by Shandi Boyes
Although Dimitri is quick to shut it down, I still spot the shock that registers on his face before it fully disappears. He, like many other people in this shithole, underestimated the Walsh reputation. We can protect those we love without machine guns, and even if they were required, they’d never know it.
“You’re willing to die for your sister?” I don’t need to answer him. He can see the confirmation in my eyes. “How does Demi feel about that?”
No number of swallows will lessen the gurgle of my stomach. Demi took the hit of a man without a single tear falling down her cheek. She’s as strong as an ox, but I’d rather she didn’t need to be.
Confident he has me right where he needs me, Dimitri sinks low in his chair. “If Demi were taken by your enemies, how far would you go to get her back?” Just the fact he asks that reveals he has no clue Demi’s biggest enemy is the man who gave him life. “And what about that kid of yours growing in her stomach? The one you don’t know about because you’re ignoring all the signs.”
I can’t talk. My mouth gapes open and closed, but not a single word escapes me. I’m not just summarizing what he said, I am seeking the signs he’s confident I missed. There is a handful of them, but that doesn’t mean what I think it does, right? Girls pee more than guys, in general, and the extra sleep Demi has been getting the past couple of days is from sexual exhaustion, right?
Right.
Then why the fuck is the voice inside my head screaming the opposite?
“What if he or she were ripped away from you? How far would you go to keep her safe?” It dawns on me it isn’t just Demi being fucked over by her uncle. Not even his son is safe. “My daughter was cut out of my wife’s stomach. They butchered her like a piece of worthless meat. I don’t care who I have to trample, I won’t stop until they’re forced to pay for their mistakes.”
Although I get what he’s saying, nothing can alter the facts. “Justine is my sister. I won’t have her used like this.”
“And she’s my daughter!” After tossing a photo of a dark-haired girl I’d guess to be around the age of two to my side of his desk, Dimitri stands from his chair so there isn’t a chunk of wood between me and the muzzle of his gun. “She ranks higher than anyone.”
His flaring nostrils double when I return his hostile stance with one just as aggressive. He’s shocked I have the gall to pull a gun on him, but his surprise won’t see him standing down anytime soon. We stand across from each other for the next several seconds, our stare-down only ending when a thick Russian voice booms across the room, “Lower your guns.” Seconds feel like minutes when we ignore the stranger’s directive. “Don’t make me repeat myself. I’ll shoot you both before leaving you here to rot. Trust me when I say two less criminals in a sea of many won’t be missed.”
Hating that he has me confused as one of Dimitri’s goons, I lower my gun before ending our exchange with a final warning, “Stay away from my sister.”
I dump the gun with the serial number scratched off onto his desk before walking away. My brisk pace slows when my eyes land on the person who interrupted us. He’s the man who tried to convince Demi to press charges when he found her battered and bruised outside a rusty old pub. He’s a fucking agent, and I’m once again close to being snared by a Bureau’s trap.
While cursing my stupidity into the cool night air, I divert the direction of my course. Instead of heading back to the Buick to drop it off at Rocco’s mansion-size home, I move into the street. Demi will never achieve the peaceful life she’s after if I serve seven years behind bars for drug trafficking.
Upon noticing a van with a local pizza shop sign on the side door, I pull up the collar of my jacket. No pizza company in Hopeton has the funds to purchase a brand-new Mercedes Benz X-Class commercial vehicle. They pay Col far too much to keep their legitimate businesses off his radar to splurge. I wouldn’t be surprised to discover half of the Hopeton businesses can’t afford their staff’s wages.
I keep my chin glued to my chest until I round the corner the van is parked on, then I prick my ears to ensure I’m not being followed. I walk almost eight blocks before I flag down a cab coming in the opposite direction. I could call my brothers to pick me up, but I’m already struggling to work out how I’ll explain to Demi where I’ve been the past five hours. I don’t need more controversy.
I’m confident Demi will understand my eagerness to get my final run done and dusted, I am just not keen to see her reaction when she discovers I’m more like her family than she realizes.
