Broken Promises, A Vengeful Heart Returns

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I could feel was the searing heat of humiliation and the icy chill of Kaiden' s betrayal. Th

hey looked down upon, to be used and discarded when no longer convenien

y curtain of rain. The passenger door opened, and Kendal Merrill

re," she said, her voice laced w

an animal trapped in t

car. The umbrella protected her perfectly coiffed hair and expensiv

ng me with a mixture of pity and triump

n cold. "E

orial whisper. "How he had you wrapped around his little finger. How you were

at the police academy, top of my class, full of ideals. Kaiden Walter had been a guest lecturer, a brilliant young agent with eyes that saw right through me. We connec

f the academy, pulling me back into the gilded cage of our criminal empire. He told me a man like Kaiden would never t

mbers family. When he cornered me, the warmth in his eyes was gone, replaced by a cold, calculating resolve. The choice he

' re talking about," I man

her perfume cloying in the damp air. "He told me you were just a game. A means to an end

harp pieces of glass embedd

ous hiss. "A toy he got tired of playing with. Did you really t

rain on my cheek. The last flickering ember of hope inside m

, her voice hardening. "Forget him. D

of finality. As the car pulled away, I saw her look back, he

f a hotel suite he used for our... meetings. Days had passed. I hadn't

he had been that night, looking out at

," he said, his voi

walked toward him, stopping a few feet away.

his expression unreadable.

y voice shaking despite my best efforts to keep it

ips, a cruel, mocking thing. "S

desperate sliver of hope I couldn

"I deny that I was forced to do anyth

it took my breath away. "You blackm

hly. "Don' t try to play the victi

o tender, now felt like a brand. "And now," he said, his voice dropping, "I have Kenda

like a death sentence. The hop

a flame. I reached into my purse and pulled out a folded

" he asked, hi

t," I w

report from my doctor. A report confirming that two

ch

ch

from confusion to shock, th

manded, his voi

I didn' t know I possessed. "It' s done. Just like we are. Fr