Fractured Hearts (Shattered Lives, Book Three)

“Well, hullo there, little bird,” the rough British voice growled in her ear. In an instant, the sadistic sound made Elaina’s legs get weak. He plucked the axe out of her hands and threw it aside, pulled the handgun out of her pants and tucked it in his. “I suggest that you do not scream. If you do, my recruits will beat Liam to the brink and he will turn. I’m going to remove my hand from your mouth.
Do not scream.
Am I understood?”

She nodded, allowing the tears hovering on the rims of her eyelids and clinging to her lashes to roll down her face.

When he released her mouth, she took advantage of it. “Henry! Help me!”

“You bitch!” The man popped her in the mouth. While holding her tight to him, he searched himself, then tied a gag around her mouth. He yanked her arms behind her back, securing them.

“Elaina! Elaina!” Henry yelled through the darkness, but what she heard next tore at her every fiber.

The agonizing, pain-filled scream that came from Henry left her panicked. She realized that, because she had a beef with authority figures and didn’t like to follow orders, she just made her husband true dead. The sobbing hit hard, knowing it was her fault.

She had killed Henry.

An evil laugh stabbed at her. The man picked her up and hoisted her over his shoulder. Flailing around like a fish out of water, she wanted to scream, but it was useless. Hearing Henry let out that scream left her with no will.

“Stop fighting me or I will send more of my recruits into your little hideout and make everyone true dead. So if you want all your little friends to live, I suggest you stop fucking around. Understand?” Elaina nodded and her sobs became more intense to the point that she was nearly throwing up. “There, there, little bird,” he murmured, petting her like a dog. “When I get you back on the ship, I’m going to tend to your needs.” He chuckled.

Elaina’s skin crawled. Petrified, she hoped he would just kill her and be done with it. She didn’t want to live knowing it was her fault that Henry was gone forever.

Shattered Lives: Fractured Hearts

Kindle Edition

Copyright © 2015 by Rissa Blakeley. All rights reserved.

Published by Rissa Blakeley.

Cover Art & Design by
Cover-It Designs

Edited by
Kim's Editing Services

Vector Artwork by
Gert Erasmus Photo Editing

Photography by Paolo Marcelli

Cover Model:
Talia Rossi

E-Book Layout & Design by
Ryan Fitzgerald

The following is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living, dead, or undead is entirely coincidental.

Except in the case of brief quotations for the purpose of critical analysis or review, no part of this book may be used, reproduced, or transmitted via any means (electronic, mechanical, or otherwise) without express, written permission from the author.

All artwork used in the Shattered Lives series cannot be reproduced without written permission from the author, the cover art designer from Cover-It Designs, and vector artist from Gert Erasmus Photo Editing except in the case of author-approved promotions, critical articles, and reviews.

Due to the dynamic nature of the Internet, website links contained within this book may be outdated and/or no longer valid.

Edition: April 2015

Militia,

At this point, you all probably hate me. I still love all of you, though! I may be a little sorry, but the story writes itself. Yes, I’m shifting blame. Let’s just blame Roger. Agree? Good.

Moving on… Fractured Hearts and I had a lot of feuds. I spent many hours staring at a blinking cursor, cursing out Henry. I will tell you this. Tissues, adult beverage of choice, and chocolate is what you’ll need. I’ll wait while you collect your survival items.

.

.

.

Ready?

By far, this is the most gut-wrenching book of this series yet. My husband, who read it months ago while it was still in its raw state, is still angry with me about it.

I decided to continue the series from Henry’s point of view. I felt the only way to do it justice was for the reader to see it through his eyes. There is so much going on with him on the inside, it’s the only way you would know. Besides, he was getting all whiny because “everyone loves Gunther more” and “everyone thinks I’m a pissed-up lass”. So it only seemed right to allow him to take over.

I hope you enjoy this. I do expect to be hearing from most of you. In the meantime, I will be working on book four, Blind Faith. Thank you all for your continued support!

Kisses and cuddles,

Rissa Blakeley

Shattered Lives, Book 3

-Late Spring 2015-

The demons were poking at me, filling my head with whispers of hatred and pain. Their words mixed with my fears—a deadly combination. They held me captive for so long during all my years in the program, and continued to keep my mind bound and shackled.

Permanent imprisonment.

Liam…it’s time.

Find a bottle and let’s reconnect, shall we? Don’t you miss me?

You’re disgusting. Look at yourself. Worthless.

She will leave you and find someone who can take care of her. You aren’t worthy of love, nor are you worthy of life.

Drink, Liam. I command you to drink.

Don’t forget about your gun. I know a special place for a bullet.

Find a bottle or two.

