Break Me Like a Promise by Tiffany Schmidt

Author:Tiffany Schmidt
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2016-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

The meeting went every bit as badly as I’d imagined.

Yelling.

Swearing.

The Family men were arranged around the meeting room wearing expressions that ranged from skeptical to outright hostile.

Manuel stormed out, then stormed back in. “Holt, I don’t know what you’re thinking lately—letting that blackmailer stay here, cutting deals with the attorney general—but it’s supposed to be my job to keep this Family safe, and your erratic decisions are making that mighty hard. Or, now that you’ve decided to go legit, maybe you don’t need me anymore? Is that what this means?”

Daddy looked at me, and I knew this was my cue. When we’d strategized last night, he’d agreed to let the men rail and bluster for a while, then said my role was to step in and settle them so they’d be open to hearing him and Byrd explain the particulars.

“Now, Manuel, sit down,” I chided with a grin. “Of course he needs you—you’re the only guard I haven’t managed to give the slip.” His begrudging smile turned to outright laughter when I tapped my lip and added, “Hmm, on second thought . . . you’re fired.”

I waited for the men’s ribbing to die down, then made eye contact with each of them as I lied, “This is a good plan. I know you’re surprised—believe me, I was too. And I did the whole tantrum thing”—I winked at Manuel—“but when I stopped to listen, this makes sense. So save yourselves the pouting and stomping, and skip to the listening part. You’ll see.”

I wasn’t sure if they saw, but they did sit and listen. I didn’t. I tuned out as soon as Daddy pulled out a marker and started writing on the whiteboard.

The false enthusiasm was exhausting. The tiny headshake Byrd had given in response to my searching glance was discouraging. I stood gratefully when the hour hand finally kissed the edge of the three.

“Where you going?” asked Enzo in a faux whisper. “And can I come?”

“I—um . . .” Alex’s dialysis was about to start, but it didn’t feel smart to offer this as an excuse. I raised my arms then sat back down. “Just stretching.”

I cringed every time his name came out of the men’s mouths—accompanied with “What are we going to do with him?” or “What if he talks?” or “He’s a loose end. I don’t like loose ends.”

And defending Alex now when I hadn’t before would only instigate suspicion, so I hid my fear behind a scowl and watched the clock. How long could I live in this place of betrayal and grief and stress before I crumbled? Because I wasn’t all that steady on my feet to start with.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.