She grimaced. “I wish I were. Kara thinks she can seduce him if she gets Tiana out of the picture.”
“She said that to you?”
“Yes,” L growled. “And she knows I can’t do a thing about it. She’s got Tiana wrapped around her little finger, believing everything she tells her. Tiana would never believe me if I told her the truth. I did try to tell Ash, but unfortunately Tiana came home right at that moment, painting me as the liar, not Kara. And you know what I’m like around conflict. I bolted, which only made me look worse. I couldn’t face him after that. But when he left the message about the break-up, I had to call him back. He was so upset it broke my heart.” She shook her head. “I still can’t believe Tiana called him that.”
“What did she call him?”
“The one thing he hates the most in the world: a lying cheat, who can’t keep his dick in his pants.”
My eyes widened. “What the fuck is wrong with T? I’m the one who thinks with my dick, not my bro. He’s only been with three women. Three. While I’ve been with hundreds.”
Clara grunted something under her breath.
I gave her a squeeze. “You’re the only one for me now, babe. No chick can compare to you.”
“You’re such a sweetheart,” she said, snuggling into my side, looking happy once more.
“Ash is a sweetheart too,” L said. “Tiana has no right to treat him so badly. It’s her own fault he walked out.”
I nodded. “I would’ve walked too. I really thought T wuz brighter than that, but I guess jealousy makes people stupid as fuck.”
“Very stupid. Everyone knows Ash has no interest in me romantically, that he only sees me as a friend.”
“Yeah, unfortunately,” I said, now wishing Ash would give L a chance, especially since she was the only chick who treated him right. She always had his back, often babysitting his kids whenever he needed help. She also loved him unconditionally. Regardless, Ash’s love life wasn’t my problem, because for once in my life mine was perfect, and I wanted to enjoy being on top of the world without everyone else’s shit bringing me down.
I gave Clara another squeeze, grateful I had a loyal woman by my side, one who’d given me absolutely no issues since we’d decided to make it official. Not official official, we weren’t married... yet, because the possibility of getting hitched to Clara was something I’d been considering lately. I hummed, liking the thought of her wearing my ring. And it wasn’t as if we didn’t act like a married couple. Although we still lived at Jade’s, we slept in the same bed next to Tyson’s cradle. Clara had taken to motherhood well, constantly fussing over our baby. If anything, it was a small miracle that she’d agreed to leave Tyson with a nanny, no matter how excited she was for the big concert.
I kissed her head, unable to keep my hands and mouth off her. Jade had warned me about PDA, that my fans wanted the illusion that I was single, but I couldn’t help myself. Plus, everyone basically knew I was with Clara, the trashy rags, blogsites, and social media following our relationship as though it paid their bills. Actually, it probably did.
“Can we shelve the family dramas for the night?” Jade said, capturing my attention. “Your brother’s issues can wait until tomorrow, because I don’t think your fans will wait another second.”
“Fine,” I said. “Let’s rock and roll, biatches.”
Clara laughed, looking just as excited as I felt. The Sydney concert was my first solo gig outside of New Zealand, and in a massive venue at that.
Jade opened the door, letting in a wail of screams, the crowd going even more insane. He got out, his suit and tie in stark contrast to my leather pants and black singlet. From where I was sitting, I could see numerous guards making sure the fans didn’t break through the fencing, Jade not lying about the beefed-up security. Which was good, otherwise I wouldn’t have let Clara out of the limo.
L sucked in a breath and climbed out next, getting her own screams. Even a few of the guards turned to look at her. Then the crowd started chanting my name. Jade had been right—people loved me. It didn’t matter that I had a cunt of a personality, or a rotten past, all that mattered was my voice and looks, propelling me to superstardom. Though, pity it was having a ricochet effect on Ash, who was getting the same hysteria wherever he went. My bro was no longer able to drop his kid off at school without the other kids’ mothers going nuts. They had swarmed him to the point where he’d decided to stay at home with Lily, only coming out to do his labouring jobs. Jade hadn’t given up on trying to get Ash to sign a music contract, saying he might as well get paid for his troubles. I agreed, stating that he should give new-age reggae a try, his tastes more laid back than mine.
I weaved my fingers through Clara’s. “You ready?”
She gave me the sweetest smile in return. “As long as you’re with me.”
“I’ll always be with you, babe. Always.”
Grinning, I climbed out of the car, pulling her along with me. The screams became hysterical once people saw me. The crowd surged forward, putting an immense amount of pressure on the fence and security crew, but the big motherfuckers managed to keep them back.
My happy mood quickly soured as I noticed a familiar reporter amongst the paparazzi. The cow had printed an article about Clara’s conviction, doing her best to paint my woman as a child molester. I refrained from giving the small brunette the finger, instead slinging an arm around Clara’s shoulders, not letting the reporter ruin our moment.
The other paparazzi yelled for my attention, trying to get me to smile for them, to turn this way and that way, posing for them like some sort of diva. Fuck that, all they were going to get was a smile at best, because this was my show, not theirs.
