Page 30 of Keegan's Promise

“Anything you’re willing to tell me,” he says, pulling out a voice recorder. “And I’d like to record the conversation if you’re okay with it.”

She glances at me, and I nod, silently encouraging her.

“I guess so,” she whispers to Dillon, sending pride washing through me.

Dillon shoots her a small grin and then clicks on the recorder, stating his name, badge number, and the date and time. And then he settles onto the couch across from us, his eyes locked on Landry. “Can you tell me how you ended up with the Sons of Loki?”

She hesitates again and then sighs. “My uncle sold me to Garrick Albright to cover his drug debt.”

My entire body tenses when she says it, fury churning through me all over again. If I ever get my hands on her piece of shit uncle… God, he better hope I never do. I intend to kill him slowly and painfully, make sure he feels every goddamn second of terror she’s lived because of him.

“Can you tell me a little about how that happened?” Dillon asks her.

“Um, they didn’t realize I was home,” she says, rocking Lily as if the motion brings her comfort. “Garrick kicked in the door, intending to kill him, but he knew that Garrick bought and sold women, so he offered him a deal. Said if Garrick let him live, he could have me.” She licks her lips, staring into space. “I always wondered why he worked so hard to keep me from moving out after I turned eighteen. As soon as he made the offer, I realized that was why. I was his shield, something he could throw in front of the MC when the time came.”

I open my mouth to respond, but Jude shakes his head, silently telling me to stay quiet and let her talk. I bite my tongue hard enough to taste blood, battling back the urge to tell her that she’ll never be a shield for that prick again.

“Before Garrick even agreed, I started throwing clothes into a duffle bag. I grabbed the money I’d stashed under the floorboard, and I just…ran,” she whispers.

“They came after you?” Dillon asks.

“Yes. They caught me when I stopped for gas in Texarkana.” She flinches. “Chased me all the way to Oklahoma before I ran one of them over.”

“How did that happen?” Dillon asks.

“He was in f-front of the car, waving a gun at me. Garrick and some of the others were behind the car. I didn’t know what to do so I just…hit the gas.”

A tear slips down her cheek, and I can’t fucking take it anymore. I pull her up against my side, pressing my lips to her forehead. “You did what you had to do,” I murmur against her skin.

She trembles in my arms, burrowing against me. “I sold my car a few towns over and bought one they wouldn’t recognize, and I kept driving after that,” she says, her voice raw. “For months, I drove. I never stayed in one place for more than a single night. I took backroads whenever I could, gave a fake name, and slept in the car. But by the time I ended up in Colorado, it’d been months since I saw them last. I thought it was safe enough to stop for a while. I didn’t have enough money to keep going…” She trails off with a strangled laugh. “I guess I stayed too long. The day I met Keegan, they found me again. I heard Garrick outside my apartment, so I jumped through the window and ran.” She cranes her head back, looking up at me. “I met you.”

“And they found you,” I rasp.

“It was worth it.”

“Christ,” I groan, burying my face in her hair. “Don’t say that.”

“It’s true. If they’d found me with you, they would have k-killed you. But you’re still here, so it was worth it.”

I groan quietly again, clutching her tighter. No matter what I do in life, I’ll never deserve this woman. It’s impossible. She’s so goddamn selfless. She risked everything just to protect me, and she did it without a single thought or hesitation. Even now, knowing what it cost her, she doesn’t regret it.

Dillon clears his throat, recalling Landry’s attention. “What happened after they found you?”

“Um, it took them a couple of weeks to catch me. When they did, they cornered me in an alley in Oregon. Garrick was talking about how he was going to hurt me,” Landry says, making my blood run cold. “So I told him that I was pregnant. I thought maybe it’d give me time to come up with a way to escape. Instead, he just got this look on his face…” She shivers again. “He told me that Sonny Johnson and his old lady would be happy to hear the news since they wanted a baby. H-he intended to give my baby to them.”

“Did you agree to this?”

“No!” she cries. “I begged them not to take her, but he just threw me in the back of a van and then locked me in a room at the compound once we were back in Dallas. They kept a guard on the door and bars on the windows. I was only allowed out to eat or see the doctor who stitched them up when they needed it.”

“What can you tell me about your time there?”

“It was hell,” she rasps immediately. “Every single day, it was hell. I lived with monsters, constantly afraid Garrick would come in and…” She trails off with a shake of her head. “But he never did. I think maybe he was afraid I’d lose the baby. Since he’d already promised her to Sonny, he’d lose respect with the MC if I lost her because of something he did.”

It takes every goddamn thing I have to keep my expression impassive, to keep from vibrating with fury against her. But somehow, I manage it. Barely. My mind is full of murder and mayhem the entire time.

“When Garrick and most of the MC were out on a run, I faked going into labor. The guard they left behind was an idiot. He didn’t know what to do, so he took me to the hospital. As soon as they took me back, I ran out.” She glances down at Lily, smiling slightly. “I got away.”

Eight months pregnant, and she still managed to escape. For our daughter. If I hadn’t already fallen in love with her in Colorado, that would do it—the realization that she fought as hard as she did, even scared, alone, and pregnant.

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