Broken Promises

by S. K. Lessly

  Something wasn’t right. I couldn’t move or speak and I tried multiple times to cry out for help. I reached out for Lionel, my vision fading, but I couldn’t find him.

  Next thing I knew I fell into blackness.

  ***

  Ethan

  Is this what happiness feels like? If it is, I want more. My insides were rolling around as if I was on a rollercoaster. No, it felt more like I did when I’d acquired my target through the scope of my sniper rifle and I was waiting on just the right moment to depress the trigger.

  My body felt light, and my mind clear. This feeling… man it was intoxicating, overwhelming and yet gratifying all wrapped into one huge ball. I’d never felt this way before. I was happy for once in my miserable life, floating on cloud nine. No, overjoyed was more like it, and it felt good. It felt good to be excited about something normal and not about a potential kill. I wasn’t sure if she felt the same way, but I hoped she did.

  I was also nervous as hell, which was also strange for me. I didn’t do nerves. However, it made sense that I was on overdrive. I never thought I’d be able to have a normal life considering what I did for a living. I’d done some unspeakable things for the sake of my country, shit that if I wasn’t careful could bite me in the ass one day or possibly hurt the people I loved. It was why I remained guarded. However, I couldn’t let fear get the better of me or stop me from living my life. Fear was for the weak, and I was far from fucking weak.

  I had left Lexie sitting on her bed in her hotel room clicking away at her laptop and made my way to D.C. I told her I had shit I needed to do before we left. I had to make sure everything was straight on the home front with any open cases I had, which made me pause. There was one case in particular I had to get straight first and foremost, maybe before we left, and that was her case.

  Damn…

  I hadn’t thought about that shit for a while now. Yeah, I would really need to talk to Lexie when I got back. She would have to tell me the truth about everything having to do with this case. If she was guilty, we would deal. We’d think of some shit to get her out of trouble, no question. Or fuck it, we’d run. I knew of places to go and ways to disappear without a trace. Honestly, it didn’t matter what we decided to do. As long as we were together, everything else would come together.

  Unfortunately, once I made it to D.C., I realized I had a lot of shit I needed to sort out and I needed time to do it properly. It ended up taking a few days handle my open shit but I managed to get everything done in that timeframe.

  There was some paperwork sitting in my inbox had to get done, case notes that needed transcribed and added to my open cases. I managed to complete what I could and passed the rest to Jessica. My parting gift to her.

  I stopped by my temporary residence and packed a bag with essentials I would need for the trip, i.e. clothes, toiletries, my passport and cash. My bag was light but it didn’t matter. Whatever I didn’t have I could find once we settled.

  Once I closed out my cases and packed, there was only one thing left to do. I needed to see my boss.

  I had debated for days about heading into the office. At first, I thought about just leaving without a word. I could make my way back to Lexie, grab her, and make our exit without checking in. It shouldn’t be a big deal. They should be used to me being MIA by now.

  Consequently, if I left without a word, we would be on the run for the rest of our lives. No way would they let this case go without any answers. There was also no way we could live a life like that. Seemingly I had only one choice if I wanted a life with Lexie. I needed to go into the office.

  As I drove to the office, a feeling I knew all too well. when it came to Lex, began surfacing. It was doubt, but I pushed it away. I knew, I wasn’t doubting our love for each other, I loved Lexie and she loved me. I had no doubt we were meant for each other. The doubt surfaced when I thought about running. Were we doing the right thing? Should we stop, talk shit through before we did anything? Were we moving too fast? I personally didn’t think so, but did Lexie? She hesitated when I proposed we run away together. Maybe she needed a few days to turn me down or something. Or maybe everything she said was a lie and she was playing me.

  Fuck, Wolf get a grip. Lexie wants this, wants you just as bad as you want her. Get your shit together.

