Silently Broken (Broken #3)

by Maegan Abel

  She glances over her shoulder, smiling shyly at me in the same way she did when we met. I still remember every detail of that moment, though I would never tell her so. Her hands covering the bullet wound, stopping the bleeding, bringing me back from what I was sure would've, and should've, been my death.

  "Monica," I whisper, leaning in to press a kiss to her neck, trailing my lips down her shoulder. She hums softly, pulling my hands around so they rest on her stomach, allowing me to feel the movement of the child inside…

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  Silently Broken was an extremely difficult book to research and write. It touches on some very difficult topics. I didn’t realize just how commonplace human trafficking is in the US and around the world until I started this book. It takes so many different forms from kidnapping like Lili’s situation, to hometown trafficking in local motels. It’s a scary thing to consider how many people are trapped in this life, unable to find a way out, and yet they’re right here in our cities. The numbers are sobering. Reading stories of survivors, seeing their reentry into their normal lives, all of it made me appreciate my life in a whole new way.

  Nothing about writing it was easy.

  I’m a very “in the moment” writer. My characters dictate the story. I had no idea Lili would plan her suicide until it happened. I had nightmares for months about the scenarios I’d written, different members of my own family and close friends becoming the character for me as I worried for the people in my life. It’s been an eye opening experience. I spent my life ignoring these facts that have been right in front of me for years, as I think a lot of us do. We assume it won’t happen to us or our loved ones.

  But every one of those victims is proof against that thought.

  Every one of them is someone’s child, sister, brother, parent, friend.

  To find out more, feel free to visit the Polaris Project at www.polarisproject.org

  Another difficult topic was the depression and suicide attempt of Lili. Depression is a very real issue and can make you feel completely isolated from those you love. Remember you aren’t alone. You can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 24/7 at 1-800-273-8255 to speak with a trained counselor.

  Acknowledgements

  Wow. It’s surreal to think about the fact that I’m sitting here writing the acknowledgements for my fourth book. In just over a month, the world will get to read the conclusion of Lili and Zane’s story. I’ve written an entire book series. I still can’t even wrap my head around that.

  I always start with my family. They are my backbone and I couldn’t do any of what I do if it weren’t for them. Every one of them.

  I want to say a huge thank you to Golden for the amazing photos. Also, Lindsey and Tyler. I mean, seriously, there aren’t enough words in the world to tell the three of you how much I love the way the photoshoot turned out. I was able to give ideas and you three brought them to life in a way I never thought possible.

  Monica and Katie. You two kept me sane during the photoshoot. When I wanted to freak out and cry while watching certain scenes (some of which I hadn’t even written yet) play out in front of me, you kept things moving. I couldn’t have done it without you.

  The team at Forever Red Publishing. This has been an amazing journey and I’m looking forward to the future.

  The bloggers, every single one of you. You have shared my work, written reviews, just talked to me and made me feel welcome in an industry that seemed so daunting just a year and a half ago. Some of you brought me candy and goody bags to signings and I love it all. It’s amazing. You’re amazing.

  The “Cool Kids”. You know who you are. You’re always around to answer questions and bounce ideas off of. You keep me smiling, even if we’re all going to hell for some of our jokes…

  My absolutely fantastic betas. Heather, Amie, Katie, Dee, Ashlei, and Kandi. I have so much to say to you girls but most of it will be sappy so I’ll stick to short and sweet. You worked hard on this one, the emotions and rewrites and rewrites again… Heart you girls hard. Even the new betas this time around. Your opinions were invaluable.

  And to you, the readers, for falling in love with Zane and Lili—for reading their story and feeling their happiness as well as their pain. I love each and every message and email I receive, every comment on a post… all of it. You mean the world to me. YOU are my rockstars! I hope you’ll stick with me, I have a lot more planned!

  Continue reading for an excerpt of the first Broken Series Spinoff

  Broken Past

  Broken Series Book Four

  Broken Past Synopsis

  For Tony, life is a series of mistakes. He lives with his regrets and does his best to move forward with the weight of his past on his shoulders. It’s all he knows. The pictures he has stashed of the family he lost are meant to remind him, but he doesn’t need the reminders. They’re always on his mind.

  Kelly met a guy when she was young and he taught her to be strong enough to face whatever challenges were thrown at her to keep her kids safe. He gave her strength and courage to pull herself out of a bad situation, but he ended up being almost as toxic for her. Such is life.

  It’s hard to recover from an adolescence of drugs and violence, but when there’s a child involved, it’s an even more important decision. Unfortunately, Tony made that choice too late and now all he has are memories of the woman he loved and her son.

  But what if fate gives second chances?

  Ten years is a long time and the secrets that compile in the distance always end up tangling the web further. Can Kelly make up for ten years? Is the man Tony is today strong enough to put to rest the fears of the boy he used to be?

  What happens when you come face to face with your Broken Past?

