Promise Me Tomorrow: Book 3 in the Witness Series (Volume 3) Read online

  Promise Me Tomorrow

  By H. D’Agostino

  Promise Me Tomorrow

  H. D’Agostino

  Copyright © January 2016 by Heather D’Agostino

  All Rights Reserved. This book may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed of electronic form without permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. All characters and storylines are the property of the author and your support and respect is appreciated. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  The following story contains matures themes, profanity, drug use, and graphic sexual situations. It is intended for mature readers.

  Cover Design: Kari March

  Photography: Kelsey Keeton of K. Keeton Designs

  Cover Model: Tyler Sandell

  Editing: Rebecca Cartee at Editing by Rebecca

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Promise Me Tomorrow- book 3 in The Witness Series

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Promise Me Tomorrow- Playlist

  Other Works by H. D’Agostino

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  For those who have lost someone they love...

  May the promise of tomorrow comfort you always!!!

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Promise Me Tomorrow Playlist

  Other Works by H. D’Agostino

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Prologue

  Jasen

  14 years ago...

  “Hurry up man! We’re gonna get busted,” Jax, my older brother, whisper shouts as he motions for me to follow him. I’d been stupid enough in my sixteen-year-old brain to think that when he asked me to come along with him tonight it wasn’t to do something illegal. I’d been following my brother into bad situations for years, and it seemed that I would never learn. The worst part was that Jax always seemed to get away, and I was the one caught if whatever we were doing got us busted.

  “You’re too fucking slow!” he hissed as he crouched down beside the dumpster in the alley. We’d been creeping along between the buildings, trying to get closer to our goal, a sleek black BMW on the corner of the street. Simon had been recruiting my brother for several months, and after screwing up, my brother thought it was wise to introduce me into the mix.

  Jax and I couldn’t be more different. I was the one on the straight and narrow. I was the one my parents trusted. I knew what to say and what to do to keep my nose clean. Jax, on the other hand, was anything but clean and sober. He’d dropped out of school at sixteen and had been living on the streets. My parents had tossed him out when he refused to go to rehab, but I couldn’t turn my back on him. He was my big brother, and no matter what, I still loved him.

  “Whatever you do, don’t question him,” Jax scolded when we reached the car. I nodded and tipped my head down to stare at my sneakers. Thoughts of my parents sleeping at home completely unaware of what I was doing skittered through my brain. The window rolled down in front of us, causing me to jump slightly as I watched a man wearing dark glasses slowly appear.

  “What did you bring me tonight?” his lips curled up on one side and a set of perfectly white teeth appeared.

  “This is my brother,” Jax’s head lulled toward me. “He’s gonna help me out.”

  “Who said you get any help?” Si’s head tipped to the side.

  “He’s still in school. He has a farther reach than me,” Jax shrugged as he shuffled his feet. It was all starting to make sense now. The money he’d been borrowing, the calls he’d been frantic about answering, the nights he’d begged me to help sneak him into our house. He was in trouble, and he was gonna drag me into it to get him out.

  “Interesting.” Si pursed his lips together before the smirk came back. “You do realize that this doesn’t get you an extension, right?” He tipped his chin so his eyes could peer over the tops of his glasses as he stared at us. I fought to hold back the shiver that was sitting right at the base of my spine. This guy was beyond bad news, and I was actually thinking of getting into bed with him.

  “You gotta trust me, Si.” Jax shifted before he slung his arm around my shoulders. “I’ll get your money. I’ll have it by the end of the week. Just like we talked about. Is Garret gonna bring the goods by later?”

  “Garret’s been replaced,” Si snorted. We both knew what that meant. Garret had done something to piss Si off and wasn’t among the living. He was probably anchored in the harbor somewhere. “Here,” he slapped a brown bag against Jax’s chest before he pointed his finger at me. The gold of the ring he was wearing sparkled in the lamp light on the street. “Don’t you fuck up, or your brother will pay.”

  I nodded without saying a word and slowly backed away from the car. Shit, I thought. What the hell did I get myself into? As I kicked at the ground, I heard the car come to life and speed away from the curb, leaving us standing there. “What the fuck man?” I shoved at Jax’s chest. “You want me to be a fucking drug dealer? Are you out of your fucking mind?” I continued to push him until I had him pinned to the wall of the building behind us. Jax was older and taller, but I had him in muscle mass. I was built like an ox after years of playing football.

  “He was gonna fucking kill me!” Jax hissed. “What else was I supposed to do?”

  “Um,” I rolled my eyes and threw my hands out to the side, “maybe, I don’t know, not be such a fucking loser!” I shoved him again, this time causing him to stumble. “Mom and Dad are going to freak if they catch me. Do you get that? I could go to fucking jail. What about the academy? College? My future? Did you think about that?” I was yelling now, and I’m sure we would start to garner attention soon.

