Broken Promises (Shattered Vows #2)

Prologue

Hannah

Six months ago

M y heart was beating so fast, it physically hurt, and nothing I could do seemed to calm me.

Last night, I was leaving a restaurant after meeting some girlfriends and got into what I thought was my ride share, only to find out I’d been taken by a demented man for some unknown reason.

It took a minute for me to realize I was in trouble, and by the time I did, he reached between the front seats and shocked me with a stun gun.

I didn’t remember anything except that my teeth clenched so hard, I heard them cracking.

Waking up, I found myself in a strange bedroom with no way of letting anyone know what had happened.

Granny would be so worried about where I was, and the last thing I wanted to do was cause her any more stress.

She’s sick, and as each day passed, I knew she was closer to the end.

If I wasn’t there for her and something happened, I would never forgive myself.

She was my best friend and the only family I had.

I did a visual inspection of myself and saw I was still dressed in the jeans and nice blouse I wore to dinner, so I knew I hadn’t been touched . . . yet. Fear of the unknown made my heart beat so fast that I worried I was going to have a heart attack.

Taking deep breaths, I pushed the fear out of my head and tried to take stock of where I was.

I was on a soft bed with a thick comforter, and the room smelled of flowers.

Confused by the opulence of my surroundings, I pushed up to a sitting position and grabbed the side of my head as a wave of dizziness and nausea overtook me.

They must have drugged me with the almost disassociation I was experiencing.

When the unsteady feeling began to dissipate, I slowly shifted my legs off the side of the mattress and carefully placed my bare feet on the floor.

Once I felt steady, I walked to the edge of the bed and toward the closed door across the large room.

When I gripped the handle and turned, nothing happened, so I took hold with the other hand and tried again.

It was locked, and a fresh wave of panic began to build.

Who took me and why? I wasn’t anyone special, and my granny had no money, so who would take me?

I tried to not let my mind run to the horrible thought of being trafficked, and cautiously, I turned away from the door.

The windows on the side wall had thick curtains covering them, and the closer I got, the more the small slits of sunlight began to peek around the edges.

I pushed the curtain to the side and the bright sunlight blinded me momentarily before I could focus and see outside.

I don’t know what I was expecting to see, but the lush green yard surrounded by dense trees wasn’t it. Shielding my still sensitive eyes, I started scanning for anything that looked familiar.

The sound of the door opening caused me to jump, and I released the curtain and spun around. A man I’d never seen before walked in, and the look on his face said more than the nice suit he was wearing. I could see evil in his gaze, and the closer he got to me, the more I knew I was in over my head.

“I see you’re finally awake. I was beginning to think we gave you too much,” he remarked as he leaned his shoulder against the tall wooden post on the footboard of the bed.

So, they did drug me. That explained the huge gap in my memory of how I got here. Not sure what to do, I stared at him as I moved as close to the windows as possible. I had no idea what his plan was for me, and I needed to figure out how to get away from him.

“Where . . . where am I?” I asked with a scratchy throat, and he smirked at me like I was a joke.

“It doesn’t matter where you are,” he replied as he moved closer toward me.

I began to slide down the wall, hoping to keep away from him, but whatever they gave me was still causing me to be unsteady on my feet. Reaching my hand out, I found the corner of the room and pushed into it as he slowly stalked me.

“Who are you?” I questioned with tears in my eyes, and the evil smile that broke out on his face caused shivers to erupt over my body.

He got within a foot of me and replied, “I’m your worst nightmare if I want to be. Or I could be your Prince Charming if you give me what I want.”

“What do you want?” I whispered, and that’s when he laughed softly.

Leaning over, he whispered his reply, and I knew whatever his plans were, they were going to change me forever. “I want what was promised to me. So, don’t fight me. Or do. Either way, I have permission.”

I gave him a questioning look as he stepped back, keeping his eyes locked with mine. As he got to the still open door, he spoke clearly, so there was no misunderstanding in his demands.

