Forest’s FALL
Book 3, Captive Hearts series
Ellie Masters
JEM Publishing
Elliemasters.com
Copyright © 2020 Ellie Masters
Forest’s FALL
All rights reserved.
This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this ebook ONLY. No part of this ebook may be reproduced, scanned, transmitted, or distributed in any printed, mechanical, or electronic form without prior written permission from Ellie Masters or JEM Publishing except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to the seller and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.
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Editor: Erin Toland
Proofreader: Rox LeBlanc
Published in the United States of America
JEM Publishing
This is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, businesses, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
* * *
AISN: B07Z1GY36T
Warning
This story contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and might be considered offensive to some readers.
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Also by Ellie Masters
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YOU CAN FIND ELLIE’S BOOKS HERE:
ELLIEMASTERS.COM/BOOKS
Military Romance
Guarding Zoe
Contemporary Romance
Mistletoe Mischief
Cocky Captain
(Vi Keeland & Penelope Ward’s Cocky Hero World)
Firestorm
(Kristy Bromberg’s Everyday Heroes World)
Romantic Suspense
each book is a standalone novel.
Twist of Fate
The Starling
Redemption
The One I Want Series
(Small Town, Military Heroes)
By Jet & Ellie Masters
each book in this series can be read as a standalone and is about a different couple with an HEA.
Aiden
Brent
Caleb
Dax
Light BDSM Romance
The Ties that Bind
each book in this series can be read as a standalone and is about a different couple with an HEA.
Alexa
Penny
Michelle
Ivy
Rockstar Romance
The Angel Fire Rock Romance Series
each book in this series can be read as a standalone and is about a different couple with an HEA. It is recommended they are read in order.
Ashes to New (prequel)
Heart’s Insanity (book 1)
Heart’s Desire (book 2)
Heart’s Collide (book 3)
Hearts Divided (book 4)
Dark Romance
Captive Hearts Series
each book in this series can be read as a standalone and is about a different couple with an HEA. It is recommended they are read in order.
She’s MINE
Embracing FATE
Forest’s FALL
Romantic Suspense
Changing Roles Series:
this series is about one couple and must be read in order.
Book 1: Command
Book 2: Control
Book 3: Collar
HOT READS
each book is a standalone novel.
Off Duty
Nondisclosure
Down the Rabbit Hole
HOT READS
Becoming His Series
this series is about one couple and must be read in order.
Book 1: The Ballet
Book 2: Learning to Breathe
Book 3: Becoming His
Sweet Contemporary Romance
Finding Peace
~AND~
Science Fiction
Ellie Masters writing as L.A. Warren
Vendel Rising: a Science Fiction Serialized Novel
Contents
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
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Sneak Peek of Guarding Zoe
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Also by Ellie Masters
About the Author
Connect with Ellie Masters
Final Thoughts
THE END
Chapter One
Forest
I pulled at the collar of my jacket to ward off the chill. Water pooled on the streets and splashed beneath my boots. Most of the streetlights were out, and very little traffic flowed down the dimly lit streets. Those cars which passed didn't slow, and they never stopped.
Not in this part of town.
Decay seeped from the walls and flowed with the litter on the streets down the gutters where it swirled down the drains. Far too few lights lit up the buildings. Those few locals who remained huddled in their apartments and waited for the dawn to make their neighborhood safe again.
In the hours after midnight, murderers, kidnappers, rapists, and thieves reigned supreme. Drug deals went down in narrow alleys where prostitutes made a living, one John at a time.
Wise men stayed off the streets.
Except me.
I braved the night and walked down the fetid streets as if I was on a morning stroll.
A few prostitutes gathered beneath the safety of a streetlight, braving the night to make a quick buck. They shrank away, eyes widening with fear when th
ey noticed me. One grew bold enough to approach.
I gave a sharp shake of my head, sending her scrambling back to the safety of her friends.
I wasn't here for something like that.
I came for the children.
Kids the prostitutes kicked to the shadows. That's where their young spirits broke, and the fire died in eyes.
I searched the darkness, peering into narrow alleyways.
The light plink, plink, plink of water dripping down drains sounded loud in my ears. A light breeze kicked up, and an empty can rattled down the street.
The smell of rot had me wrinkling my nose as I tried not to gag against the fetid stench. This street was not the place for a stroll. It was a place steeped in the worst humanity had to offer, but I walked with purpose.
I steered away from desperate prostitutes and sent those few drug dealers brave enough to approach running with my cold stare.
Then I heard it, someone scurrying out of sight.
Someone small.
I angled over to the alley and paused at the entrance.
The padding of small feet disappeared into the darkness as they scrambled for safety.
I held up my hands, palms out, knowing the child could only make out my silhouette. My size would frighten him because I was a mountain of a man.
Standing at six-foot-eight, I towered over most. To a defenseless child, I would be a monster. It killed me to think one so young had only seen the worst in men.
"I just want to talk." The low rumble of my voice vibrated in the still night air. I was going to do a whole lot more than talk. Tonight would be the last night this kid lived on the streets.
I wondered, however, how many Johns had said the same thing to this kid and then did far more than just talk. My stomach churned with what this kid must have endured.
The deep rumble of my voice did nothing to soothe the child in the dark. I didn't think this alley had a back way out, but I could be wrong. The kid was trapped, and that would increase his fear.
Now that I found the kid, it was time to let Sara talk him out of the alley. She was soft, sweet, and kids loved her. For some reason, they trusted her implicitly.
Pure as an angel, and as beautiful as the dawn, Sara was sharp as a tack and a royal pain in my ass, but in times like this, the purity of Sara's soul became a most useful tool.
