Broken Promises, A Vengeful Heart Returns

iled into being the secret lover and informant for the FBI's golden boy, Kaiden Walter. But

al arrangement" and told me I was jus

publicly humiliated m

we might have had, only to be used and discarded like a toy

ed, took his own life to give me a new one. He faked my death, gave me a new identity, an

pte

hamber

lroom of the St. Regis, a glass of bourbon in his hand, looking like he owned the place.

of honor, represe

stood for. I was Anya Chambers, daughter of the most powerful mob boss on the Ea

ederal law enforcement, a legacy of honor and duty. My family name was whispered in back alleys and spoken in hush

their conversations lowering to a murmur whenever he passed. He had a reputation for being rut

g, piercing blue, cold and analytical. They swept over me without a fli

knew b

r, he walked past me. The scent of his cologne, a sharp, clean mix of bergamot an

he expensive fabric, peeking out from under his sleeve, was the faint, dark trace of

matching tattoo was hidden beneath the silk

view. It was a quick, almost imperceptible gesture, but it sent a shiver down my spine. T

lence of his high-rise apartment, the city lights glittering like scattered diamonds below.

the city casting long shadows across the room. He had loo

d, his voice low and rough,

ny it. "So

In its place was the man I knew in the stolen hours of the

ace between us in three long strides. His hands foun

a risk; it was a suicide pact. If anyone ever found out, my family would be destroyed. His car

his phone on the coffee table. The sound shattered the m

d picked up the phone. The screen cast a pale blue lig

headline that flash

s Engagement to Senator Merri

s axis. My heart, which had been hammering against my

voice was a c

s were still fixed on the scre

rmth of his body now feeling like a b

distant as they had been at the gala. "It' s a

st. "And what am I?" I asked, my voice trembling with a hurt so deep it fel

just watched me, his

teral? A way to keep

tched between us, thick and suffocating, filled

entire family away for life. But he didn' t want my father. He wanted me. He' d used that evidence, that l

ecrets, the coercion had blurred into something else. I had let myself believe that the tenderness in his touch,

I loved him, that I had foolishly believed he might feel something for m

I could speak them.

ise and detached. He pulled out a stack of papers a

I asked, my voic

ny emotion. "It outlines the terms of our... arrangement ending. S

n us, erasing the past six months as if they had never happened. It was a document th

ears blurred my vision, but I forced them back. I would not

ing breath, I scribbl

against mine for a fraction of a second. The brief contact was

ned and walked out of the apartment, le

picked up the pen he' d left behind and looked at the copy of the agreement on the table. With a strangled sob

awns offered no comfort. I slipped into the house, hoping to avoid my family, but my

look pale. Is ev

face feeling stiff and foreign. "Ju

nd my ear, her touch gentle and warm. "You' ve been w

she know? H

h man,

val she rarely showed. "I see the way you look when

I just nodded, unable to meet her concerned gaze. What was I, reall

the image of Kaiden' s cold, indifferent face burned into my mind. Th

ily sponsored. It was an obligation I couldn' t escape.

iden Walter. And

at seemed both sweet and smug. She wore a pristine white dress t

lty, a perfect couple from a perfect

urned to look at me. For a moment, our gazes locked, and I saw a flicker of something in hi

said, her voice dripping with condescending sweetness. "My father has mentio

be steady. "Kendal M

tinued, tightening her grip on his arm. "He said

was a clear, calculated jab, meant to remind

ay something, to defend me, to show even

. "Kendal, we should go. Your father is waiting." He turn

h heart. He had not only discarded me, but he wa

ething to her, his voice too low for me to catch the words. But I saw her response. She glanced back at me over her shoulde

hrough the crowd, ignoring the curious stares. I didn't stop

e hot tears streaming down my cheeks. I stood there in the downpour, u