by K. J. Dahlen
“Let’s cut to the chase really… See, you and I both know we have nothing on you. Though you were there with Mack when Devon killed him, we believe there may have been other motives. Mack came to us with the intentions of bringing you in, but after talking with Devon, it seems he might have rather have had you dead, instead.”
“Well, if you have no proof, you should probably release me then,” I countered, leaning back into the metal folding chair casually. There was some proof though, somewhere. I mean, after all, I had killed John. Devon took the fault for his death, as well, pulling the wool right over their eyes.
“Oh, you’ll be leaving—just under different circumstances.” The way he said it actually caused fear to bloom in my body. There would be conditions I was certain. Conditions rendering me from doing anything.
Before I had the chance to respond back, he walked to one of the doors and opened it. One the other side, I could see Devon’s smug face. How had that man made it in the FBI for so long? Better yet, how did I handle hanging around him?
“Meet your new partner, Mr. King.”
“My new partner?” What did he mean?
“Yup. You can leave this compound under the stipulations you join the gang related task force.” I pondered what he said a moment. A task force? Gang related? Was I taking my own people down?
“What am I going to be doing?”
I watched as Zach turned to smile at Devon. He was lacking the amusement Zach had and that told me I wasn’t going to enjoy this.
“We know you’ve done some really bad stuff. Even if we don’t have the proof, we have the knowledge. Better yet, you have the knowledge…” He pointed at me. “With your information and knowledge of the Mafia, we can take down others who are headed down similar paths. Many do far worse than what you’re known for doing.”
I nodded, understanding what he was saying. I knew what they were talking about. Luccio’s family, before I came into contact with them, ended up being in the business of human trafficking.
“Basically, I get to play good cop?”
“Yes, Devon here will train you on the job. You will report to me once a week. We will have a new job for you every week. Eventually, we’ll get to the big stuff,” Zach said, not sounding as happy as he was before. Maybe it was because I was smiling, and he didn’t expect it—or he finally realized allowing a criminal into a branch of the FBI was insane.
See, those who know me, know my hate for the FBI is huge. However, those letting me go means something to me. I had already decided I was letting the Mafia go. Since my hands will no longer be tied to them, I can start over. I can do better. Be better. Even if it’s just for Bree.
“Okay, I’m in.” I had acted before the chance was taken away.
“Good.” Glancing sideways at Devon for a moment, he walked out of the room leaving us alone.
“Never would I have seen the day Alzerro King joined the good side,” Devon said. He sounded astounded, but somehow, I had expected this to be the plan all along. I owed Devon quite a bit. He had saved Bree’s life, given her a slice of freedom, and by giving her my mother’s knife, had given her the power to kill Mack.
Laughing gruffly, I said, “I owe you big time, man.”
“Yeah, yeah, you do.” Devon laughed back. For the first time in my entire life, I felt the sun shining against my skin.
“Thanks.”
“Yeah, now let’s get you cleaned up and do some training so we can get you sent back home next week.”
22
Bree
I was over caring. Over trying and taking care of myself. Losing him was all that consumed me. It was hard to think about anything else when the other piece of my beating heart was out there somewhere. Jared was trying, as was my father.
They didn’t understand. They didn’t feel the pain deep down to the epicenter. Our love was built on fire, passion, betrayal, and hate. We might not have been meant to be together, but falling in love with him was the most exhilarating thing I had ever done in my life.
The debt is never going to be settled, Piccolo.” My body shuddered as the memory of that very conversation flooded into me.
“Why?” I cried out as he pulled me closer to his mouth. His hot breath was on my face, and he smelled like bourbon and man. Sweat still lined his brow, and blood seeped through the bandage on his shoulder.
“Because now it’s I who is indebted to you…”
This was his repayment to me. His way of thanking me, by making sure I was free of the pain. I would no longer have to deal with the Mafia lifestyle. I would no longer have to fear for my life. What he took with all of it was himself—he removed himself from all of it.
“Come on, Bree. You can’t spend the rest of your life in this bedroom,” Jared spoke from the doorjamb.