The tremors and cold sweats hit me hard. Time to get shitfaced. It was the only way to shut them up when they started. It was a daily battle. Debilitating, to say the least.

I hated it.

I took care to make sure Elaina was nowhere to be found. After peeking out the door of our room, I grabbed two bottles of booze that were well-hidden behind a bunch of school supplies in a cabinet. One was half-empty; the other was begging for a little TLC.

I knew if she saw a bottle, she’d dump it, so I began hiding them. It made me furious because she didn’t understand I needed the liquid anesthesia to keep from being sicker than I already was.

With a sigh, I pulled on my hoodie and tucked the bottles underneath. As I trucked down the hall to destination unknown, I ran into Nick.

Just fucking perfect. I let out another sigh as he approached.

“What’s up, Henry? Looks like you’re stewing about something.”

I needed to come up with an excuse, fast. It was a chore to try and contain my twitchy and nervous behavior, but I was jonesing hardcore for a swig or twelve. My brain was buzzing and my gut was cramping. I was in a sinking boat with no time to jump.

“I’m…ahhh… I’m just heading to the mechanical room to check out a few things. Something to do, you know?”

Nick picked up on it right away.
Fuck. So busted.
“You all right, brother? Do I need to find Elaina?”

With a swish of my hand, I exclaimed, “Fuck, no! I’m fine. I have no idea why you all think I’m some weak lad with no ability to deal. Just wanted to check out the mechanical room. Christ.”

“Riiiiight. We should get Elaina if you’re considering a bender. Maybe you could talk it through with her. Maybe hit the gym—lift a little. I’ll spot you, if you want. I could use something to do, as well. Get my mind off my own misery.”

“Leave it, Nick. It’s none of your business.”

He glowered at me. “Whatever, asshole… It’s just my baby sister you’re fucking with.”

I pointed at my chest. “And
my
fiancée, so leave it. I’ve got it handled.” Soft-bellied or not, I was quite confident I could still kick his ass if he didn’t keep his bloody trap buttoned up tight. I glared at Nick until he turned away and headed toward his room.

He grumbled as he stormed down the hall. It was quite obvious he wanted to knock me on my ass for behaving the way I was, but he loved Elaina too much to do that to her.

Advantage…me.

I shook my head and continued to my destination…the mechanical room. When I opened the door, the quiet slapped me in the face. It was brilliant. Perfect spot to have a seat and drown out the voices that were chapping at me. I hunkered down and got to work.

The sound of the cap twisting off the near empty bottle broke the pacing of my breathing and the pounding in my chest. The bottle found its way to my parted lips, and my reliable friend made its way down my parched throat with a smart sting. A shaky exhale leapt from my lungs when I listened for my demons. The echo in my head wasn’t ebbing yet. I needed more.

What are we drinking this time? More whisky? Perhaps a Scotch? Such luxuries in a post-apocalyptical world.

Look at what you’ve done in your life? Wait. What life?

You lack the intelligence to make anything happen.

You’re weak.

The truth? You’re not even good enough for a mother’s love.

My hand shook as I tipped the bottle back again and again. Before I knew it, it was empty. I tucked it under my legs and pulled out bottle number two from under my hoodie.

The snap of breaking the seal excited me more than it should have, but it was either drink or eat a bullet. I needed to silence those head-fucks before it was too late. My throat began to numb as each swig coasted effortlessly down to my belly. I was anxiously awaiting the brain numbing, as well.

Swig.

Swallow.

Swig.

Swallow.

With the back of my hand, I wiped the torpid trickle of whisky making its merry bloody way down my chin. My eyelids stopped at half-mast. It was no longer an option to have full vision. The voices began ebbing. Consolation washed over me, until I realized I could still hear them.

Liam…you cannot get rid of us that easily. We will still be here when you wake from your stupor. Then you will have to start all over again.

Long pull.

Swallow, swallow.

Long pull.

Swallow, swallow.

A slow shudder sloshed the false relief around in my belly. Not good. Whisky traveled up my esophagus like a rocket, but I pushed it back.

My brain tingled instead of buzzing. I simpered, enjoying the feeling. I was detached. A few more swigs and I would be good to go.

The sun was shining and Cora wanted the kids to enjoy a little fresh air. She and Josie readied them and headed out for some unrestricted fun. Callie played at the bottom of the slide, pushing sand around with her hands, and Kate was on the swings, clapping her shoes together every time she was high in the sky.

Silas was playing around the monkey bars, but it went unnoticed when he wandered off. He was a flighty child, always running around and changing his mind as to what and where he wanted to be. Cora had trouble getting him to focus on one thing at a time.

