Broken Hearted Read online

  “I moved to California and that’s when I went wild and crazy. I did all kinds of stupid things. I continued to dream about Cash. When I saw one of my friends overdose and die right in front of me. I moved back home and started dating again. One night some friends and I went out to have a few drinks. We wanted to hear the new band everyone was recommending. I caught a glimpse of him as I walked through the door of the bar. He was singing. I couldn’t believe it was Cash. When his song ended, he walked off the stage and came straight over to me. He said, ‘Dance with me love.’ He took me by the hand guiding me to the dance floor. He whispered, ‘When this song is over go straight out the back door. And wait for me.’

  “So when the dance ended I told my friends I needed to go to the restroom. I went straight out the back door. Without even thinking about the last time, I saw him. He was already outside waiting. He grabbed me, kissing me as if we had been together forever. His hands were all over me. I desired his touch. He wanted me to meet him after the bar closed. I told him I couldn’t but he said you will and I’ll meet you in the parking lot beside the railroad tracks. I made excuses to my friends and met him. He drove me to this big beautiful house outside of town, but we went to a camper out back. I kept saying no but gave in to everything he wanted to do over and over. I stayed all night with him. Cash called me regularly for a couple of months. I would go running the minute he called. I hated myself for not being strong enough to say no and mean it.”

  Trey turned Faith’s face to him, saying, “Love is a funny thing. It has a mind of its own. We can’t pick and choose who we love Faith. We only love from the heart not our minds.”

  Faith gently traced Trey’s face with her fingers as if she were seeing him for the first time through her fingertips. “Trey, I need you in my life. I know you will always be a part of me. And I never want a day to go by without you in it.”

  He said, “We’ll take this slow and start all over. I need you, Faith, but I want to know you’re over Cash. So was the two months the end of your relationship with him?”

  “No, I went months without seeing him. He came in and out of my life when it was convenient for him. He would leave a room key in my car while I was at work. I would see the key knowing it meant spending the afternoon or possibly the night with him. Sometimes he would be gentle and loving. Then other times he would be rough, almost violent, but I wasn’t ever afraid of him. I think it added to the excitement of being with him. He never asked for anything except for me to show up and be with him. He had the ability to make me feel like the only woman in the room.

  “I could never say he used me because I wanted him. I think we both were completely broken. We knew nothing about each other except the moments we spent together. Our lives had too much baggage. It would’ve ruined everything. Our time together was exciting and fun. I fantasized about so much more. The last time I saw him, he promised to call me that night. We were going to spend the weekend together. I was heartbroken when he never called again.”

  The doorbell rang. Trey pulled his gun out and checks to see who it was. Of course, it’s the pizza. All that talking had made Faith hungry. They sat cross-legged on the bed and devoured the pizza, falling into a comfortable silence as they ate.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Trey

  She’s never going to forgive me!

  Trey sat watching Faith finish her pizza, he’s so glad she was feeling better. After talking about Cash, he understood how confused she was about the crazy jerk. He hoped she realized the kind of man Cash was before he got a chance to win her over again. Trey smiled to himself, knowing he loved and wanted the best for Faith. The best for her right now was to explain to her about Dawn. He only prayed she would understand and forgive him for not telling her about everything.

  They finished their pizza and the bottle of wine Ty must had put in the refrigerator. Trey cautiously asked, “Faith, are you ready to hear about Dawn now?” She shook her head in agreement. Trey softly said, “Please believe I never thought everything would turn out the way it did in the end. I took the case because I knew you were too close to the family to be objective.” She started to disagree then stopped. She knew he’s right this time. “Eli gave me the background on her case. He said she was selling drugs for her father. Faith, she wasn’t selling a little. She had contacts all over the world. She wasn’t using her name she was using yours.”

  “What? No way! Trey, she wouldn’t do anything to hurt me.”

