Page 9 of Broken Promises
She laughed out loud before unscrewing the cap to the bottle of cinnamon whiskey. Taking a swallow directly from the bottle, she looked me in the eyes and asked, “Don’t you think being kidnapped and raped in a room full of people was enough of a disruption? Or how about you knowing for God knows how long and just now deciding to tell me? And how can we even be sure I am their sister?”
I reached into the cargo pocket of my pants, sliding the gun to the side and pulling out the wrapped swab and small vial. Placing them on the table, I pushed them to Hannah before explaining. “They really warred with themselves on deciding if it was better to keep you hidden for your own protection or bring you into the fold to shelter you from potential backlash. And all I need is a cheek swab from you and I’ll know by tomorrow afternoon if everyone’s suspicions are correct.”
Hannah opened the swab and rubbed it on the inside of her cheek for at least a minute before placing the cotton end into the vial and snapping off the stick. Closing it, she placed it back on the table and stood from her seat.
“Please tell them that no matter what, I don’t want anything from them. I understand if they don’t want anything to do with me, but I demand to know if I’m in danger. I refuse for some man I’ve never met, who just happened to knock up my bitch of a mother, to have any control or influence in my life. And I swear to everything that is good and decent in this world, if anyone tries to come for me, I will end them before they have the chance to touch me.”
She turned to walk out of the room, and I stood from my chair. “Where are you going?” I asked, and she glanced over her shoulder with the gun firmly held in her right hand.
“I’ve heard enough for today. I’ve got some work to do, and you’ve got a test to run.” Her blue eyes glanced at the vial on the table then back at me. “And do me a favor. Stop spying on me and unlock my damn internet.”
She walked into the bedroom and slammed the door behind her as I was left standing alone in the dining room. My phone chimed, and I looked up at the camera as I pulled it from my pocket. The message from James taunted me as I opened it.
James:It looks like she’s got their temper.
Me:Stop spying, you creepy bastard.
James:Not spying. Monitoring. Lol
I lifted my middle finger into the air, directing it at the camera as I picked up the vial and slipped it into my pocket. Raising my voice, I informed Hannah through the closed door, “I’m leaving, and you need to secure the door behind me.”
She snatched the door open and stomped back through the dining room and directly to the front door. Grasping the handle, she turned her head to watch as I approached her. When I was close, she opened the door and propped it behind her foot as she crossed her arms and waited for me to leave.
“Don’t be mad, Hannah. I know it’s a lot to take in, but I promise, you’re not alone anymore,” I remarked, and without thinking, I reached up and brushed the back of my hand down her soft cheek.
I’d been dying to see how soft her skin was for weeks, and it was better than I could have imagined. She instinctively leaned into my touch as she lifted her bright blues eyes to me. Her mouth opened slightly as I walked past her and out the door. Hannah stood in the open doorway as I walked to my car, and before I opened the door, I looked back at her.
“Safety first, Hannah.”
She rolled her eyes before stepping inside, and I could hear the chain engage in the door. After getting into my vehicle, I cranked it and turned the computer monitor to face me. It took a moment to connect with the satellite link on the SUV, but when it did, I saw Hannah sitting silently at her dining room table, looking at my empty seat.
Maybe I should have sugar-coated some of what I told her, but she needed the truth. I’m glad Lucian suggested I be the one to tell her. If it had been him or Devlin, she may have felt threatened, and I just hoped I hadn’t made things worse by being honest.
As I pulled away from the house and got onto the interstate a few minutes later, I looked at the monitor as she took the liquor bottles back to the freezer. She looked directly into the camera as I was merging into traffic, so I had to look away from her beauty, but I could hear her voice through the camera.
“Thank you for telling me everything, Rhys. I appreciate you telling me the truth, but I’m not your concern anymore.”
She had no idea how far I was willing to go to make sure she was safe and protected. And how far, apparently, I was willing to go to stake a claim on a woman I wasn’t sure even noticed me. I’d never break one of the rules I had in place for those I watched over, but Hannah was never one of those people, and it seemed she didn’t want to be.
That made her fair game, and if it took me starting a war with the madman and the lunatic, I was going to make Hannah mine, and rain hell down on those who even dreamt of hurting her.
Chapter 4
Hannah
From the moment I was kidnapped six months ago, I knew I was in a world that wasn’t mine. I grew up poor, neglected by my mother and loved by my granny, and most of my life, I knew I wasn’t in the same class as certain people. Rhys was one of those people. The watch he wore cost more than my car in the driveway, and I needed to get over the ridiculous crush I had on him.
Men like Rhys didn’t want women like me. And why would he? He saw the moments after my rape and witnessed the shame and humiliation I’d been drowning in. Not because of the attack, but because of my reaction to it. No man would want to be with a woman who orgasmed during a sexual assault. Shame filled me, and I found myself collapsing into the dining room chair as my stare locked on to nothing.
I felt exposed, abandoned, and confused. How could I have a biological father who would sell his son for a debt and drag another into his criminal activity? And from the look Rhys had on his face when speaking about Stella, I can only imagine what kind of hell she survived. Maybe it was better that I never knew him. They all seemed to suffer at the hands of a horrible man, and I’d escaped relatively unscathed.
Feeling sorry for myself wasn’t going to get me anywhere, and a small part of me felt bad for letting my temper show in front of Rhys. Yet another way I wasn’t in the same class as him. The entire time he was here, he remained composed, and when he raised his shirt to show he had no weapon, it took everythingin my soul to not stare at the six-pack he was sporting. You see them in pictures, but when presented with a toned stomach in person, you forget it’s impolite to stare.
The realization I was being watched was a little unnerving, but knowing one of my brothers was behind the genius technology of Callahan Cyber Security gave me pause. The government used them in their systems, and we studied their tech, interface, and growth when I was in college. Did I inherit my computer skills from the same person as my brother, Devlin, or was it a coincidence I worked to crash systems while he worked to secure them?
I could go through a million questions and not have a single answer, and until Rhys finds out if I’m actually their sibling or not, running through all the potential scenarios was going to drive me crazy.
Snapping out of the haze I was trapped in, I stood from the table to return the liquor to the kitchen. After sliding the bottles into the freezer, I looked up at the camera in the corner of the kitchen. I wasn’t sure if I was about to sound stupid, but I felt like I needed to say something.