  Chapter One

  Tony

  I liked to think I could find the humor in just about any situation. I may not always be the first to crack a joke, but I could appreciate irony and sarcasm. Right now, my very own ironic joke was standing in front of me in the form of my tattoo shop office manager.

  Lili’s nails clicked against the doorframe and she crossed one leg at the ankle as she leaned onto her forearm, smirking. “Hey, got a sec?”

  “Sure,” I answered, hoping in the name of everything holy and sacred she would stay right the fuck where she was.

  “Are you sure? I mean, I don’t want to bother you if you’re busy,” she pressed, switching her weight to her shoulder as she crossed her arms under her chest. Of course, my eyes dropped straight to the cleavage on display in her tank top. Damn, my company logo looked great across those tits. It always had.

  Grinning, I clasped my hands on my desk, leaning forward against the edge. This needed to be over quick. Hell, if she kept standing in my doorway, looking at me that way, it would be. “What’s up?”

  She tipped her head, laughing lightly before she looked back up at me. “There’s a kid trying to get a tattoo with a fake ID. I was about to send him on his way but he asked for you by name. Thought you might know him or something.”

  I scowled, shifting slightly in my seat. “How old?”

  “I don’t know. Teenager. Fifteen or so.” She shrugged. “Do you want me to just run him out?”

  “No. See if he’ll fill out the forms and I’ll be out in a few to talk to him,” I said, hardly able to focus on what she was saying anymore. I needed her to leave. “Is that all?”

  “There is one more thing,” she said, standing up and reaching for the door handle. “Amie, when you’re done in here, I need you to cover for Sarah so she can take her lunch.”

  The movement below my desk paused and with a laugh, Lili shut the door behind her.

  “Ignore her,” I said, guiding Amie’s head back down as I focused my attention on her mouth around my cock. “Fuck, that feels amazing.”

  She hummed and the vibration made my balls tighten. I was so close. She peered up at me through her lashes as she lifted higher on her knees, positioning herself and taking me deeper. My hips
bucked and I grabbed her hair, thrusting twice more and holding her in place while I released my pent-up frustration into the back of her throat.

  Groaning, I unwound my fingers when she tugged against my grasp. She gave my chair a light shove, moving me back so she could climb out from underneath my desk.

  “You know I hate it when you do that,” she said as she wiped her mouth and pulled the tank top and cups of her bra back up to cover her tits.

  “Sorry.” I meant it. Sort of.

  “Whatever,” she sighed, fluffing her hair as she got ready to head back out to the floor.

  I grabbed her wrist as she passed, tugging slightly to pull her onto my lap. She gave a little giggle and I leaned in to bite her ear softly. “I am sorry. I’ll make it up to you tonight.”

  She hummed slightly, turning her face into mine. “That sounds like a promise.”

  “Don’t push it,” I said, nipping her bottom lip before helping her back to her feet.

  I stood, taking care to put my cock away before we ended up spending even more time in my office. “You should get back out there.”

  With a quick peck and a wink, Amie headed out, leaving the door open. I sighed, dropping back into my chair for a moment to finish regaining my composure.

  I was almost surprised Lili didn’t come back in when she saw Amie. But I was glad. Working with an ex, even if she was only a fuck buddy, in her own words, wasn’t always easy. But I was the one who’d broken the rules of engagement on that front. Falling for the girl your best friend and business partner saw as a younger sister, especially knowing she was in love with someone else, was a recipe for disaster.

  It had been a while since we’d had any major issues, but the underlying tension would reappear from time to time. Thankfully, after two years, we seemed to be moving past it. It was Tish I still had trouble with. He gave the whole “silent partners” thing a whole new meaning.

  We’d been friends since we were kids—hell, we’d shared a girl or four in our wilder years—but I’d crossed a line, or two, with Lili and her husband, Zane, who also happened to be Tish’s younger brother. Since then, things had been strained. I’d done my best to avoid them all completely, but it was impossible for that to last forever since Tish and I had our shared dream in the form of two tattoo parlors in Las Vegas. Lili was the best at keeping shit around here organized. I had no idea how she managed both shops, but she did a fan-fucking-tastic job of it. It’s why we paid her so well.

  Frankly, if this weren’t my dream, I would’ve sold my part of Living Ink to Tish and taken off when it all went down.

  Shoving up from the chair, I straightened my shoulders and strode out toward the main lobby. Intimidating was something I could be without even trying. Some punk kid trying to get a tattoo meant I got to have some fun. Personally, I didn’t have an issue with underage tattoos, but shit like this put my business on the line.

  When I came out of the hall, Lili glanced over and tilted her head toward the lobby. I glanced in that direction, spotting the kid in question. While Lili was right to second-guess his age, he didn’t look like a pimple-faced teen. He wasn’t fidgeting or nervous like most underage kids who tried this shit. He sat, one arm resting across the back of the chair beside him and clipboard on his lap, as he scrolled on his phone carelessly.

  Taking the info sheet Lili handed me, I glanced at his name on the top. “Lance?” He looked up, his eyes widening for only a moment before he stood.