Josie thought he was with Cora, and Cora thought he was still with Josie. Cora looked over at the swings and smiled when she saw Kate’s carefree attitude. It had been a while since she’d seen her so unconcerned. Out of the three children, the virus outbreak had been hardest on her because she was older and understood more than the other two.

Suddenly, Cora realized Silas was not with Josie. Her eyes tracked around the entire playground.

Not at the slide…

Not on the monkey bars…

She grabbed Callie and walked around, checking everywhere. “Silas?!” she called, expecting him to pop out from somewhere.

Josie heard her yell. “Cora, what’s wrong?”

When he didn’t appear, panic tore through Cora’s body. “Silas!” Her scream pierced the air.

“Come on, Kate.” Josie grabbed her hand and they ran over.

“Where is he?! He was with you!”

“No. He was on the monkey bars and I thought he was heading your way. Oh, my god. Silas!” Josie screamed. “I’m going to take these two inside, then get Gunther and Henry.”

Cora ran around, calling for Silas with every breath. Josie picked up Callie and grabbed Kate’s hand, practically dragging her back inside. As they stormed down the hallway, they ran into Nick.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, concerned over Josie’s obvious struggle to suppress her hysteria.

“Silas… He wandered off!” Tears pricked the corners of her eyes.

“I’ll take these two to Elaina. Last I knew, Henry was heading to the mechanical room.”

She handed off Callie and told Kate under no circumstance was she to leave the side of whomever Nick placed her with. Nick took off with the children, and Josie ran to find Henry.

When she reached the mechanical room door, she decided to knock, not wanting to walk in on anything.

Pounding.

Fuck me.
I rubbed my temples. My head was ready to crack wide open and leak my tainted matter everywhere. It took me a second to realize the pounding wasn’t in my head, but was someone trying to beat the bloody door down.

Still with a solid grip on the bottle, I fished my mini flashlight out of the pocket of my cargoes—fumbling with it until I dropped it. The spinning light dizzied me as it rolled across the cement floor. Churning took over my belly.

More pounding.

I had a gut feeling the situation wasn’t going to end well.

“Henry?!” the voice yelled before the door burst open. “What the fuck?” I looked up and realized I was completely pissed-up. The small figure doubled, tripled…

Fuck.
“What, Josie?” I snapped. “Leave me alone.”

“Silas is missing! He wandered off.”

“Shit.” I tried to stand, but fell over. The empty bottle rolled out from under my legs.

“Henry, you’re shitfaced. Come on.” She reached for my arm. “Let’s find Elaina.”

“No!” I snapped, swatting Josie’s hand away. “You mustn’t tell her. She’ll fucking freak on me.”

“Dude, that’s not my business. We have a real emergency here!”

“Damn it.” I tried standing again, but my legs were not cooperating. The earth spun and wobbled beneath me. “Fuuuck.” I clutched my head.

“I don’t have time for your drunken bullshit. I’m going to find Gunther.” Josie left me reeling on the floor.

Stripped naked, Gunther had Quinn pinned against the wall, one leg around his waist. “Oh, love… You’re so fucking tight like this,” he moaned into her ear before he drew her lobe into his mouth with his tongue, nipping it. “Mmm… You’re so bloody amazing.”

“Gun…,” she moaned as he thrust into her. Her fingers dug into his ass, breaking through a layer of skin, making him growl. He continued to pump into her, his release just about to rage out.

Gunther thought he heard pounding. Was it the door? Quinn’s head hitting the wall? His heart thudding in his ears?
No…the door.
Whoever it was could wait. He was fucking busy.

Then the door flew open and Josie came in, getting an eyeful.

“Oh, my god!” Quinn yelled, her arms flailing around, trying to cover herself. In shock, Gunther looked over his shoulder, making sure he kept his back to Josie.

Josie slapped her hands over her eyes and twisted around, mortified, but not half as mortified as Quinn was. She spoke with quick and pointed words. “Silas is missing. Henry is shitfaced. I need your help. Sorry I barged in.” She ran out of the room.

After grabbing his cargoes and deftly pulling them on, Gunther pushed his Sig in its typical resting place. He ran out of the door before he had his boots and shirt on, pulling them on as he ran down the hall.

Dressing in record time, Quinn ran out behind him, meeting Josie in the hall. They blew through the side door. Gunther, Cora, and Nick called out for Silas as they jogged around all the buildings in the town center. Quinn and Josie ran off beyond the playground.

“Silas!” Josie screamed. “Silas!”

His named echoed through the emptiness of the surrounding area. Josie and Quinn ran toward the road, continuing to scream for him. Heavy steps stormed up behind them.

Whipping around, Quinn had her gun aimed and ready. “Shit, Quinn! It’s just me,” Gunther yelled.