"My name is Forest."
Still nothing.
"I want to help you."
The darkness didn't speak.
What the hell did I expect?
When I had been that age, would I have run into the arms of a giant?
I never ran. I couldn't.
I had been too small.
Too weak.
Too afraid.
Huffing out a breath, I forced those memories back where they belonged.
I took a step, then sat my ass down on the wet pavement and crossed my legs in front of me. It was the only thing I could think of to make myself look smaller than I was. Maybe I would look less intimidating too. Who knew?
Reaching into the breast pocket of my jacket, I pulled out a candy bar.
Was this kid stupid enough to take candy from a stranger?
Those kinds of kids didn't last long on the street, but from the quick glimpse I had, this one might be hungry enough to risk it.
I tossed the candy bar down the middle of the dank alley as a gust of wind blew a noxious odor out from the darkness. I nearly gagged and coughed into my fist. No child should have to huddle in such a place.
"My friend, Sara, wants to help you. We both do. But we want to help your friends too."
A new pimp in town was peddling young flesh. Kids as young as six were on the streets. Forced to satisfy the appetites of monstrous men, it was a death sentence. I peered down the alley, trying to get a glimpse of the kid, but couldn't make anything out. I pulled out my phone and sent a quick text to Sara.
Found a kid. Need you.
A few seconds passed while three tiny dots danced on my screen. Sara's message popped up.
Be right there. Don't scare him!!! And WTF with the ringtone, boss!!!!!
I huffed a laugh. Don't scare him? Might as well ask a giant to shrink to average size. As for the ringtone? What was wrong with "Flight of the Valkyries?" It was perfect for swooping in to save the day. Sara had no humor.
Much like this kid, I'd been tiny as a boy. Skye had called me her beanpole, and for many years she called me Bean, but I'd grown out of the name and was simply Forest now.
Sara hated my evening strolls. She claimed I put myself in danger when I could hire men for this. She was a worrier, but there was very little that scared me. Crowds parted before me. Men shrank in my presence. And women stared with open admiration.
In this world, there was little for me to fear.
The boy in the alley made no move to snatch the candy bar.
Smart kid.
I reached back inside my pocket and pulled out a granola bar. "Not a fan of chocolate? How about this?"
I ripped off the plastic wrap and held it up. The kid wouldn't be able to see, but that was okay.
"It's perfectly safe to eat." I broke off a bite and made a show of putting it in my mouth. "See?"
Still nothing from the darkness.
Behind me, the hiss of tires over the wet asphalt had me turning my head. A dark town car pulled to a stop, and a beautiful woman climbed out.
A creature of habit, Sara smoothed the fabric of her pencil skirt as she approached. It hugged her curves and drew a man's eye. Her heels clicked on the pavement, and the swish of the fabric captured my attention. Why she didn't wear something more practical escaped me, but she liked her skirts. And I enjoyed watching her walk.
Sara gave a curt nod; irritation dripped from her words. "Stop messing with my phone. I hate that ringtone."
Sara interned for me years ago. A graduate of Rice University, she had studied aeronautical engineering and should be working in that field. Instead, she hung on and never left, which worked out well for me.
I hated training new people.
"Evening, Sara." My response sounded like a rumble to my ears.
She spared one look at me, then gave a dismissive shake of her head at my lack of further communication.
What was the point? Small talk was a waste of time. She knew what to do, and there was no reason to discuss it ad nauseam.
Her attention shifted to the alley.
"Congratulations, you trapped a kid into an alley." She pitched her voice low so the kid wouldn't hear.
I said nothing. Sara always had more to say, and if I kept quiet, she'd carry the entire conversation on her own, thus relieving me of the burden of the tiresome exchange.
She pulled out her cell phone and flicked on the light. Rather than pointing it down into the alley, she shined the light on her face.
"Hey there." Soft and friendly, she cooed into the darkness.
Unlike me, Sara always knew what to say, and she said it with an angelic voice.
"My name is Sara, and this is my friend, Forest. We want to help you."
The darkness responded with a scuttling noise.
"Looks like you're scaring him away." I couldn't help the snarky comment.
"Him?" She arched a brow and glanced at me. "Could be a girl. Did you see him?"
"No."
"So, you don't know." Her angelic face, ethereal voice, and eyes which had seen and endured too much pain, tunneled deep inside me where they didn't belong.
Sara made me feel things I didn't want to feel.
"Fifty-fifty chance." I gave a dismissive snort.
"You're impossible." She turned the light from the phone off her face and toward the alley. Her lilting voice pierced the darkness and pushed it aside. "I have chicken fingers, fries, and a soda in the car. You can have them if you want. I have a sweater, shoes, and a blanket too, but only if you want them."
"A blanket?" A tiny voice responded.
Not a boy. It was a litt
le girl.
"I do."
"You can watch…if you want." The tiny voice seemed to fade a little. "But it costs extra."
"Extra?" Sara cocked her head, but I understood.
The kid sniffed. "Fifty for him to f-f-fuck. Twenty for you to watch." The little voice tripped over that word.
It wasn't the first time it had spilled from that innocent mouth. How hard had this child been used? And out here alone? Brokering her ruin?
It was all I could do to hold back a growl. "She thinks I'm here for…to do…" My stomach clenched at what the poor girl thought I wanted.
Sara's eyes widened, but she didn't otherwise react. "My friend, Forest, doesn't want to hurt you…or do those kinds of things to you. And I'm not here to watch."
"You're not?" Shock and distrust filled the kid's words.
Forest's Fall (Captive Hearts Book 3) Page 1