“You didn’t tell him yet?” Ciro smirked, and I wanted to hit him.
“I was telling him right before you knocked.”
“Well, we’ll leave you two to it.” I watched as the guy went upstairs, and Ciro went into the kitchen. Max came over to me.
“As I was saying. Dorian is going to be coming over here.” I opened my mouth to speak, but he placed his finger over my lips. “Please, let me finish.” I sighed but shut up. “Thank you. I came up with the idea and told Ciro, who thought it could totally work. I don’t think it would work if Dorian had planted roots in this town. He’s fairly new to Haven Hart and has no loyalties with anyone, not even the cops. The fact that he had to get one of his guys to dress as one means he doesn’t have the pull to get one on his side.”
“Okay…”
“So, I contacted him and told him that I hoped he’d learned his lesson from the beating I gave him on Halloween. Really laid it on thick. Then I made sure someone was following us from the hotel to here. It’s why Ciro came through the back.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “And why did you do any of this?”
“Sparkles, Dorian isn’t ever going to leave you alone. You can run, and he’ll find you. He will threaten my family and do whatever he can to keep us apart. What happened on Halloween was just the beginning of what I’m sure our lives will be like if we don’t stop him. He clearly has people watching my family; you saw the pictures.”
“And you think bringing him here will work, how?”
He released a breath before he spoke. “Because if I can get him on my property, I can make it look like he trespassed and then—”
“Kill him?”
“It’s the only way, Sparkles.”
This couldn’t be happening. “And if the police don’t see it that way?”
“You need to trust me.”
I pushed away from him. “This is crazy.”
“I know.”
“You can still stop this. You can—” Just then, the sound of glass shattering cut me off.
“It’s too late,” Max said, and I knew he was right.
Chapter Forty-One
Max
I reached into the end-table drawer and took out the gun I knew was stored there. I had checked that it was cleaned and working the other day. It was registered and legal, and that was what was most important. If I had to make this look like a break-in, then it had to appear legit.
“Is that a gun?” Sparkles whispered.
“Yes, now please be quiet.”
I knew under any other condition he’d bitch me out for telling him to be quiet, but this wasn’t a normal situation, and he understood that. I made sure the gun was hidden and a moment later the door opened, and Dorian and another guy stepped into the living room.
“Well, well, well, the whore and his brainless muscle.” Dorian smiled, thinking he’d cornered me. “I see your family isn’t here, which is a pity. I’d love for them to know that the man you’re fucking is a con artist, a slut, and a liar.”
“You should be counting your lucky stars my ma isn’t here. There’s nothing scarier than an angry Italian woman.”
Dorian laughed and nodded. “I suppose in this instance, the less people the better.”
“Can I ask why the hell you’re breaking into Max’s mother’s house?” Sparkles put his hands on his hips, indignant as ever.
“I came for you, of course. I warned you both, and it seems like you two have been playing me like a fucked-up fiddle. Well, it ends tonight. Sparkles. Unless you want my guy to shoot Max in the head, you’ll get your ass over here right now.” He pointed to the spot beside him as if Sparkles were a dog.
“Oh, I agree,” I said as I brought my gun into view and raised it to Dorian’s head. “This definitely ends tonight.”
Dorian’s man lifted his gun and pointed it at me. And just then, Ciro walked out of the kitchen, his own gun trained on the guy.
“What the hell is all this?” Dorian looked around in frustration.
“I believe some people call it a setup,” Sparkles said as he sat on the couch, the appearance of being relaxed natural on him.
“And what are you going to do with those guns? You’re a bartender and a bouncer.” Dorian tapped his guy’s shoulder. “Shoot them please.” But the man didn’t move. If he shot me, Ciro would end him, and no matter how much Dorian was paying him, it was worthless if he was dead.
“I’ll let you leave as if you were never here,” I said to the man. “Just walk away. This isn’t about you, it’s about Dorian.”
“Don’t you dare fucking move!” Dorian shouted at the guy, who tucked his gun into his pants and walked out the front door.
“And then there was one,” Ciro said as he lowered his gun. In the end, I had to be the one to do it.
“All clear,” Ciro’s man descended the stairs. “They all left. He’s on his own.”
Dorian frantically looked around, slowly backing away. I couldn’t let him run. But I shouldn’t have worried; Ciro was on him.
“Max, you can’t appear to be an expert here, so I want you to shoot the wall and the doorway. Two shots, that’s all.” I didn’t understand where he was going with all this. I could only surmise it was so the neighbors would hear and call the police.
“Max, you can let him go,” Sparkles said.
“No, I can’t. Look at him. Look! He will never let you go and not because he cares. It’s because he won’t stop until you’re nothing. And I won’t watch that happen.”