  I took a deep breath, gripped the steering wheel tight, and pushed back the doubt. I had no room for that shit. I knew in my gut Lexie loved me. I saw it in her eyes when she looked at me, felt it in her touch and the reverent way she said my name when I was balls deep inside her pussy. She was mine. Nothing was going to stop me from being with Lexie.

  I was going to March into George's office, tell him to go fuck off and walk out. There was nothing anyone could say or do that would stop me. After that, I would go and find my woman and we were getting out of here, moving on with our lives together. Away from this life, away from our past, and into the future. Everything was going to be fine.

  Yeah, sounds good, Wolf. But if that’s the case, why can’t you shake the feeling that shit is about to blow up in your face.

  Shit…

  I cleared my mind as best I could and drove on. Once I made to the office, the doubt was replaced with determination. I parked, shut down the engine and made my way inside, my mind strong, my will stronger.

  I walked through our temporary office with a focus on one thing, George’s office. I inwardly breathed a sigh of relief that he was in and readied myself for a fight I knew was coming. I knocked twice on the open door, stepped inside and shut the door behind me.

  George watched me as I wordlessly strolled inside his office. His face void of any emotion, which was good. It mirrored my own. I took a seat in front of him and waited for him to speak. He didn’t make me wait very long.

  “Thought you hung up your guns?” George asked derisively.

  “Not yet, but I’m thinking about it. Look, I just came here to let you know I’m going away for a while. Not sure when I’ll be back.”

  George nodded and frowned. “Okay...” He drawled out then asked, “Where you headed?”

  I shrugged. “Not sure yet. But when I do, I promise not to let you know.” I didn’t hide the sarcasm in my voice or the reproach I felt that he would even ask me that question.

  “Ah, and you’re planning to leave with Ms. Stone?”

  I didn’t reply.

  George leaned forward on his desk and laced his fingers together, studying me intently. “Look, Ethan. I understand, okay? I do. You want to believe she’s innocent but—”

  “But what, George?” I interrupted. “She’s innocent. I know it in my gut she is and that’s good enough for me. If you have what you need, then go and arrest her now. Otherwise, we’re gone tonight.”

  George put his hands up, placating me, which I hated. “Okay Ethan, I can see you mean business. Can you just humor me for one second, okay? We have something you need to see and hear. After that, if you think we have nothing, I’ll send you off with my best.”

  He waited for me to give him the go ahead and I contemplated whether to walk out or see what they had. Admittedly, my curiosity got the best of me. I still believed she was innocent but for some reason, the look in George’s eyes had me pausing, doubt worming its way in my thoughts again.

  Deciding to entertain this bullshit, I sent a nod his way and folded my arms in front of me. George picked up his phone and spoke briefly to someone on the other end. Five minutes later, Jessica walked inside the room with a manila folder and a laptop. The look in her eyes told me whatever she was going to show me, I wasn’t going to like. About twenty minutes later, after seeing what they had, she had been right. I wasn’t happy at all. In fact, I was pissed, fucking livid. Rage charged through me like a ten thousand bolt of energy. My heart was decimated, dreams once again destroyed .

  Jessica had managed to find evidence that proved without a shadow of a doubt Alexis was not only guilty but a liar. The doubt I had was real. It was my gut warning me I had los
t it. She was a spy, a fucking spy and I wanted nothing more than to put a bullet in her head the second I laid eyes on her.

  I couldn’t believe what I’d just read and saw. The fury driving through me had me wanting to destroy everything around me, including Jessica and George. I wanted to kill anyone, fucking everyone.

  In fact, I wanted to drive to Delaware immediately and take her out, but Jessica talked me down. She made a compelling argument that I was too irrational right now and I needed to calm down first.

  Reluctantly, I agreed I would wait until tonight to arrest her and bring her in. Unfortunately, it meant I stewed for hours. I tried to release some steam at the boxing facility at the office, but that didn’t work. All I kept thinking about was how she played me for a fool. I prayed I would be able to contain himself when I saw her and not kill her with my bare fucking hands.

