Broken Promises (The Broken Road Series Book 2)

by Melissa Huie

  Tommy shrugged nonchalantly. “Only a few people know that Christian Cruz has a son. I didn’t even know until my grandparents died and my mother was released from her bond of silence.”

  “My business dealings were becoming more prominent—shall we say—and Thomas made sure there was never too much pressure.”

  “You intervened in federal cases, so your father wouldn’t get caught.” I didn’t ask the question, just made the statement. “Why Shane?”

  “Because he knew too much. He was small time when I met him, it was by happenstance that he caught Reggie’s eye. Reggie wanted to groom him, have him became part of the family, but I couldn’t have that. That blast was supposed to take care of the nuisance. But when he came back, I thought we were toast. Thankfully, lover boy didn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground. No one knows. Kate and Rick had their suspicions, but no one believes them. My name is perfectly clean; there is no evidence that could link me to anything.” Tommy paused, then smirked.

  “I tried to make you see that he was no good for you. That being back in your life was the wrong thing for him to do. He has done nothing to make your life better; if anything, he made it worse. I mean, hell, I made sure he missed the birth of Katie by putting something in your tea to start your labor, and yet you still take him back? What kind of masochistic bitch are you?”

  My blood boiled as rage coursed through my veins. “You Goddamn sonofabitch. You put my family in danger. You put my daughter in danger. I’m going to kill you,” I seethed, lunging for him. The ferocious urge to kill him was so strong. I went for his gun. But addled by the drugs still flowing in my system, I was too slow. Tommy sidestepped me and the armed guerillas easily took me down.

  “Pity. I thought you were better than that, Megs,” Tommy sniffed as his flunky yanked me up by my shirt collar. “And now Princess, we wait for your hero to appear. He received pictures of you in my arms shortly after we left Maryland yesterday, so we should see him shortly.” Tommy gazed through Christian’s binoculars, searching the horizon.

  “What happens if he brings the police?” I asked. The question was ridiculous because I already knew the answer.

  “Then you die.” Christian responded nonchalantly. As if killing me was just that simple.

  “I’m going to die regardless right? Why don’t you just do it now and get it over with?” I looked at Tommy expectantly. He kept his eyes fixed on the horizon, ignoring me and my question.

  “My dear, it’s not you we want. We need to teach your boyfriend a lesson. He betrayed the trust of our family. He ruined my business. The amount of money I lost because of his actions is quadruple what Shane is worth. But I will take his life and everything he loves as penance. He will watch you suffer, just as we have suffered for his treason to the family,” Christian said softly.

  My frantic stare shot back to Tommy. “Tommy, you can’t do this. I can’t leave my baby without parents. Please, Tommy. Please,” I begged.

  Tommy finally looked at me with sadness. “You should have stayed with me Megan. Think of the life we could have had. I tried to make you see he wasn’t worth it, but you didn’t believe me.”

  “A life of lies, drugs, and mayhem? Yeah, no thanks.” Tears rolled down my cheeks. I desperately searched for a way off the boat, but aside from jumping into the ocean, I had little chance of getting through this. Thank God Katie is safe. Though I was grateful that we left her and Mom at home that night, the thought of her growing up without me broke my heart.

  A shot rang out in the distance and Tommy shouted an order for more security. Twelve men exited from the deck below and rushed the dock. The two burly guards flanked Christian as he moved to the front of the boat. Tommy grabbed my arm and jerked me to his side. With his hand squeezing my bicep tightly, he pressed his lips against my ear and whispered, “The fireworks are about to begin.”

  Silent sobs racked my body as Tommy held me against him and watched the action unfold on the shore. A Suburban squealed to a stop at the beginning of the dock. Amid the hail of gunfire a lone figure emerged from the vehicle, firing back.

  “Shane,” I whispered.

  Tommy clucked approvingly. “Bastard listened.” Suddenly three more SUVs plowed their way to the dock. The exchange of gunfire kept Tommy’s attention. I surreptitiously glanced up at his face, then over his shoulder. Taking my chance, I shoved my body into him, going for the gun he had in his waistband. I knocked him down and almost fell with him, but somehow straightened myself out. The gun clattered to the ground and I scrambled to get it.

  I pointed the gun at Tommy with my trembling tied hands. “Tommy, please!. Don’t make me do this.”