  He walked over, offering me the clipboard with the additional information and I waved him back. Normally, I would’ve called him out before I even let him into my station, but I wanted to see how far he’d actually go. He seemed pretty sure of himself at this point.

  Nodding toward the chair, I hooked a foot around my stool and pulled it out, tossing the clipboard on the counter. When I glanced back over and caught him staring at me, small blotches of color rose in his face. He wasn’t blushing, more like flustered. Interesting.

  “What are you looking for today?” I asked, wondering how much research he’d done before he showed up. Most of the time, these kids don’t think they’ll ever make it into a chair so they have no idea what to do when they get there.

  “Well, I just got to Vegas, but this starts a whole new chapter of my life. I want something to symbolize that,” he said, shrugging out of his shirt. I was shocked and somewhat impressed by the massive back piece, even though I only saw it at a glance. I started to second-guess Lili’s assessment, but it only lasted a moment.

  The softness in his face, slight roundness to his cheeks—he was still young. But fuck if he didn’t handle himself like an adult. “Do you have a picture in mind?”

  “Yeah,” he answered quickly, grabbing for his phone as it slipped off the chair beside him and hit the tile floor. The screen turned on with the fall and a picture of a young girl, much younger than him, appeared, only to quickly extinguish as he scooped it up. “It’s right here.” He flipped through several screens before pulling up a design with a fairly intricate phoenix, the words Against All Odds rising up through the smoke surrounding it.

  I took my time looking over the picture, surprised at the detail when the work itself seemed amateur at best. Whoever designed this had a lot of talent. “You draw this?” I asked, not looking up from the screen to judge the kid’s reaction.

  “No,” he said, but he sounded almost disgruntled about it. I passed him the phone back.

  “It’s pretty good. A lot of raw talent in whoever did,” I said honestly. He rolled his eyes, reminding me of the problem at hand. “You know I’m not inking you, right? Your ID is a fake.”

  “So why the fuck are you wasting my time?” he asked, clearly pissed as he yanked his shirt back over his head.

  “You were the one asking for me,” I answered, shrugging as I watched the show with amusement. Yeah, it was a dick move to work the kid up, but I couldn’t help it.

  “Obviously a fucking mistake,” he said, running a hand through his shaggy hair. “Thanks for nothing.”

  As he headed toward the door, I sat frozen on the stool. Something about the whole exchange felt off. It took a minute but the words in the tattoo—Against All Odds—stood out in my mind. I’d tattooed that same sentiment on someone years ago, back when I was still apprenticing. My eyes shot up, watching with shock as the kid walked past the front windows, lighting a cigarette. When he glanced back in the windows, there was a mixture of pain and fury in his green eyes. I realized then what started the whole déjà vu feeling – the scar on his head when he’d brushed back his hair.

  “No way,” I said to myself, jumping up from the stool as he rounded the corner out of sight. I didn’t answer anyone calling my name as I scrambled past them, following the direction the kid had headed. It’s impossible. It’s fucking impossible. I ran, shoving people aside and generally acting like a dickhead to the people crowding the Strip as I made my way around the corner.

  “Drew!” I yelled when the back of his head came into view. He turned, the move seeming automatic as he answered to the name. His eyes widened and he froze for a moment, watching me, before turning to bolt. “Stop!”

  There wasn’t much of a crowd on the side street, but he managed to make it to the next corner before I could. When I rounded it behind him, he was nowhere in sight. I looked in both directions, trying to figure out where he could’ve gone, and then I heard the metallic sound of footsteps on a ladder. Glancing up, I saw the fire escape a good six feet above my head.

  “Mother fuck,” I grumbled, taking a few steps back to look up the side of the building. I could see him passing the third floor. “You’ve got two choices. Either get your ass back down here or I’m calling 5-0.”

  He paused, looking over the railing at me. “They’ll have to find me first.”

  I grinned up at him. “There’s a locked door on the roof of that building and you’re too far away to jump to the next one. You picked the wrong ladder.”

  He looked up toward
the roof, seeming to hesitate before slowly making his way back down.

  About the Author

  Maegan despises writing about herself in the third person. She also hates touting her accomplishments like she thinks she’s really done anything special…

  Now that we got that out of the way, I’ll tell you what you need to know. I was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I went back to school in my late twenties and studied Stage Production Technology. I now work full-time in the alterations shop of a major department store and part-time backstage in the various theatres around the area.

  I’ve been an avid reader from a very young age and the top goal on my list of things to accomplish in my life was to write and publish a book. During the summer of 2013, while working backstage on The Lion King, I read eleven books in four weeks. I read my first New Adult book and was introduced to a genre I felt I could totally relate to. The idea for Perfectly Broken and the character of Lili was born backstage during that time.

  Connect with Me!

  www.maeganabel.com

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMaeganAbel

  Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaeganAbel

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  Forever Red Publishing:

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  Perfectly Broken - Book One of the Broken Series By Maegan Abel

  Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L18UXX4

  Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00L18UXX4

  Amazon Canada: http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00L18UXX4