  “Shut up!” he hissed. “Look where you are right now,” he waved his arms in the air. “No one here cares about you and your future. This crew,” he paused for effect, “only care about their next fix, and we’re holding it, so you better shut up.”

  “Fuck,” I muttered as Jax jammed the package that Si had handed him into the pocket of his hoodie before flipping the hood up to cover most of this face.

  “Come on,” he motioned for me to follow him back the way we came.

  “I have to go home,” I called from behind him. “I have school in the morning.”

/>   “Yeah,” he called over his shoulder. “I know. You’re gonna start helping me get my money back as soon as we divide this up,” he patted his stomach where the package had created a bulge.

  Ooooooooo

  When morning came the next day, I could feel the cloud of anxiety hanging over my head. I’d been bailing my brother out for as long as I could remember, and now he was so deep into this mess that I thought I might sink instead of saving him. Tomorrow wasn’t a word I looked forward to anymore. Tomorrow meant that time was slipping away, and the twenty-five grand that Jax owed was closer to due. I scrubbed my hands down my face as I stared at the ceiling.

  I don’t know what time I went to bed last night. The sun had begun to rise when I climbed in and tugged the sheets over my tired body. My parents hadn’t even heard me come in. They trusted me. I was the one who didn’t get into trouble. Jax was the ‘problem child’. I’d never given them a reason to worry about me, but now... now, I was just as bad as my brother. I was proving to them that anyone could turn on a dime. I was sinking right along with him.

  I rolled out of bed and began dressing as I stared at the backpack sitting on the floor of my closet. The small packets of white substance were neatly tucked away in the bottom. Jax had a friend that still attended school, and I was supposed to meet him in the parking lot before school to make the trade. My supply for his cash. It seemed easy enough, but the thought of getting caught was causing my stomach to turn. I sighed as I slipped on my sneakers, grabbed the bag, and jogged down the stairs to the kitchen.

  My father was sitting at the table when I rounded the corner. He was sipping on his coffee and reading the paper as my mother cooked breakfast. We were the typical American family. My mother had stayed home with us as babies, and then just decided to continue as we got older. My father had worked his way up the ranks over the years, and now was Captain at the two seven. His badge was clipped to the waist of his black dress pants, and his white shirt pressed to perfection. My mother always made sure he looked his best. You’d never know that we weren’t living in the fifties by the way she took care of him.

  “Morning,” my mother smiled as she turned and placed a plate of eggs in front of me.

  “Morning,” I grumbled as I sat down across from my father. I wasn’t really in the mood to talk, and the weight of what was in my backpack had me wanting to race out of there as soon as possible.

  “You look tired. Didn’t you sleep well?” My mother placed her hand on my shoulder, causing me to jump slightly.

  “I’m fine,” I brushed her off. I wasn’t a morning person to begin with, so I was surprised she was intrigued today.

  “Leave him alone, Sandra,” my father sighed as he shifted the paper to fold it once again. “He’s been killing himself at school lately. Lots to do to be an Ivy League football star.” He looked over and winked at me before shoving back from the table to stand. He grabbed his coat off the back of his chair, and slipped into it before shuffling over to stand beside my mom. “Gotta work late tonight,” he murmured.

  “You’re always working late,” she chided as she rose up on her tiptoes to place a light kiss to his cheek. He chuckled as she pulled away.

  “Gotta keep my city safe,” he joked as she shook her head.

  “As long as you promise me tomorrow,” she ribbed him before going back to her cooking. He laughed lightly as he turned to grab his keys.

  “I’ll see you later,” he waved at her before turning to me. “Take it easy, Son. You don’t have to be perfect all the time,” he smiled before disappearing through the door.

  I shook my head lightly before dropping my eyes to my untouched plate. Did he know what was sitting right at our feet? Would it occur to him that his perfect son would bring drugs into his house? Would his unit think that?

  My parents were completely oblivious to the fact that I was breaking the law right under their noses for the one person that they’d tried to help for years. They’d done everything they could think of to save Jax. They’d attended counseling, tried to get him into rehab, tough love sessions, you name it; they did it. None of it worked. Jax had pushed and shoved until they finally let go. It was heartbreaking, but my father had finally come to grips with the fact that Jax had to hit bottom before he’d accept help. The problem was, he was never going to get there. I wasn’t letting him. As long as I kept bailing him out, he’d never completely drown. Unbeknownst to them, I was helping feed his habit of living on the edge.

  “I gotta go,” I groaned as I too shoved back from the table.

  “But you haven’t eaten anything,” my mom frowned as she watched me stand.

  “I’m really not that hungry. I have a project due this week. I have to meet with my partner before class. I’ll be late tonight. Don’t worry about me,” I called as I heaved the backpack onto my shoulder and rushed out of the house.