  “Yes, Faith she would and she was using your name. We bugged her house, even Mr. Moore thought he was talking to you. She perfected her voice so well that it almost fooled me. We have the tapes and when you’re ready, you can listen to them. She said things like ‘Hi, Daddy, it’s your favorite little girl, Faith. I sold lots of groceries for you. I need some more. Our business is growing like crazy.’ ‘Yes, Daddy, I know what you want me to tell you.’ Then she would talk filth to him. My guess is she was talking him off. Did you ever have to do things like that for him?”

  Faith shook her head no. “He always talked dirty to me and wanted me to do the same. I couldn’t do anything like that to him. He was gross. I got punished extremely for not obeying him.”

  Trey felt so sorry for her—she looked like a lost little girl. He took her in his arms, putting her head on his shoulder, kissing her forehead. “It’s okay, Faith, tell me what he did to you.”

  She started to cry. “Look at these marks between my thighs. He punished all of us girls by taking his knife and sticking the point into our thigh. Sometimes two or three times, depending on how bad he thought we’d been.”

  “I want to be the one to put the bullet into him for what he’s done to you, Faith. Please remember you were young and did nothing wrong. You could never do anything to deserve what he did to you.”

  Trey cradled Faith while her cries subsided.

  “I have to know what happened, Trey, to make Dawn crazy.”

  “Do you remember the day you found me in that hotel room with another woman?”

  “Yes, and what does that have to do with Dawn?”

  He gently told her, “That was Dawn. What you didn’t do was take the time to find out was she had a gun to my stomach. I left you all kinds of clues that day, Faith, without telling you I needed you. When you came to the hotel room, I thought, ‘Oh great, she’ll throw a fit then I can grab the gun and maybe take Dawn alive’. However, you took off without saying a word. You running out of the room didn’t help the situation at all. Eli had no choice but to shoot her because she moved the gun to my head. After he shot her, I went to the window looking for you, I found you sitting in the car with your head on the steering wheel. I could tell you were crying. You drove away without a glance back.”

  Faith gently started to cry saying, “I let you down, and you could’ve been killed. Maybe if I’d handled that situation better, Dawn might be alive today.”

  Trey held her in his arms as she cried for the loss of her best friend. He whispered, “If we hadn’t killed her, sooner or later her father would’ve had her murdered. He was coming to Indianapolis to see her believing it was you. I hate the whole situation Faith. Her three-year-old little boy is doing great though with his father. They moved back to his home state of Alabama. He never knew her secret life. They were at a Reds game the day Dawn died. We moved her from the hotel room to her house. We wiped her house clean of any fingerprints.”

  Faith questioned, “Was my new partner, Jason, in on the charade?”

  Trey told her, “No, not at first. We did have to tell him once the fingerprints came back to be Dawn’s. I still need to talk about when those men captured and tortured you darling. Please know I love you. I hated knowing those men were hurting you. I couldn’t help you because they wanted something you knew nothing about.” He saw the wild look in her eyes. Thinking she’s never going to forgive him. He took her hand, saying, “Faith, the day they took you, I received a phone call telling me what they would do to you if I didn’t give them
the information your father worked years to get on Mr. Moore. I didn’t have it and neither did Eli. We told them we didn’t have the information, but after two days, they finally believed us. That’s when your torture started because they thought he gave it to you.”

  “Why would he give it to a twelve-year-old little girl? He murdered my parents and didn’t even get what he needed. I don’t have anything. Did my mom know what dad was doing?”

  “No, he never let anyone find out. We had a leak in our department at that time. I wasn’t around then remember I was young too. I only know what was in the files Eli gave me. When we get back to my house, we’ll go over everything together. I’m sure your mother wouldn’t have agreed for them to be your guardian if she had suspected anything. Please remember your grandmother and grandfather were too old to take care of you. I’m sure she thought she was doing what was best for you.”

