of us and lodging into the far wall.
As much as I didn’t want to traumatize Hannah, I couldn’t randomly fire into the room and possibly hit her, so I did the only thing I could think of. I’d slipped a flashbang grenade into my stash before we left the house, so I pulled it from my cargo pocket and showed it to my men. A few nodded to acknowledgeit, and with worry coursing through my veins, I pulled the pin and tossed it inside.
Less than two seconds later, the loudest noise boomed out of the room, accompanied by a harsh bright light. It was meant to disorient people in the room, and after a split second, I charged in with my gun raised, ready to drop anyone who tried to keep me from Hannah.
Stepping into the room, I saw three people lying on the floor, and when I saw a pair of black boots sticking out from behind the desk, I rushed forward while Devlin and Lucian came in behind me.
Kneeling, I brushed hair from her forehead as I spoke. “Hannah, baby, I’m here.”
She blinked a few times and tried to turn her head as she replied, “Rhys?”
Yanking her up to me, I hugged her like she was about to disappear as I heard Devlin and Lucian dealing with whoever the other two people were. She returned the hug, and it was then I noticed she was still wearing what she had on yesterday, except her white shirt had blood down the front. When I pushed her back to check her over, I noticed a bruise on her cheek and a small amount of dried blood in the corner of her mouth.
I looked over my shoulder and saw Devlin yanking a woman up from the floor, and when I caught a glimpse of her, I felt a rage rush through me unlike anything I’d ever experienced. It was Hannah’s mother, Kelly, and the worry on her face as Lucian dragged a young man out of the room by his feet pissed me off. She could care less about her injured daughter, but whoever that asshole was, he seemed to get her worry and care.
“Let’s get you out of here,” I said, but she shook her head.
“We have to find Pearl and the other girl. We can’t leave them here,” she pleaded worriedly, and I kissed her on the forehead.
“James and Skid will find them.” I looked into her eyes and asked, “Besides those two, the shaggy-headed asshole, and the tall man with reddish hair, are there any more people here?”
“I . . . I don’t know. They were the only ones I saw. I heard two people talking earlier, but I have no idea if there is anyone else,” she replied.
Carefully, I helped her to her feet, and she swayed some as she placed her hand on the desk and steadied herself. I held on to her when the sound of crying echoed into the room. Hannah pushed around me, and when she stepped out into the entrance, she looked up the stairs and tears flooded her eyes. A young girl, maybe fifteen or so, ran down and threw herself into Hannah’s arms and they hugged through tears.
“Are you okay?” Hannah asked the girl, and she nodded against her chest.
A minute later, James walked down with a little girl who couldn’t have been five years old yet firmly in his arms. Her head rested on his shoulder, and she looked like she’d been crying. His eyes were hard and his face was stone as he walked up to me and Hannah. She brushed her hand down the little girl’s black hair and gave me a broken look.
“Who is she?” I asked, and Hannah shook her head.
“We’re going to take her out to the Death Hounds, so we can handle this. Is she okay to stay or. . .” James asked as he nodded to the teenage girl who was now standing next to Skid.
