Page 59 of Broken Promises
I knew everyone here had a pistol on their side, but we needed heavier firepower if we were going to have the upper hand. If someone was crazy enough to take Hannah twice, then we needed to hit them with everything we had, and this time, everyone would stay alive until I interrogated and tortured them for additional names.
There was no way I was letting this Syndicate bullshit go one more day. Those assholes were responsible for so much pain to so many, and I was determined to bury them all and never look back.
On a whim, I grabbed four hand grenades and handed them to Booker. “Be careful with these.”
His eyes grew wide, and he glanced at a shocked Johnson before he took them and placed them into the cargo pockets of his pants. I loaded each man up with as many long guns they could carry and started stacking boxes of ammo onto a little cart. Pushing it out of the vault, I closed and secured the room behind me and walked up to Lucian’s men.
“Is this enough?”
They looked at the arsenal we were carrying, and Johnson acknowledged, “I think we’ve got what we need.”
“Take these to Lucian and Devlin, and I’ll be right there. I need to get changed.”
They didn’t respond as they turned and walked out of my office. I collapsed into the chair and rested my hands on my headas I took deep breaths. I’d done a lot of fucked-up shit in my life, and I’d killed more than a few people, but this was the most important mission of my life, and I couldn’t fail.
A soft knock sounded into my office, and I lifted my head to see Regan walking in. She offered me a tight smile and walked behind the desk and propped herself on the edge. “Are you okay?”
Sighing, I looked at her and admitted, “Not really, Re. What if . . . what if I’m too late?”
“Then you heal her like you healed me. You give her time, space, patience, compassion, and understanding, and eventually, she’ll come back around. Just . . . don’t give up on her,” Regan advised, and I stood and hugged her to me.
“When did you get so smart?” I asked, and she looked up at me with a smile.
“I’ve always been smart. You’re just now seeing my brilliance.”
I chuckled and whispered, “I love you, little sister.”
“I love you too. Now, go find my future sister-in-law and bring her back to me.”
I went to leave my office, and just as I walked out into the hallway, I heard Regan say, “I’m proud of you.”
Until I met Hannah, Regan was the best part of my life, and knowing she’s as worried about Hannah as I am told me so much. Regan struggled to open herself up after her ordeal, and if speaking with Hannah helped, then maybe I needed to see about getting some of the ladies together so they could talk. Anything to help them find their way back to the light.
Grabbing my clothes from the footlocker in the corner, I quickly changed into my black pants, shirt, and boots before strapping a gun to each ankle and one to my hip. Returning to the banquet room, I saw James and Devlin had their computers packed up as Lucian and his men inspected the weapons. Theyheard me walk in, and Lucian turned his head and remarked, “Did you bring enough guns?”
“I’ve got more, if that’s not enough,” I said with a neutral expression, and Lucian shook his head with a smirk.
“The plane’s ready for takeoff, and Skid said Gunner is sending over four of his men to help,” Devlin explained as he walked up to us.
Exhaling, I looked around at the men who were going to charge into the unknown to save my woman and announced, “I can’t say thank you enough for helping save Hannah.”
“She’s family. Not only to Lucian and me, but to everyone here. So, let’s put away our training bras and go get her,” Devlin exclaimed, and I nodded as everyone briefly made eye contact with me.
Filing out of my house and into the SUVs parked outside, I bounced my leg as we made our way down the long driveway and past the guard shack. They opened the gate and James turned onto the road, headed toward the private airstrip close to my house. Lucian was in the backseat behind me, and Devlin was behind James.
Skid was following us with Lucian’s men as we flew down the road. It was barely past noon when we pulled into the airstrip and parked our vehicles. The nine of us loaded all the weapons onto the plane before we climbed inside and got ready for takeoff. We taxied down the runway less than five minutes later, and as we took to the skies, I hoped Hannah was able to hold on until we found her.
A brief thought crossed my mind. What if we were wrong about where she was or who had her? Where would we look next? And would it be too late?
THE DIRT RUNWAY WElanded on felt like it was paved with potholes, and twice I had to reach up and push away from the bulkhead before I smashed my head into it from the bumps.
“Fucking hell, this is a shitty runway,” Booker remarked as we jostled and rocked from the uneven ground below the wheels.
“Blame the Syndicate. They refused to pave the runway when they owned it, and from what I can tell, the cows are the only ones keeping the grass mowed,” Lucian said as the plane began to turn toward a hangar that appeared to be falling down.
The door slid open and an older man stepped out and wiped his hands as the plane came to a stop. Johnson lowered the stairs and, one by one, we filed out of the plane and walked up to the man.
“You must be Rosco,” Devlin said, and the man nodded and spit brown liquid on the ground before he chewed on his tobacco again.
