by Ella Frank
“Don’t fucking start with me, Henri. I’m not in the mood.”
“Then go home,” Henri said. “Go home and let Julien know the deal. Be careful, keep an eye out, and all of that. And let me see what I can find on my end.”
“You aren’t finding shit.”
“And you are being a dick. Just remember, I’m the one who stayed here and dealt with this shit. You left, Joel.”
And because he was right, and Priest didn’t want to hear it, he hung up and glared at the phone. The last thing he wanted to think about was Jimmy being free and walking around amongst the general population again. The fact that that was even an option was ludicrous. But apparently someone high up had a career to make, and getting the new head of the New Orleans’s crime ring behind bars was more important than keeping an old killer off the streets.
Must be nice not to worry about that at night, Priest thought. To be able to go to sleep and not see rooms with blood on the floor, to hear the screams of men you’d never imagine screaming as they pleaded for their lives. That must be nice to be able to rest easy.
Not that he would know. He hadn’t slept easy for years. Not since he was seven. That was when his childhood had ended, when his innocence had been taken away from him, and even with Jimmy behind bars, Priest had never been able to escape him. Now Jimmy was about to be set free.
The monster who truly was evil incarnate was about to walk out into the light of day, and Priest couldn’t help but remember his words, remember the look of anger and betrayal on his face the day they’d dragged him away.
Maybe this leak was for the best after all, because if Jimmy really was dead and buried, Priest could finally shut the door on his wretched past once and for all.
ROBBIE STARED OUT the window of the Range Rover as Julien drove them home in silence, and as he watched the cars passing them by, he tried to focus on them and not the twisted knot in his stomach, which made him feel as though he wanted to vomit.
His mind was still reeling from the bomb Priest had just dropped at the brewhouse, and Robbie still hadn’t worked out how to speak to ask anything of importance.
Jimmy Donovan is Priest’s…dad? How is that even possible?
It made no sense at all. The man was a murderer. Not only a murderer, but one of the most infamous in the nation. As that thought hit him, Robbie clutched at his stomach and heard Julien say, “Do you need me to pull over, princesse?”
God, this felt like déjà vu. Hadn’t Julien said the exact same thing when he’d driven Robbie home after his nonna’s fall? Yeah, he had, and then he’d taken Robbie home to Priest, and the two of them had made Robbie feel safe, made him feel special, and now it turned out one of those men was the son of a— Oh my God. Priest is the son of Jimmy Donovan.
As the documentaries he’d seen scattered on cable over the years flashed through his mind, one very important and devastating fact glared out at him in all its red-haired glory.
The little boy who had witnessed—shit, it was too horrifying to even think—that had been…Priest? But not Priest, because that wasn’t his name, was it?
“Robbie?” Julien’s voice cut through Robbie’s jumbled thoughts. “Do you need me to pull over?”
But Robbie remembered Priest’s words—Go straight home—and shook his head.
“Did you…” Robbie said, and then licked his suddenly dry lips. “Have you… I mean, have you always known about…”
“His father?”
“Yes,” Robbie said, even as his entire body rebelled at the idea that someone like Priest had come from such a monster.
“Oui, he told me when things got serious between us.”
The comment was an innocent one, all things considered, but it cut deeper than Robbie expected, and the sting of it had him turning away. He didn’t want Julien to see how much it hurt him that Priest didn’t consider him—them—serious.
“Princesse?” Julien said, but Robbie shook his head. He didn’t want to show his hand just yet, or feel any more vulnerable or stupid than he already did.
But then Julien said, “Robert,” and the serious tone was so unlike him that Robbie found himself responding despite himself.
He looked over to see Julien turning into their parking garage, and said, “What?”
“He was going to tell you.”
Robbie ground his teeth together but remained silent as Julien wove them down to their spot and parked. The air in the car was tense, and Robbie hated that. He wanted to be understanding about this, and knew he probably should be, but this revelation was too much. It was…unfathomable.
“Priest found out about Jimmy’s parole the night you moved in.”
Robbie’s mind backtracked to that night. To the worry on Julien’s face when he opened the door, and the distracted light in Priest’s eyes when Robbie had gone to him in the bathroom. But never could he have imagined that this had been that chaos roiling through him.
“He was waiting to hear more details before he told you. If the situation had been different, he would’ve already talked to you about it.”
Robbie swallowed, trying to make sense of everything he was hearing, and then Julien said, “He’s still the same man he’s always been, princesse.”
Robbie knew that. In his mind, he knew that Priest was exactly the same person he’d come to know and trust implicitly over these past few weeks, but… “I feel like I know nothing about him. And everything I thought I knew feels like a lie. Even his last name. The name I call him. That’s a lie.”
“Non, it’s not. He chose that name for a very particular reason, and as for Jimmy? He’s been out of Priest’s life for a very long time. Since he was a little boy.”