  Tommy rose from the white fiberglass floor and wiped the blood from the gash on his head. “Megan, give me the gun.”

  “No! I don’t want to shoot you Tommy but dammit don’t test me. I will do it.”

  “Give me the damn gun Megan.”

  I disengaged the safety and fired one shot at his feet. It was supposed to be a warning, but Tommy lunged toward me at the same time I fired, landing on top of me. We fell to the ground, wrestling for the gun. A shot rang on and instantly my hip was ablaze in heat. I screamed in agony, letting go of the gun.

  “Megan!” Tommy cried out, rolling me on to my side. Another shot was fired and another bullet pierced my side and shrieks of pain echoed throughout the marina. Tommy grabbed his gun and jumped up. I could barely see through my tears and the excruciating pain.

  “Goddamn bastard. Why the hell did you do that?” I heard Tommy shout.

  “She’s trouble. Finish them both and be done with it,” came a faraway voice. Christian. Tommy roared and fired four shots. The shell casings clinked when they hit the ground.

  I couldn’t hear anything except for the boat motor churning below. My breath slowed and came in short gasps. My body chilled in the warm sunlight and my eyes didn’t want to stay open.

  “Shit Megs. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Dammit, you screwed it up. Shane and Christian were supposed to die, not you.” Tommy’s warm hands slipped underneath me and he lifted me. Suspended in midair, he shouted. “Stay off the dock. You come any closer and I’ll drop her in the ocean!”

  Silence.

  Pain overtook every nerve in my body, but I couldn’t move. The fog in my mind closed in and I welcomed the numbness thankfully. Three more shots rang out, piercing the silence.

  The last I heard was an agonized cry. “Megan!”

  Epilogue

  Before I realized it, it’s September. Three months have gone by since our lives were turned upside down. Three months since the terrifying night when my daughter didn’t come back to our vacation home, then listening in horror on the phone when her fiancé screamed her name when he found her the next day. Three months since the painful agony of her being a thousand miles away in Miami and having to wait to find out whether or not she was going to live. No mother should ever go through that. I relive those moments, with no one to hold onto but my sister and granddaughter.

  After Shane received Tommy’s pictures, he immediately contacted Kate for help. Cole drove him back to Baltimore, where Kate had a plane ready to take them to Miami. Unbeknownst to all of us, Kate had been watching Tommy since she returned from Florida. The puzzle was finally pieced together, she told us. But Tommy took Megan before she was able to bring her case to the higher-ups. With her brother Cole’s help, Kate and Shane managed to track Tommy to his boat docked in Miami Beach. Shane won’t explain what happened, but I know the sight of seeing Megan laying on the dock bleeding is permanently seared in his memory. Tommy got away but Kate and her colleagues are working to find him.

  After Tommy and his cronies escaped, Megan was taken to a nearby hospital and, once stabilized, was transferred to the closest trauma center. She was shot twice, once near the femoral artery in her leg and once in her hip. We almost lost her. If the bullet had been an inch closer …. Well, I don’t even want to think about it. Once Meg
an was brought back home, and thanks to the FBI’s assistance, she immediately started rehabilitation for her leg— three long arduous months of rehab. And that’s only the beginning. We understand that it will take longer than three months to fully heal from the emotional and physical wounds she encountered that day. To say her life has been rough for the last two years is putting it lightly. But my Megan is a fighter, stronger than most. Most people would have crumpled by now, unable to move on. But every day she fights; she fights for her family, for the love of her life, and to regain the strength she lost.

  The warm breeze lifted the scent of autumn into the air. I closed my eyes as I inhaled the fragrance. How we got to this day is a tale in and of itself. Poor Shane. When he asked Kyle and me for Megan’s hand in marriage, he imagined proposing on the beach when we were in Ocean City. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen so Shane did the next best thing and popped the question as soon as Megan got out of surgery. We joke and claim that she was under the heavy influence of narcotics, but everyone knows that the whole incident shook them to their very core and Shane didn’t want to spend one more moment without her.