I headed up the red carpet with Clara, who looked a mix of happy and nervous, probably because she never knew how people would react to her. Some loved her, thinking our past was romantic, while others hated her, calling her names on social media. I’d gotten into a couple of arguments online, biting back at them, before Jade told me off, saying I couldn’t speak to fans like that. I didn’t fucking care, because no one said shit about my woman and got away with it.
Someone shouted out Clara’s name, but instead of insults, this fan appeared to like her. They reached between the guards, holding out a pen and paper. Clara pointed at her chest, looking surprised she was being asked for an autograph. The girl started jumping up and down, nodding her head like a loon, obviously ecstatic that Clara had noticed her. Smiling, I steered Clara towards the girl, wanting to encourage people to be nice to my missus. The girl’s eyes bugged out when she saw me coming over with Clara. She appeared to be between sixteen and eighteen, my guessing of ages lousy.
I indicated for the guard to step aside so I could take the pen and paper. “What’s your name, love?” I asked.
“Lucy,” she squeaked, still staring at me with star-struck eyes, the people around her doing the same. Some reached for me, while others told me they loved me, one woman even crying hysterically.
I wrote, To Lucy, cheers for coming to see me and my missus, then signed my name, handing it to Clara to sign as well.
A girl next to Lucy, a tiny redhead, squealed at me, “We ship you and Clara so hard!”
I had no idea what the fuck that meant, other than it was obviously good, because Clara laughed with happiness, thanking the girl.
Clara handed the pad back, getting a loud, “Thank you! I love you!” from Lucy. Clara took a pad from the redhead, also signing for her, passing it to me next.
Jade came up behind us as I signed my name. “We better head in,” he said, giving the crowd a worried look, this side surging a bit too much.
“’Kay,” I answered, handing the pad back to the redhead. “Give these two backstage passes, along with their mums.” I saluted the two women behind the girls, the birds looking too much like the teenagers not to be related. The chubbier of the two giggled nervously, while the other one stared at me as though she wanted to superglue my image to her retin
as.
I laughed and walked off while Jade dealt with my request. Clara and I continued up the red carpet, L already having disappeared inside. The paparazzi yelled at us to look at them, to smile and pose. I ignored them until I got to the entrance of the stadium. I turned to face everyone with Clara and gave them one of my biggest smiles. Camera flashes went off, everything so fucking bright...
Including mine and Clara’s future together.
AUTHOR NOTE
Thanks for reading Broken Lives, I hope you enjoyed Clara’s and Dante’s journey, as well as their long awaited HEA. When I first started writing this series, I didn’t think they were going to get one, if anything, I thought it was going to end up with Clara behind bars, losing Dante forever. But things worked out in ways I didn’t plan, a one book standalone turning into a four-book series, everything working out in the end. Anyway, if you’re not quite ready to leave behind the characters from this series, they also feature in two of my other series: Behind the Lives and Graffiti Heaven. I will also be writing more about the Broken Lives characters in future books, so let me know who your favourites are. You can do this through my Goodreads and Facebook pages, their links are on the next page.
P.S. Don’t be surprised if I decide to write about Dante’s and Clara’s music career, because I think it would be a fun ride. Also, don’t give up on Killer and Tane! Those two broken men have an intense story of their own, with Murderer and Pain trying to tag along, as well as Jade. And Jasper... I can’t wait to write his story. Now, I just need to find more time in the day for all of these projects and more!
Cheers,
Marita.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Marita A. Hansen is from New Zealand. She loves writing, creating art, watching and participating in football, and running. For more information on Marita check out these links:
Author Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Marita-A-Hansen/113130742120676
Blog Site:
http://maritaahansen.blogspot.co.nz/
Amazon Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/Marita-A.-Hansen/e/B005H5W79K/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
Goodreads’ Author Page:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5129673.Marita_A_Hansen
Artslant Page:
http://www.artslant.com/global/artists/show/74433-marita-hansen
Twitter Name: @MaritaAHansen
MORE BOOKS BY MARITA A. HANSEN
Graffiti Heaven (Graffiti Heaven #1)
Behind the Hood (Behind the Lives #1)
Behind the Tears (Behind the Lives #2)
Behind the Lens (Behind the Lives #3)
Behind the Secrets (Behind the Lives #4)
Don’t Peek (The Diaries of a Teenage Girl)
Overwhelmed (Blurred Lines #1)
My Masters’ Nightmare Season 1, Episodes 1 – 5
My Masters’ Nightmare Season 1, Episodes 6 – 10
My Masters’ Nightmare Season 1, Episodes 11 – 15
Ricardo (The Santini Brothers #1)
Brando (The Santini Brothers #2)
Vincenzo (A Santini Brothers’ Short Story) from the anthology Men of Mayhem
I Love You, Salvatore (The Five Families #1) – This is also a Santini Brothers’ Novella
Sasha & Andriena (Lovers & Sinners #1)
Broken English (Broken Lives #1)
Shattered Poetry (Broken Lives #2)
Jagged Pill (Broken Lives #3)
Stella Maris (The Legendary Rosaries)
Love Drunk (Broken Lives Book 4) Page 30