“But he’s not, is he? Not really,” Robbie said, as he stared across the car into Julien’s questioning eyes. “He’s the reason Priest doesn’t sleep. He’s the reason he never slows down, never stops, never has peace. Jimmy ruined that little boy.”
Julien brought their hands up to his lips and kissed Robbie’s knuckles. “Or he made him fight to be the man he is now,” Julien said. “This is a shock, I understand that.”
Robbie shook his head as Priest’s words from that intimate moment the two of them had shared back in L.A. came rushing back to him: There has to be trust, honesty, and total transparency…or this kind of relationship won’t work.
“I need to,” Robbie drew his hand away and shoved open the door to the SUV. “I need to think about this. It’s not a conversation I can have right now.”
Julien nodded and climbed out also, and as he walked around the front of the vehicle, Robbie noticed he was looking around them, and he felt his pulse spike. What is he checking for?
“Let’s go upstairs,” Julien said, and held out his hand. “Priest should be home soon, and you can ask him anything you like.”
Robbie crossed his arms over his chest and followed Julien as they walked over and got in the elevator, and as he watched the doors shut, he couldn’t help but wonder what other secrets the two men he’d fallen in love with were keeping from him—and was he ready to hear them?
Coming Soon
The third book in Robbie, Julien & Priest’s
Confessions Series.
CONFESSIONS: PRIEST
Are you ready?
Thank You
Thank you for reading
CONFESSIONS: JULIEN
I hope you enjoyed the next chapter of Robbie, Julien & Priest’s journey. If you did, please consider leaving a review on the site you purchased the book from. The men would be MOST grateful.
If you would like to talk with other readers who love this series, you can find them HERE at
Ella Frank’s Temptation Series Facebook Group.
Special Thanks
I have to start this “Special Thanks” by thanking each and every person who picked up Robbie’s book and took a chance on his unconventional love story. I’m sure many of you had your doubts. But you trusted me and dove headfirst into his adventure,
and consequently took a journey with him and the two men he is falling in love with.
This book was written with the help of many people, as all my books are. But it was also written in two different countries this time! I started it when I was at a signing over in Australia, and it was wonderful to talk with readers Down Under and let them know my men were on my mind and being thought about even while I was right there with them. I have to give a special shout-out to one reader in particular, Helena Rose, and thank you for our conversation about Scottish Highlanders and throwing logs LOL ;)
I told you I was going to put it in there somewhere! Remember, any conversation you have with a writer…it just might show up in a book.
To my FTF, Brooke Blaine, thank you as always for dealing with me and every beginning I throw your way, even though I ALWAYS go back to the first one. This book was a bit of a puzzle for me with past and present all mixing together, and you sat and listened to me piece and map it all out and never once told me to shut up. I’m thinking the fact we were in really good seats on a plane and drinking wine helped with that, right?
Thank you for always being there with open ears and suggestions when I need them.
You are irreplaceable! And I hope I did your man justice.
To Zaza Zoo, who I literally could not have written this book without—thank you for being the French side of Julien. I swear you are teaching me how to speak the language slowly, but surely. I was so excited when I heard it on TV the other night and understood some of it! Thank you for your patience, your understanding when I was slower than I expected, and for wanting to work with me. I hope to one day be able to meet you and hug you in person!
To Arran. I’m still jealous you got to see Denzel… And am now equally jealous you saw U2. But I suppose I’ll get over it because I know deep down you’re jealous I saw Taylor. Don’t even try to deny it.
Thank you for always fitting me and my books in, even with your super-popular friends always calling you up.
Miss Judy! Thank you for reading through my guys even during a MOVE! I know how crazy that gets, since I’m currently moving too, and I appreciate you making the time for me! I love your dedication and eyes, lady. MUAH.
To the wonder women at Social Butterfly PR —ladies, you never cease to amaze me with your positive attitudes and dedication to the indie community. Thank you for working with me, and always being there with an answer to my questions. You’re amazing, and I love being part of the Butterfly Team.
And finally, to all the readers who took the next step in this journey with me and my men… Next up is Priest. I’m not sure I’m even ready for him—are you???
Until then,
MUAH
Xx Ella
About the Author
If you’d like to get to know Ella better, you can find her getting up to all kinds of shenanigans at:
The Naughty Umbrella
And if you would like to talk with other readers who love Robbie, Julien & Priest, you can find them HERE at
Ella Frank’s Temptation Series Facebook Group.
Ella Frank is the USA Today Bestselling author of the Temptation series, including Try, Take, and Trust and is the co-author of the fan-favorite contemporary romance, Sex Addict. Her Exquisite series has been praised as “scorching hot!” and “enticingly sexy!”
Some of her favorite authors include Tiffany Reisz, Kresley Cole, Riley Hart, J.R. Ward, Erika Wilde, Gena Showalter, and Carly Philips.
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For more information
www.ellafrank.com