Ciro held Dorian down, and I shot the wall and the doorway. The sound was deafening, and I wasn’t used to it. Sparkles had his ears covered, but Ciro didn’t react, nor did his guy.
“Okay, move, Ciro,” I said.
“You can’t just fucking kill me! I’ll leave town, okay? I’ll pack up and go and never bother any of you.”
“Until you what? Get backing? Then what? No. One thing living in Haven Hart taught me is: don’t leave your demons uncaged.”
Ciro got up, and Dorian took a minute before he was on his feet and ready to run. I aimed it at him, but Ciro grabbed the gun from me.
“What are you doing?” I yelled, but it all happened so fast; Ciro raised the gun and right as Dorian turned to run out, he shot him in the side of the head. He crashed to the ground, taking some of my ma’s figurines with him. A pool of blood quickly formed below him, and I knew there was no way he was alive.
“Holy shit,” Sparkles said.
“Why’d you do that?” I turned to Ciro, and he held the gun out to me.
“There’ll be gunpowder residue on your hands from shooting the wall and doorframe. Cops will check; they have to.”
“You planned this?”
Ciro looked at me, as serious as I’d ever seen him. “I was never going to make you a murderer.”
“But it’s okay for you to be one?”
Ciro looked at Dorian’s lifeless body. “This wasn’t the moment I became a murderer, Max.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. I put the gun on the table, and Sparkles was in my arms, gripping me as the sound of sirens could be heard in the background.
“We gotta go,” Ciro said. “Stick to the story we talked about.” They left, leaving Sparkles and me on the couch. Even knowing the police had obviously already been called, I grabbed my phone and dialed 9-1-1; this needed to look believable.
“9-1-1, what is your emergency?” the dispatcher said.
“I just killed a man breaking into my home.”
The next few hours were a flurry of cops and EMTs. My mother and sisters returned to chaos, and when I recounted the practiced tale I’d given the police, they began to cry. The detective said it seemed like a home invasion, and that while I was in my rights, they would still have to launch an investigation. He said a lot of other stuff, but I ended up tuning it out. I was exhausted, and the house was a mess.
They deemed it a crime scene, so my ma said she and my sisters would go
to Teresa’s to sleep. I offered to get them a hotel, but she told me to just take care of Sparkles and not to worry about them, they were fine.
It was close to two in the morning when we were finally cleared to leave. Before the night started I’d suggested to Sparkles to leave Tank in the big crate in the hotel room. He didn’t argue with me over it, thankfully.
He was silent the entire ride to the hotel, and I was afraid this was all too much for him, and he’d say he never wanted to see me again. I was prepared for that. It would tear my heart out, but at least I knew he’d be alive, and Dorian Birch could never hurt him again.
“Are you going to talk to me?” I asked when I parked the car.
“You told the cops that Dorian was stalking me as my landlord, and that was why I got a new place, and you believed that was why he broke into your mom’s place.”
I had said that. I knew if they launched an investigation, they’d find out he was banned from Joker’s Sin and that he was Sparkles’s landlord and I never wanted it to come back to bite him.
“Yeah, they would’ve found out.”
“You did all this for me?”
His cyan eyes glistened with unshed tears.
“And I’d do it again.”
“Why?” He looked so vulnerable at that moment.
“Because I love you, you idiot.”
He chuckled. “I love you too. Herpes and all.”
“Don’t start.” I laughed as I leaned over the console and kissed him.
Epilogue
Three Months Later
Lane
“I think my nuts are frozen,” I said as I entered the apartment. Valentine’s Day was in a week, and Nolan wanted to get light-up hearts to stick into the ground along the front, so the studio was all pretty. Not easy when the ground was frozen.
“I told you to wait and I’d help you.” Max smiled as he leaned against the doorframe, wearing an apron that read “Lasagna is made with ricotta not cottage cheese, fight me.”
“It’s okay. Now you’re nice and warm, so I can do this.” I pressed my ice-cold fingers under his shirt, loving how he screamed like a cat.
“That’s cruel!” He pushed me away. Tank, thinking it was playtime, started hopping around, barking.
“I’m going to take a shower. Is the food almost done?” I slipped my scarf off and took a whiff of the air. Garlic, tomatoes, and onion filled the apartment.
“Yep. My sisters, Ma, Barney, and the kiddos will be here in about thirty minutes, so you better hurry.” He swatted my butt.
“Don’t go starting something you can’t finish.” I winked and ran to the bathroom, laughing when I shut the door in Max’s face.
It had been a crazy three months. With Max’s mother’s blessing, Max moved in with me. She swore she’d be fine, but we were making sure her bank account was always okay, and she could pay for things.