  The drive to school was slow and torturous. It felt like my car was inching along when in reality I had to keep checking my speed to make sure I wasn’t going too fast. The last thing I needed was to get pulled over. When I reached the school, I parked near the back of the lot and waited just like I was supposed to do. It didn’t take long for a souped up pickup truck to pull into the space beside me. It was shiny and looked like something you’d see at Monster Jam.

  A kid I recognized as James Anderson climbed out. He straightened the beanie he was wearing before confidently striding around to where I was parked. He opened the passenger side door of my Camaro and climbed in. “Here,” he slapped a fat envelope into my lap. “It’s all there,” he refused to look at me as I sat there stunned. This was so new and unexpected. This kid was one of the good ones, or so I thought. We’d had a class together before, and he always looked so put together. “Where’s the goods?” he muttered, still refusing to look at me.

  I reached into the backseat and grabbed my backpack. After digging into the bottom of it, I felt the plastic of the pouch of baggies. My fingers tightened around it as I lifted it out and handed it to him. Still refusing to look at me, he glanced around before shoving it into his backpack. “Pleasure doing business with you,” he chuckled as he pushed open my door and climbed out, leaving me there.

  My breath was coming in short pants as I began to realize what I’d just done. I’d traded him drugs for money. I was a drug dealer. I was one of the bad guys. I was the type of person that my father had put in jail all his life. I was no better than Jaxon. I pounded the steering wheel with my fist as I sat there stewing in self-loathing.

  Guilt swamped me, but I fought to push it back. I couldn’t let this pull me down. I needed to suck it up and help my brother. I’d get him out of this, and then I’d step away. I wasn’t going to let Simon pull me under like he had Jax. I was better than this, and I was determined to prove it.

  I climbed out of the car and began striding toward the front door of the school. I waved to several friends as I passed, trying to act as if I hadn’t just done what I did in my car. It was a one-time deal. It wouldn’t happen again... only it did.

  It happened over and over, my brother made sure of it, and by the time I tried to get out, it was too late. Simon completely destroyed my family and there was nothing I could do about it.

  Chapter 1

  Jasen

  Present Day...

  When my alarm clock began blaring beside me, I groaned as I dragged my palms down my face. I hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before. Between dodging looks from Sam at the bar and trying to avoid what today was, I was a total wreck. I’d started around eight last night. I tipped shot after shot back as the world blurred around me. I’d been at the Rusty Nail avoiding what was coming for over a week.

  Tiffany had given me the look repeatedly as she tried to pry my past out of me. So far, I’d been successful at keeping it buried, but every year, as this day approached, I slowly began to lose it. It’s been ten years, ten years, since I walked in on that awful scene. Ten years since I’ve seen my fucked-up brother. I don�
�t know if he’s even out yet or if he’s still alive.

  I rolled onto my side as I stared at the drawn curtains of my bedroom. I don’t even remember how I got home last night. Pushing up to a standing position takes effort, and I shuffle over to the window to peer out at the blinding sun. I cupped my hand over my eyes to ward off some of the light and noticed that my bike was parked in its usual spot. Did I fucking drive like this last night? “Fuck!” I hissed as I turned to go in search of coffee.

  My bare feet padded along the wood floors as I tugged at my jeans to keep them from falling off my hips. I must have attempted to get them off because they’re unbuttoned and my shirt is missing. When I rounded the corner to my kitchen, I skidded to a stop. There, lying on my couch with a blanket tucked around her small frame, was the one person I’ve been trying to hide all my shit from... Tiffany.

  Her shoulders rise slightly as she breathes, deeply asleep. Her eyes fluttered against the impending morning as I stood there and stared. How the fuck I managed to get someone like her to want me is beyond anything I can comprehend. She’s stuck around no matter how hard I’ve pushed her away. We’re good together, I knew that, but I can’t give her what she needs. She needs tomorrows and all I can give her are todays.

  I shook my head as I entered the kitchen. As I grabbed the items I need to make coffee, I could hear her began to rouse. The telltale sign of covers being shuffled, followed by a yawn, caused me to freeze. I don’t do the awkward morning after thing. Tiff’s never stayed over before, and I’m not sure how to handle this.

  In the past, we’ve had our fun, and then the other leaves. Her feet sound quietly behind me as she stopped. I felt her small arms wrap around my waist, and she placed her chin on the middle of my back, hugging me from behind. “Morning,” her sleepy voice whispered as her arms tightened. “Are you ok?”

  “Why wouldn’t I be?” I shrugged off her concern as if it meant nothing and went about making the coffee.

  “I just thought...” her voice trailed off as she backed away from me and leaned on the counter opposite of where I was standing. I knew I was being a dick, but with the memories of what today is fresh on my mind, I just can’t deal with her right now. I don’t know what my feelings are, I just know they’re more than I want.