I didn’t solely punch Landon because he insulted Demi. I did it for our future kids as well—children I always knew I’d have one day but never truly considered until Dimitri popped the idea into my head.
Demi and I are super relaxed with protection. By super relaxed, I mean we haven’t used any. Truth be told, I assumed Demi was on the pill. When I discovered that wasn’t the case, I should have manned up by gloving up. I don’t know why I didn’t. I could palm it off as that I’ve had her bare, so I couldn’t go back, but if that were the case, why didn’t I simply suggest she use the pill or get the implant? I keep my thoughts in my head for a reason. If the excited butterflies in my stomach are anything to go by, I’m reasonably sure I know why.
My relationship with Demi has occurred at the speed of lightning, so it’s only fair babies and marriage are crossed off my list of accomplishments sooner rather than later.
“Are you sure this is the address you want me to take you?” asks the cab driver after pulling up to a set of lights. “There’s nothing out that way but sticks and mosquitos.”
“Yeah, that’s right. I’ve heard there are good hiking tracks hidden back from the road.” I didn’t give him the cabin’s address. I’ll have to walk the final two miles.
The blond man with a reversed cap and a wonky grin hooks his arm over the passenger seat before cranking his neck to face me. He drags his eyes down my jeans, Vans shoes, and polo shirt before returning them to my face. “Hiking… right.”
With the cab driver’s friendliness gobbled up by suspicion, we make the trip in silence. I don’t mind. It gives me plenty of time to contemplate what to say to Demi and exactly how the fuck I should say it. I also take a couple of minutes to mull over the idea she’s pregnant.
I won’t lie, I’m hopeful.
My brothers don’t understand my protectiveness of Demi. They’ve never been in a serious relationship, so they don’t understand my desire to keep her safe is more important than anything. I’m sure their opinion will change when they learn she’s carrying their niece or nephew.
A baby will change everything, and for once, it will be a good change.
“Are you sure this is where you want me to drop you off?”
I answer the cab driver by handing him a couple of bills from the bundle of Benjamin Franklins left in my gym bag. The fare is already eye-watering, not to mention he needs to make the trip back to Hopeton alone. The money I gave him should cover both the fare and his time. It should also be enough to fill his tank with gas, lessening my guilt.
I peer at him like he’s insane when he says, “I’m good.” He nudges his head to the cash he pushed back through the gap in his window. “That there is blood money. No good can come from it.”
Not speaking another word, he winds up his window, then pushes down on the gas pedal. With the sun in the process of rising, it takes ages for me to be confident the hues of orange bouncing across the landscaped plains aren’t the taillights of his cab. I hate that I’m wasting time being cautious, but just like my earlier request for him to make a quick detour past a drugstore, I’d rather be safe than sorry.
After another twenty minutes standing by the side of the road, I push off my feet and head in the direction of the cabin. I don’t walk along the shoulder of the road. I keep my tracks hidden by the dense forest bordering all the roads out this way. The number of trees I have to veer past makes my pace a little sluggish, but the lights of the cabin soon present on the hori
zon. Its illumination advises Demi is awake. I’m not surprised, she’s been going to bed with the sun the past couple of days.
“Demi…” I remove my coat and mud-sloshed boots at the entryway door before I enter the empty living room. “Are you preparing breakfast?” God, I fucking hope so. I’ve missed her cooking as much as the sugary taste of her lips the past couple of days.
“Demi…” I call out again when I find the kitchen void of a single soul.
I’m about to go search for her in the bedroom when a box on the kitchen table stops me in my tracks. It’s a box of pregnancy tests—an empty box of pregnancy tests. All three sticks have been removed.
“Dem—” This shout is higher pitched than my earlier two. I don’t know about you, but I don’t see a woman taking three tests to authenticate a negative result. It’s usually the shock of a positive that sees them tearing through an entire packet. “Are you sleeping?”
With a smile, I pat down the rumpled bedding in the middle of the mattress before racing for the attached bathroom. My pace slows when the noise of running water filters through my ears. My girl is in the shower, and I’m more than ready for us to wash off the dirt of this putrid life.