  I knew letting my guard down was a bad idea. I opened myself to her and it bit me in the ass once again, hard. I was a fucking idiot. Blinded by her charms, her empty words. History was repeating itself because yet again she’d destroyed me. The difference was, this time, I had the means to return the favor and I planned to do just that and more.

  The transformation seemed to happen immediately. I felt the darkness take over, eliminating any semblance of light in my life. Ice flowed through my veins and I welcomed the rush. In just a few hours, it would be payback and I couldn’t fucking wait.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Alexis

  I heard an obnoxious banging noise from somewhere inside my head. I took a moment to get my bearings and figure out where I was. I attempted to open my eyes but it hurt too much. I kept them closed and used my other senses to figure out what was going on. I noticed I was laying on my back on an air mattress, not the comfy pillowtop mattress from the hotel.

  Huh? Where was I? The last thing I remembered was what?

  Shit, I tightened my eyelids shut, thinking… okay. I remembered I was at my parents’ home. I inhaled and recognized the scent of fresh paint. Okay, so maybe I was inside the house. But why was I here and not at the hotel? And what was I doing here? I rubbed my face as bits and pieces of my memory started surfacing. I remembered I was waiting for Lionel to show up at my parent’s house. Did he actually show up? I didn’t know. My memory was shaky, and that scared the crap out of me.

  The banging noise sounded again accompanied with someone shouting. I opened my eyes and confirmed I was in my mom’s house in the old room I used to have. Okay, so far so good. I ran my hands over my body. I was still clothed with the same thing I remembered wearing. I was also right about what I was lying on, but there were no sheets and I hated sleeping without sheets, no matter how hot I got.

  And where was Lionel? How did I get in here?

  I heard more banging and I finally realized it was the door. I staggered up off the mattress and stood where I was for a minute as the room slowly stopped spinning. I closed my eyes counted to ten before opening them. Once I was stable, I headed for the front door, first slipping my feet into my flip flops. Harsh banging ensued and I called out I was coming as I walked.

  I was a little uneasy on my feet, as if I was hung over or still drunk and I couldn’t understand why. I didn’t remember drinking anything last night to make me feel this way.

  When I turned the corner from the kitchen, I could see flashing blue and red lights illuminating the living room through the curtain free front windows. I squinted passed the lights and found lots of cop cars parked in front of the house.

  I narrowed my eyes. What the hell happened?

  I opened the door, ready to ask some questions of my own, and found Ethan standing in the doorway with a bunch of cops at his back.

  What in the hell is going on?

  “Ethan, what’s going on?” I asked, still trying to awake from the haze in my head.

  “Alexis, are you alone?” he asked, his tone void of the warm friendly and loving tone he typically used with me. It threw me, which was why I was delayed in answering him.

  “What?” I asked him, flinching from the bright lights and harsh tone.

  “Are you alone?” he asked again.

  “Um…well yes,” I started to reach my hand behind me, and it seemed the whole world erupted in yelling and screaming and gun pulling all aimed in my direction. Ethan was leading the pack, being the first to draw his weapon on me and point it directly into my face.

  I quickly raised my hands and widened my eyes. “Oh my God, Ethan, what the…”

  “Shut up!” he barked coldly. “Don’t move a fucking muscle, Alexis. Or you will be shot. Do you have any weapons on you?”

  My eyes still wide, my body now shaking, I just stared at him. I couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. I looked at him in utter disbelief.

  Just days ago, his hands and lips had been all over me. Now, he was pointing a gun at my face. I started to tremble even more with fear, unsure what to do or what was going on. I also wasn’t stupid. Clearly, something was going on and they were here for me. He was here for me. But how could that be? How, when he told me he worked for a software company? I guess I would find out soon enough, after my attorney arrived.

  “I said do you have any weapons?” His voice raised slightly which caused me to answer loudly as well.