Burying myself deeper into the pillow, I screamed. I wanted to hurt someone. Something. Anything to help dull the pain slicing through my chest. People said time heals all wounds, but I think it’s a lie. Wounds don’t heal. We just learned to deal with the pain of losing them differently.
“Jared, I will pull a fucking knife on you if you come in here and tell me what to do again.” I had no filter. I had no reason to care if I hurt others. I was out of control. Like a feral animal, I would attack anything or anyone who got too close.
“You don’t scare me… I care about you, and even though I know he’s gone, you have to carry—”
“Shut up,” I growled not wanting to hear him. I didn’t want the words to be said simply because it made the ache in my chest worse. Nothing made it more apparent than having the truth spoken, and I wasn’t ready to face the truth.
“God, Bree. It’s been two fucking weeks,” Jared all but screamed, his temper rising with every word.
“Two weeks, Jared. Do you hear yourself? Two fucking weeks since I lost the person who made me breathe. The person who I lived for.” I sat up in bed throwing the pillow at him. He caught it with one hand, throwing me a dirty look.
“Look, I know it hurts but—”
“What the hell do you know about love, Jared?” I butted in not allowing him to finish his sentence. All he did was stare back at me. We both knew he hadn’t a fucking clue about love—what it entailed, how it made your heart race. How it made your palms sweat, your eyes dilate, how every hair on your body stood when he or she walked in the room.
“One more week, Bree. One more week is all you get before we leave here and you get your shit together.”
“Fuck you,” I spat at him hatefully. I was an adult. I could do whatever I wanted to do. In fact, I would now. As I rifled around the bedroom for clothes, I thought back to the moment we drove away. I should’ve been mad at him. I should’ve fought harder. I should’ve made him leave. Instead of being mad, I wasn’t. I was hurt, but I knew why he did it. Didn’t mean it was okay, though.
I could hear the doorbell ring off in the distance. It distracted me for a millisecond. It wasn’t Zerro. He would never come bursting through the door ever again. Voices sounded in the living room. Pulling my sweatpants off, I pulled on a pair of jeans and pushed my feet into my boots.
The voices grew louder until I decided I needed to see what the fuck was going on. My hands gripped the blade in my hand—the one his mother had given him. It was the only thing I had left of him.
I opened my door, and the sound of a voice I knew very well met my ears. I could already picture his whiskey colored eyes peering into my own. His breathtaking smirk, the way his muscles moved with him in an elegant manner. I shot off like a rocket down the hall not even caring how insane I looked. I wouldn’t stop at anything until I felt his hands against my own.
My eyes met his for a fraction of a second, and I had my arms wrapped around him. I panted against his chest, happy tears falling from my eyes.
“Piccolo…” he whispered into my hair while cupping the side of my cheek. I melted into his touch as I sighed in relief. I never thought I would hear him say that again. After ten minutes
of standing in the same position, I released him.
“I’m so sorry I hurt you. I’m so fucking sorry.” His apology was sincere and as I stared into his eyes, I could see the pain we both shared.
“Where were you?” I questioned right away. If he wasn’t here with me, then he had to be somewhere. There was no excuse.
“I was being held by the FBI.” He shot someone a look, and as I turned to see the direction of said look, my eyes landed on Devon. When did he get here?
“You were with Devon?”
“Yes. Devon is FBI. He was planning to take down Mack. I was being held for a bunch of charges from the past. They had no proof, but they did end up striking a deal.” His eyes twinkled as he smirked.
“What kind of deal?”
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a badge. “You’re looking at FBI agent Alzerro King, baby.”
My eyes grew wide as I took a step back. He was an FBI agent. Zerro the Mafia King was playing on the right side of the law.
With everything in me, I jumped on him kissing him with a fierceness I couldn’t contain.
“I love you,” I said softly.
“I love you, too, Piccolo…”
Epilogue
Bree
ONE YEAR LATER
“Alzerro King,” I squealed as I crossed the threshold of the apartment. It was covered floor to ceiling with various colored balloons. It looked like a rainbow blew up in our house.
Silence followed suit as I pushed the mass of balloons out of the way so I could walk through. What the hell was going on?