  Faith got up, starting to pace the floor. She said, “Let me get this straight, you knew what they were doing to me and did nothing to help me.” Trey nodded but said nothing. He could tell saying anything would make her explode. She glared at him, saying, “If you were in trouble, I’d figure out a way to get to you. I would’ve helped you.” She was yelling now. “You let them hurt me! Why, Trey! Why would you sell me out?”

  Trey grabbed Faith, turning her to him. “I knew you were strong. I also knew they wouldn’t kill you because they still needed you. Faith, you would’ve done the same thing. We traced all of them down except one. We caught them. They’re in jail and will be for a long time. I believe Mr. Moore was the only one that got away. Please say you understand.”

  She shook her head saying, “I need to get some sleep. I’m exhausted. We’ll sort all of this out in the morning. Trey, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to trust you again. That breaks my heart because I’ll always love you.” Then Faith pulled the cover down to crawl into bed. Trey climbed in bed, slid up next to her, putting his arm around her. She didn’t resist his touch, though he realized it might not be welcome. They both hoped sleep came soon. They would try to sort all this out in the morning.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Cash

  I’m going to find every piece of her heart and put the puzzle back together!

  Cash couldn’t believe how this night had went. Faith waltzed straight back into his life after all these years. He’d missed her terribly throughout the years. Taking her picture out of his wallet to see her face smiling back at him, also the four-leaf clover she gave him. He smiled, it’s odd now how luck was all he has left of his life with Faith. There was something so different about her last night. She had the strength to break his heart this time. She knew what she wanted now in life. Cash knew now she was the one who would not take no for an answer. She had Trey eating out of her hand. The old Faith would’ve let Cash devour her body, however he chose to.

  The Faith he saw last night swept him off his feet. He was so amazed she left him on the floor of the restroom. He realized now he would’ve done anything she wanted him to do. He’d never been turned on by pain before, but when she slapped him in the face, his whole body became alive. The sting sent fire all through his body. He felt deprived of her touch, desiring her as if they were teenagers again. She had moved on with her life. However, Cash felt like he was still stuck at a point in time when she wanted to give only him pleasure. Their time together was fun, so exciting, no strings attached. She danced with other men while he played in the band. He watched as men tried to pick her up. It drove him crazy, but he knew she would always be there waiting for him when the bar closed.

  It was as if they got each other through the bad times without having to talk about them. Cash knew he fell in love with Faith. He left without even saying goodbye to her. Looking back in time, he realized he broke her heart. His band became successful. Roni's dad owned the bar they perform in now. It’s the most money Cash had ever made so he’s definitely not going to question why Roni had too many contacts. Nor would he question why the bartender, Joey Daniels, supplied Roni with her drugs. Cash decided a long time ago to keep away from them when he was on his own time. He stayed away from drugs. He knew he may be a jerk, but he’s not a druggie.

  Cash couldn’t stand knowing Faith loves someone else. He sat strumming on his guitar and thought, “I refused to tell her I loved her. I missed so many occasions to make her mine. Looking back in time, I remember her touch, her lips, and her beautiful smile. Somehow, I have to succeed in winning her heart back. I’m going to find every piece of her heart and put the puzzle to her heart back together.

  First, I have to find out where she lives. Making her mine again won’t be easy. He heard Roni and Joey talking last night after the bar closed.” They didn’t know Cash could hear them.

  Roni said, “Big Daddy is going to kill us for letting Faith get away.”

  Joey says, “If that damn Trey hadn’t stopped us she would be long gone right now.”

  He leaned in closer hearing Roni say, “We may have to get rid of Trey so we can take Faith. Remember what Daddy said to bring her to me safe and sound. He said he wanted to punish her himself.” Cash wondered what Faith had done to Daddy. He’s a tyrant. Roni was terrified of him. Cash would keep Trey and Faith safe. Roni laughed, saying, “Eve is amazing, I’d love to keep her around. I’m sure she would make a perfect pet for me.” Joey scowled at Roni.

  “You’re not going to do that again. You were despicable to your last pet as you call them.”