“If you try to run, I’ll have your granny shot in both legs. If you try to escape, I’ll have her tied up, so my men can have some fun with her. If you deny me, I will personally burn her alive and tell her it’s all your fault as she gasps for her last breath.”

Tears fell down my cheeks, and I couldn’t speak, but I nodded my understanding to him.

I would do anything to protect Granny, even if it meant allowing him to hurt me.

He turned and walked out, leaving the door open.

Slowly, I walked to the middle of the room, craning my neck to see outside the door.

No one was waiting outside, so I made careful steps toward the opening.

When I looked out, I saw I was at the end of a long hallway with three closed doors on each side.

I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to stay in the room or if the open door meant I was able to move around, so I kept looking and listening to see if I was stopped by someone.

When I got to the end of the hall, I turned and saw a staircase that gave me a glimpse of a huge room below.

With even slower steps, I moved down the stairs, listening over the sound of my rapidly beating heart until I was on the level below.

Movement to my left startled me, and I stood still as a younger man with black hair and a nice suit walked in.

He glanced up at me before lifting a glass filled with brown liquid and taking a sip.

“You’ve been told the rules?” he asked, and I silently nodded. “Don’t try to go outside, but feel free to make yourself at home.”

He chuckled as he pulled the door to another huge room closed behind him and brushed past me on his ascent upstairs.

I wrapped my arms around my waist and looked around that level, hoping to figure out where I was.

Maybe there was some way to call for help.

That wasn’t one of his fucking rules, and the more I thought about what he threatened, the more pissed I became.

Who the fuck were these assholes, and why were they so cocky about my compliance?

And who the fuck gave someone permission to kidnap me? As I wandered through the mansion, I realized with this kind of money, they could probably get away with anything.

Granny was my mother, and the only family I still had, so I had to get out of here.

Granny had taken me in when I was six years old, and for my entire life, all twenty-four years of it, I’ve lived on the verge of being poor.

Granny was in her early fifties when she took me in, and she did the best she could to raise me.

My mother had left me alone in a dark apartment, and it was only after a neighbor found me barefoot on the sidewalk at three in the morning that anyone knew I was alone.

My mother had disappeared without a trace, and when Granny spoke about that whole time, it seemed a little weird.

We never spoke of her, and to be honest, the only memories I had of her were bad, so I didn’t miss her.

I found the kitchen of the huge house and heard my stomach growl.

Food would give me strength and maybe help get rid of this pounding headache I was experiencing.

I never tried drugs, since I’d lost my mother to them, but I had to think this was the aftereffects of whatever they’d drugged me with.

Once I found the fridge hidden behind paneling that matched the cabinets, I grabbed a bottle of water and some fruit in a bowl.

Finding a chair at a small table near a huge window, I took a seat, making sure to keep my back to the wall as much as possible as I began to eat.

Careful not to shove too much into my mouth, I tried to formulate a plan, only to draw a blank.

When I finished the last bite, I stood to take my bowl to the sink but silently said ‘fuck it’ and walked away, leaving it on the table.

A noise near the front of the house drew my attention, and as quickly and quietly as I could, I made my way to the huge vestibule.

A woman with blonde hair was tossed over the shoulder of a man, and he began to climb the stairs with her unconscious body bouncing with each step.

The man who gave me the rules earlier closed the front door and kept his eyes on the couple until they disappeared onto the second floor.

His hardened gaze then swung my way and he leered at me before he walked away without a word.

The next day was the same as the first. I was free to explore the house, and when I tried to stick my head into a room, I was met with a stern glare from a man with a gun.

I found the same thing in the other corridor of the mansion on the opposite side of the house and realized there must be three of us being held captive.

What they wanted with me was still unclear, but whatever was going to happen, I feared it would be tomorrow.

As I found my way back to my room, I flopped onto the bed and closed my eyes briefly.

Women have nightmares about this exact situation, and a shameful feeling began to creep in.

I wouldn’t even address that shitshow of emotion, so I pushed it further down and hoped I was wrong.