My mother, sadly, passed away two days into the new year. It was hard, and I was devastated, but the mom I knew left me a long time ago. Knowing how much pain she was in, it was almost a relief to know she wasn’t suffering anymore. Max had wanted to meet her and when we went there, she wasn’t lucid but she was pleasant. She had no recollection of who I was but said Max and I made a cute couple. It was the acceptance I didn’t know I needed, and the last time I saw her alive. Max was at my side through it all, and it made the grieving process easier. They did do an autopsy, and it was determined she had Lewy Body Dementia. It didn’t give me the relief I thought it would, no, and it was Max that made it easier to accept.
Max was never arrested for killing Dorian, and it was ruled self-defense. After that fateful night, Max and I saw Ciro in a whole new light. While he was still a man shrouded in secrets, we knew there was a good reason he kept them quiet, and it wasn’t our place to dig through them. I did sit down with Atlas and give him every detail about what had been going on, even the things I left out before. He had really come through for me and deserved to know what had happened that led to all this drama.
Nolan and Alexandra loved the new studio, and I was encouraged to aim for a drama-free life from now on.
My life was good. The guilt and worry that felt like an elephant constantly sitting on my chest was gone. I had a family I never thought I’d have, a man who loved me more than I probably deserved, a dream job, and the greatest friends anyone could ever ask for.
I’d just finished getting dressed when I heard the knock on the door followed by the loud Fazio family. Ma was talking about the art on the walls, and the kids were shouting for Tank, who I knew was likely hiding. He loved the kids, but they were a lot to take in, and he was tiny.
Barney’s voice echoed through the place, talking to Max about the game last night and how he wished he were a betting man—he’d have won a fortune. It was a house filled with laughter and love. Something I didn’t think I’d ever get tired of hearing.
I walked out and was flooded with hugs from Ma, Teresa, Frances, Maria, the kids, and even Barney. I was asked a million questions about work, my outfit, and of course the kids were asking me if they could give Tank a treat.
“Okay, let him breathe.” Max wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “Food’s ready, go sit.”
Everyone dispersed, and he smiled at me. “Every time they see you, it’s like you’re a movie star.”
I chuckled. “It’s nice to be loved.”
He pressed his lips to mine. “And it’s something I hope you always feel.”
I wasn’t sure life got any better than this, but I was sure looking forward to finding out.
The End
Author’s Note
Want to find out how Nolan and Seth met? A short story is coming (or depending when you read this may already be there) of their meet-cute. Check it out in my group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/DavidsonKingsCourt/
There are giveaways, exclusive material, teaser, and so much more. Hope to see you there.
Also, keep up with my new releases and info on book, translations, audios, and more by joining my newsletter:
https://www.davidsonking.com/subscribe
Thank you so much for reading Max and Sparkles’s story. Feel free to leave a review. I’d love to know what you thought.
Other Books by Davidson King
Haven Hart Series
Snow Falling
Hug It Out
A Dangerous Dance
Snow Storm
From These Ashes
Triple Threat
Raven’s Hart
Joker’s Sin Series
My Whole World
To Die For
Collaboration with JM Dabney
The Hunt
Standalones
New Tricks (Book 10: Ace’s Wild multi-author series)
Sticky Fingers
Acknowledgments
There are so many people to thank I fear I will always forget someone. Of course my family. They have to put up with my crazy brain on a regular basis. I also want to thank my Beta Team: Jenn, Lori, and Steph. They get my books in their rawest forms and lovingly rip it to shreds. I couldn’t do it without them. I want to thank Anita for her special catches. She’s more a magician than anything else. Flat Earth Editing, Hope and Jess, made this book sparkle in the end and it has been a pleasure working with them. And of course I have to thank Designs by Morningstar for the cover. She always nails it with my covers.
In the end none of this happens without all of you reading my insane ideas. This is for you, my readers. You amaze me and inspire me every day. Thank you, a million times.
About the Author
Davidson King, always had a hope that someday her daydreams would become real-life stories. As a child, you would often find her in her own world, thinking up the most insane situations. It may have taken her awhile, but she made her dream come true with her first published work, Snow Falling.
When she's not writing you can find her blogging away on Diverse Reader, her review and promotio
nal site. She managed to wrangle herself a husband who matched her crazy and they hatched three wonderful children.
If you were to ask her what gave her the courage to finally publish, she'd tell you it was her amazing family and friends. Support is vital in all things and when you're afraid of your dreams, it will be your cheering section that will lift you up.
Check out my Linktree for all links: https://linktr.ee/davidsonkingauthor
To Die For (Joker's Sin Book 2) Page 18