Promises to Keep Read Online Free Page A

Emily—”
    â€œThat’s enough, Benjamin.”
    Ben went still. “That’s where you’re wrong, Dad. It’ll never be enough,” he said, and Michael was sure he was seconds away from launching himself across the desk at his father. Instead, he turned and stalked his way toward the elevator. They watched him go in silence.
    â€œBenjamin has always had a flair for the dramatic, I’m afraid,” Shaw said, turning his attention to Michael. “Despite his suspicions as to where my motives lie, it’s imperative that Leo Maddox be found. So much so that I’m willing to offer you a deal: I’m giving you one week. If you can find and bring the Maddox boy home within that time, I’ll set you free.”

Six
    When Michael got back to their suite, he looked around the room and shook his head. The wall was now wearing the congealed nachos Ben had been eating before their meeting with his father, and the coffee table that held them looked like it had exploded into kindling and strewn itself around the room.
    â€œLike what you’ve done with the place,” he said, letting his gaze settle on his partner, sitting on the couch, playing Xbox.
    Ben shrugged while working the controller. This time he was killing zombies by the dozen.
    â€œWho’re Mason and Emily?” Michael said.
    Ben was quiet for a few seconds, like he wasn’t going to answer. “Mason was my brother.” He shifted the rest of the words around like he was having trouble making them leave his mouth. “Emily was his wife.”
    Michael rubbed the back of his neck and winced at what he was about to say. “Wanna talk about it?”
    â€œNothing to talk about, Dr. Phil. They’re dead.”
    â€œFair enough.” Michael looked at his watch. It was just after five in the morning. The marketplace where the Maddox kid disappeared would be up and running, the vendors and peddlers setting up for the day. If they were going to find the girl, now was the best time to do it. “Come on, let’s go find the girl in the surveillance video, see what we can get out of her.”
    Ben shook his head, let out a brief bark of laughter. “Don’t you ever get tired of asking how high when he says to jump?”
    Now it was Michael’s turn to laugh. “Really? I don’t have the luxury of saying no,” he said. “What I have is a goddamn dirty bomb in my back and a boss just looking for an excuse to blow me the fuck up, so you can take your little pity party or whatever the hell this is and shove it up your ass.”
    Ben cut him a look. “He’s not the only one who’s got your number, you know.” It was a reminder that, if he wanted to, Ben could make him just as dead as his father could.
    â€œYou aren’t gonna kill me.” Michael sounded more sure than he actually felt. “No one else will work with you.”
    Ben smiled. “True. Besides, you owe me a favor. I can’t kill you until I collect.”
    It was a reminder of exactly what Ben had done for him twenty-two months ago. He’d been shanghaied into another job. Taken away from Sabrina at the precise moment she needed him most. Ben had given him a small reprieve. Somehow he’d used his status as the boss’s son to his advantage and gotten Michael back to Sabrina in time to save her life. She’d be dead if not for Ben. He hadn’t forgotten that, nor had he forgotten that Ben’s help had come at a price.
    â€œI know.”
    Ben shrugged and changed the subject. “Let me guess. My father told you that if you find this kid, he’ll cut you loose, right?” Ben’s glare was steady and fixed on the screen full of flesh-eating mutants.
    â€œYes.” Michael leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest in an effort to keep his fingers from finding the capsule embedded in the small of his back.
    Ben finally paused the game.