  An exclamation from Katie’s lips turned my attention toward my granddaughter as she watched a pair of mallard ducks take flight from the creek behind us. The warm, late September weather, with the changing leaves and the hint of fall was the perfect backdrop for today’s event— as if it were predestined. With the rolling acres and a creek that led to the West River, Hollow Creek Meadows is the ideal place for a wedding. I glanced around the property and smiled. The faded red barn glows brightly with white lights. Long wooden tables beautifully decorated with pumpkins, mums, and sunflowers sit ready for the guests who are already mingling about holding Mason jars full of freshly made apple-cider and homebrewed beer from Kyle’s own supply. The caterers, and by caterers I mean my sister-in-law Karen and her small crew of chefs, busily set the buffets with appetizers and dishes. All in preparation for the main event.

  “Well little lady, let’s go see what your momma is doing,” I whispered to Katie. Her eyes widened at the smiles from our family and friends, people who love Megan and Shane as much as we do. I squeeze the hand of Nancy and Karen, who smile gently at Katie, and I continue toward the main level master bedroom, where Megan and her girlfriends are getting dressed.

  “Oh there you are, Mom,” Megan said, smoothing an imaginary wrinkle on her white strapless, empire waist gown. She looked absolutely stunning. Her dark brown hair was left down in soft waves, with only the sides pulled back by my mother’s comb and veil. With her makeup expertly applied by her friend Carla, Megan was the dream every little girl had. I brushed away tears and handed Katie over to my daughter-in-law Sarah.

  “You’re such a vision. Shane’s not going to be able to take his eyes off you,” I whispered. Tears welled up in her beautiful brown eyes and she hurried to dab them with her hanky.

  She smiled through her tears. “Carla’s going to kill me if I ruin her makeup. I can’t believe it. It’s finally time.”

  “Do you need anything?” I asked.

  Megan sighed. “No. I just wish Dad was here. I mean, I know he’s watching over us, but I just wish he could be here with us.”

  “I know baby, I know.” I nodded in agreement, as the tears choked me. I handed her the bouquet of autumn flowers and filed out of the room as strains of music filled the air.

  Shane waited eagerly at the end of the aisle with his groomsmen: Cole, Adrian, and Jen’s husband Matt. They were dressed in white button-down shirts with rolled up sleeves, linen vests, khaki pants, and work boots.

  Once the tones of Pachelbel’s Canon flew from the guitarist’s fingertips, the bridesmaids dressed in strapless slate colored dresses slowly made their way down the aisle. Kate was followed by a newly pregnant Sarah who carried Katie, and Jen; and Lauren brought up the end of the procession.

  The music heightened and everyone stood. Kyle and I supported Megan’s arms and we walked her toward the start of her new life.

  As we gave my daughter’s hand to her soul mate, tears coursed down my face. My brother-in-law Bob officiated the ceremony; saying vows old as time, the same vows my husband, William, and I spoke so many years ago. It was bittersweet to see her grow-up. The memories I have will last a life time, I know. But it’s hard to let go.

  When the groom finally kissed his bride, the yard erupted in cheers. Megan, still unsteady on her feet due to her injuries, was carried down the aisle by Shane though a shower of rose petals. Those two have been through hell and back and after it all, their love has shone through. They deserved their happiness.

  The reception flew by. You could feel the love a mile away, radiating not only from the newlyweds but also from everyone around them. As the night came to an end, everyone watched in happiness as Shane led Megan in their last dance. It was a fitting song, almost describing their journey together. Megan and Shane are soul mates. Everyone in their lives knew that. It just took them longer to realize it for themselves, and after everything, they are finally together.

  They had to travel down the broken road, until they found each other.

  The End.

  About the Author

  Melissa grew up in Maryland by the Chesapeake Bay, where her favorite memories took place near the water. Not having the physical coordination for most sports and the tendency to trip over air, she gravitated to books. She was never seen without a novel in hand. With her imagination running wild, she began writing her own stories at the age of nine, with her first one about a pet-loving family and the adventures they had. As time passed and Melissa grew up, reading and writing always stayed with her, becoming her escape from everyday life.

  Melissa now lives near Washington, D.C. with her family, a dog nicknamed Wondermutt, and a lot of fish. In between the chaos of laundry, chasing after her three children and trying not to burn dinner, Melissa continues to find her escape by feeding her addiction of reading and writing about love, suspense, and sarcastic humor.

  Melissa loves to hear from readers! She can be contacted by:

  Email – melissa@melissahuie.com

  Twitter – www.twitter.com/melissahuie

  Facebook – www.facebook.com/melissadhuie

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Contents