“I hope you didn’t start without me.”
I dump my jeans on top of Demi’s sleepwear in the doorway of the bathroom before I yank my shirt over my head. In my hurry to join her in the shower, I fail to notice there’s no steam billowing under the bathroom door. The water has run cold, meaning Demi’s been in the shower for hours.
“Demi…”
When I push open the partially cracked-open door, my heart drops to my stomach before a mangled roar leaves my throat. Demi is in the shower, but the sound of running water isn’t from the showerhead. It is the horrific noise of the blood draining away from Demi’s slumped body circling the drain.
“Demi!”
The End… for now.
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Demi will be available shortly! Be sure to add my author page to your social media to remain up to date on all news relating to upcoming releases.
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Acknowledgments
I can sit down and write a book without batting an eye, but this is tough for me. There are always lots of people to thank, but not enough page space to thank them adequately, so I’ll keep it simple.
Thank you to those who inspire, encourage, and support me. Thank you for buying my books, reading them, and leaving reviews. Thank you for sending me messages of support, and telling me how much you love my characters. Thank you for being there when I wanted to walk away from writing. Thank you for taking a chance on a high-school dropout who can’t string two sentences together without making a mistake. And last, but not at all least, thank you for seeing past the mess to understand the story beneath it.
Without you, there would be no me, so for that, I’m forever in your debt.
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Much Love,
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Shandi xx
Also by Shandi Boyes
Perception Series
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Saving Noah (Noah & Emily)
Fighting Jacob (Jacob & Lola)
Taming Nick (Nick & Jenni)
Redeeming Slater (Slater and Kylie)
Saving Emily (Noah & Emily - Novella)
Wrapped Up with Rise Up (Perception Novella - should be read after the Bound Series)
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Enigma
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Enigma (Isaac & Isabelle #1)
Unraveling an Enigma (Isaac & Isabelle #2)
Enigma The Mystery Unmasked (Isaac & Isabelle #3)
Enigma: The Final Chapter (Isaac & Isabelle #4)
Beneath The Secrets (Hugo & Ava #1)
Beneath The Sheets(Hugo & Ava #2)
Spy Thy Neighbor (Hunter & Paige)
The Opposite Effect (Brax & Clara)
I Married a Mob Boss(Rico & Blaire)
Second Shot(Hawke & Gemma)
The Way We Are(Ryan & Savannah #1)
The Way We Were(Ryan & Savannah #2)
Sugar and Spice (Cormack & Harlow)
Lady In Waiting (Regan & Alex #1)
Man in Queue (Regan & Alex #2)
Couple on Hold(Regan & Alex #3)
Enigma: The Wedding (Isaac and Isabelle)
Silent Vigilante (Brandon and Melody #1)
Hushed Guardian (Brandon & Melody #2)
Quiet Protector (Brandon & Melody #3)
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Bound Series
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Chains (Marcus & Cleo #1)
Links(Marcus & Cleo #2)
Bound(Marcus & Cleo #3)
Restrain(Marcus & Cleo #4)
Psycho (Dexter & ??)
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Russian Mob Chronicles
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Nikolai: A Mafia Prince Romance (Nikolai & Justine #1)
Nikolai: Taking Back What’s Mine (Nikolai & Justine #2)
Nikolai: What’s Left of Me(Nikolai & Justine #3)
Nikolai: Mine to Protect(Nikolai & Justine #4)
Asher: My Russian Revenge (Asher & Zariah)
Nikolai: Through the Devil's Eyes(Nikolai & Justine #5)
Trey (Trey & K)
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The Italian Cartel
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Dimitri
Roxanne
Reign
Mafia Ties (Novella)
Maddox
Demi
Rocco
Clover
Smith
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RomCom Standalones
Just Playin’ (Elvis & Willow)
Ain't Happenin' (Lorenzo & Skylar)
The Drop Zone (Colby & Jamie)
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Short Stories
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Christmas Trio (Wesley, Andrew & Mallory -- short story)
Falling For A Stranger (Short Story)
K (A Trey Sequel)
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Coming Soon
Skitzo