  “No, of course not!”

  Ethan turned to someone I didn’t see. “Frisk her.”

  Just then, a beautiful woman with hair the color of flames, a banging body and eyes that could burn you alive, emerged from the side of the porch. She walked up to me, forcefully spun me around and pushed me against the nearest wall. She frisked me and it wasn’t a pleasant feeling at all. Nothing like the movies. I stayed completely still as this woman felt along my waist, back, hips and under my breasts. She had no other place to go because all I wore was a tank top and shorts.

  When she turned me around, I was face to face with a man I had never met. Again, the body in front of me was Ethan Wolf, but the eyes that stared at me were nothing I had ever seen.

  “Change of plans, Alexis. You’re the only one taking a trip tonight.” He smiled a devilish smile and nodded at the woman.

  The red-haired woman roughly cuffed me, pulled me by my arm and escorted me outside. She put me inside the back of an unmarked car, not very gently I might add, and slammed the door. I watched, helplessly, as cops and people in plain clothes walked in and out of my house. When I saw a man with black hair step out of the house with my laptop in his hand, my heart started to really pick up its pace. I mean, it had been beating like crazy this whole time, but now true panic started to settle in my veins.

  Ethan was the next to emerge from the house with a bag of what looked like a wine bottle and a cup, which confused me. Where in the hell did that come from?

  I sat in the car, helpless, while a group of people walked through an already empty house. I had no clue what they were looking for and why they were harassing me.

  I watched Ethan, or the man I used to know as my… God… as my what? I had no idea. But the man stood some feet away talking to the shapely, red-haired woman that put me in the car. She and him were close together and they both were smiling at each other. Clearly, there was something between them. Was she his someone special?

  I sat up straighter as I watched the subtle touches they gave each other, and I wanted to cry in frustration. Instead, I closed my eyes and tried to control my anxiety and the tears pooling behind my eyelids.

  No! I refused to break. I had to keep it together. I had no clue what was happening, but I knew one thing for certain, I wasn’t saying a word. That was for damn sure.

  Just then, it hit me why they were here. I gasped, opened my eyes and looked around at the people milling about on my lawn as things fell into place. No, that couldn’t be. They couldn’t be here for that. I had been careful. I was always careful. I didn’t get caught. It was impossible; however, I remembered they had my laptop. The one I’d built. And where did that bottle of wine and cup come from?

&nb
sp; I closed my eyes and shook my head. My mind was foggy, and I felt off. I wasn’t sure why and I couldn’t remember a thing about last night. In fact, the last thing I remembered was waiting for Lionel to come and talk to me. Did he pull up? Did that explain how I ended up in the bedroom? Did he put me there?

  Damn it!

  I bowed my head in frustration and growled loud. I banged my head against the window hoping that would jar my memory. And shit, it did! Cameras…

  I remembered the cameras. I looked up and out of the window directly in Ethan’s direction. Did he plant the cameras? If so, why?

  I leaned back and rested my head on the cool leather seat as dread settled in my stomach like a two-hundred-pound weight.

  Whatever this was, it was big.

  I was in trouble big time and I had no one to help me but me.

  ***

  Minutes, maybe hours, later a large man dressed in an awful suit dropped his heavy weight in the driver’s seat of the car I was being held. He took off without a word and drove to the police station in Dover. He parked in the back of the building behind a dark panel van. I was then wrenched out of my seat, shackled at the ankles, and much to my chagrin placed in the back of the panel van. There were two men in the back with me who didn’t say a word to me.

  I dared not speak and I didn’t, but my mind was racing with explanations for my predicament. I also realized I hadn’t been Mirandized either, which should be a violation of my rights. I looked at the two rather large men contemplating sharing that fact but again I remained quiet. It wouldn’t matter if I complained to these two. There was nothing they would do about this situation anyway. I knew one thing that I would stick to; I had the right to remain silent and that was what I intended to do.