BROKEN VOWS (Broken Redemption Book 1)

Chapter 22

Lucas

She loves him. Of course, she fucking loves him. It makes perfect sense, given he is her husband. So why did hearing her say the words leave me so damn gutted? It's like somewhere along the way I forgot he was a living, breathing man.

Not just an idea.

Not just a picture hanging in a collage, on a blue wall inside her house.

Somehow, in my quest to be her savior, I missed the reality of the situation and only saw "her".

Helping "her".

Being there for "her".

Saving "her" from the pain that was tainting "her".

It escaped me that the best-case scenario would reunite them, so they could go on to live out their happily ever after. When I agreed to do this, how is it I didn't see what it would mean? How did I not take into account how badly it would hurt?

From my truck, I watch her walk out of the diner. The red rim around her eyes accentuates the depths of her heartbreak and makes my chest ache. Rubbing at the spot, I allow anger to take root. Though I know the pain I'm experiencing is my fault, it's so much easier to blame the asshole who abandoned them. The bastard who left them swinging in the wind like collateral damage, as if they were insignificant. What kind of man would do that to his family?

"Can you truly judge him when you did the same damn thing?" screams the voice inside my head.

The answer is a resounding YES! I can fucking judge him because I was a broken kid when I left, while HE was a grown man. If I had everything Creed had, I would never walk away. Never in a million years would I choose anything in this life over them. The dossier I received from my contacts stated he volunteered for the assignment. He willingly left his family to walk straight into the mess he's in. The question is, why did he do it?

From the outside looking in, he left to infiltrate and take down a network of the vilest criminals ever created. But from the inside, that dossier paints him as the villain. A man no better than the scum they tasked him with bringing to justice. Plus, the way he filed for divorce just before he disappeared points to him being as guilty as they say. What I read paints him as a man motivated by greed. By power. By vengeance.

Startled by the hard knock at the passenger window, I growl, "What the fuck?" Unlocking the door so the asshole can get in, I shoot him a furious glare.

"My bad. Did I scare you, princess?" He beams a grin in my direction as he buckles himself in. "Now, care to explain what that tantrum was about? Do you have any idea how awkward that was for me?" Though he sounds aggrieved, the smirk on his face tells a different story.

"I needed some air." I shrug, masking my emotions behind a wall of indifference.

"Seriously? You...you needed some air." I turn to glare at him, hoping the angry scowl is enough to deter him from continuing. The problem is, this is Ben we're talking about. His ability to read social cues is nonexistent. "They're married, jackass. They have an entire life together and two kids to prove it. What exactly did you expect?"

Ignoring him, I turn on the ignition. Why the hell did I agree to let Captain Obvious ride with me this morning?

"Lucas, level with me for a second. You're in love with her, right? Let's at least get it out in the open so we can find a way to get you past it."

"There's nothing to get past."

"Are you in love with her or not?" he demands.

"What is it you want me to say? We were kids. She was my first love. And the way things ended ..." I shake my head, thinking back to that shitty week my parents died. "It was fucked. You never get over something like that. But am I in love with her now? No, probably not."