  Roni said, “I never do anything they don’t desire with all their hearts you should know that Joey.”

  He said, “What does that mean?”

  Roni said, “Your Mr. Moore’s pet! You do everything he says and he might as well have a collar and leash on you.” It’s obvious he wanted to slap her but knew better.

  Joey glared at her saying, “So what’s our plan now? We have to capture Faith.”

  Roni laughingly said, “Let me handle this one. Eve gave me her phone number. I’m going to invite her to come back to the bar tomorrow night. I’ll find out where Faith and Trey are hiding. She’ll tell me when I’m through with her. She’ll tell me anything I want to know while I’m making her mine.”

  Joey replied, “You’re sick, but if it works, I don’t care what you do.”

  Cash needed to figure out how to warn Eve to be careful without raising Roni and Joey’s suspicions. Who knew, maybe Faith and Trey would come back to listen to our band again. He wished he knew what was really going on. He had to talk to Faith again. He needed to tell her he still loved her and want her with all his heart.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Faith

  Come to me again. I’ll capture your heart again.

  Faith woke up early in the darkness of the morning. She turned the light on beside their bed. Trey slept peacefully as she gently moved the hair that was covering his eyes. He made no move as she traced his strong jaw line with her fingers. She couldn’t help but continue down to trace the tattoo that covered his right shoulder blade and forearm. It’s not just any tattoo. He had a cross on his shoulder that had peacock feathers winding around it and going down his forearm. The tattoo surprised Faith because she had a beautiful tattoo with peacock feathers on her back. Neither of the two had tattoos when they were together. She didn’t understand why he felt the need to put the feathers in his tattoo. So that would have to be the first thing she asked him when he wakes. Faith leaned down to softly kiss the outline of his tattoo. She heard a low moan coming from his throat as she touched his skin with her lips. Watching him sleep, she knew that given the situation, she would had done exactly the same thing. They agreed early on, as partners, there would come a time when they’d have to decide, the job or each other. They both decided to keep each other safe but still do their jobs. He was a professional and she saw he was right, she did survive. She understood now they needed her so they might hurt her, but they wouldn’t kill her.

  She quietly murmured, “Trey knew I was a bargaining chip
for both sides. He knew we still needed to catch Mr. Moore and we’re not going to catch him hiding out. I’m not going to let him get away this time. Trey’s not going to like what I’ve got planned, but we’re going back to that bar. I’m letting them take me to Mr. Moore. I have to trust my partners, all of them, whatever the outcome. We need a game plan and Eli and Ty will take care of the plans. Trey and I will be the puppets for the evening.”

  Faith lay beside Trey, putting her arm around him. She wanted to savor the moment they had together. Falling asleep next to him felt natural. She knew that somehow they needed to bridge the gap between them. Sleepily she thought to herself, “We love each other too much not to find that happiness again.” Faith awoke to find Trey staring at her. Lying on his side with his face propped up on his hand. She knew that smile and the firmness of his body lets her know he needed her. She turned her body into his saying, “Your name is forever written in the scars on my heart. Let’s start erasing the scars leaving only your name and mine.” She kissed him tenderly on the lips. Then she separated his lips exploring his mouth with her tongue. He slowly removed her nightshirt. Faith ran her fingers threw his beautiful hair, pulling him down harder into her kisses. He explored her body like it was their first time being together. He lovingly trailed his tongue along her neck to her chest. She laughed and squirmed around but couldn’t get away from that fantastic tongue.

  The anticipation of knowing where he was going was driving her crazy. Faith couldn’t stop the moans and sobs from escaping her throat. Every nerve ending in her body was working overtime. His lips finally touched her silky soft breast and she couldn’t help but call out his name over and over. The fire ignited; waves and waves of hot passionate fire exploded inside them. Faith came back to reality, totally soaked in sweat and weak from her journey to sexual heaven. He was watching her now, moving her hair from her face. She grabbed his hair, pulling him to her kissing him hard and firmly on the mouth.