“You had better have a god damn good reason for all this shit in here,” I growled. My hands were full of books. I ended up being able to take night classes at one of the local campuses. Though I was way behind on my past degree, I was able to catch up pretty fast and transfer credits over. It had always been my dream to finish my degree in nursing. I wanted to be able to help those who were the most sick. Healing them reminded me of my mom.
As I found my way into the kitchen, I threw the books onto the island watching them scatter across the marble countertop. Where was that man? Butterflies fluttered within me. Are James and Jared here? I thought Zerro had said something about them coming over, but being so busy, I hadn’t noticed. Though we were busy—Zerro with the task force and me with school, we were finding ways to grow with James and Jared. After all, they were the only family I had.
A throat clearing behind me made me turn around. My stomach was in knots, and my heart was beating out of my chest as my eyes landed on the biggest bouquet of roses I had ever seen, and the man I love was holding them.
“What is this?” My eyes were already filling with tears and I wasn’t sure what was going. Things had changed between us. In a way, we became even more in accord with one another.
“This…” He smirked gesturing to the balloons, roses, and me. “Is for you. Since the day my eyes landed on the photo of you at your mom’s farmhouse, I knew I had to have you. Even if it were for one little taste, it would be worth it.”
Taking a step forward, he placed the roses in my arms. “From that moment on, you ripped me apart—challenging my every move, meeting my every step. You loved me, even when I thought I was unlovable and when I thought there was no way we could survive this mess.”
Tears were flooding my eyes, and the emotions swirled within me causing my body to quake with need. I needed him like I needed air.
His fingers cupped the side of my cheek gently, pushing away the tears.
“I knew I would want you to be my wife the moment you saved my life. It was my duty to care for you, to protect you.”
Was he going to ask me to marry him? I couldn’t breathe my chest was so full of love. Slowly he dropped to one knee, and I lost it.
“Will you, Bree Forbes, marry me?”
There was no hesitation in my words. “Yes.” And then I kissed him like I hadn’t seen him in days. Like that first day when I saw him after two weeks of thinking I had lost him. Our love story was tragic and in ways, even brutal. Some would call it fucked up, but I would call it inevitable. We, falling in love—it was meant to be.
About J.L. Beck
J.L. Beck is the Best Selling Author of A Kingpin Love Affair Series and The Bittersweet Series. She plays mother and wife by day and writer extraordinaire by night. When she’s not writing, reading, or doodling, you can find her watching The Vampire Diaries and The 100. She currently resides in the tiny town of Elroy in the state of Wisconsin with her husband of seven years and their three-year-old hellion.
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Taking What's His (Bad Boy Alpha's #1)
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Never Had a Choice
Spawn & Spitfire, Volume 4
K.J. Dahlen
1
Cricket stood at the window of the room she shared with Raine and looked out over the clubhouse compound. The early morning light was just chasing away the shadows of the night. She loved this time of day almost as much as she loved the man sleeping all sprawled out on the bed behind her. She knew that with the rising of the new day the shadows hadn’t taken her.
The dawn was the best time of day, when everything awakened from its sleep and the dew was still on the ground. It was so quiet outside the birds weren’t even awake yet. It was peaceful. It also reminded her to give thanks that all the troubles were behind her now.
Dusty was settled in with his father now and was loving his new life. A tear sneaked down her cheek as she thought about the boy and how happy he’d been the last time she’d seen him. Happy and safe, that’s all that mattered to her. She wasn’t so worried about his grandfather anymore. Bane hadn’t been around for months and she prayed she’d never see him again, not in her lifetime anyway.
She hoped like hell she wouldn’t see either of them again, Bane or his son Michael. She didn’t lay claim to either of them as family. Leaning forward she rested her forehead on the glass pane of the window. Closing her eyes, she prayed silently that Bane and Michael would find their own kind of peace, somewhere very far away from her and Dusty.
For the first time in her whole life, she finally knew peace. There was no more fear in her life, th
e kind of fear she’d lived with every day. The kind of fear of looking over her shoulder, hoping not to find the boogey man standing there. The man she now knew as Bane Jessin. Her uncle by blood, but a cold bustard with no ties to his family. The kind of fear her sister liked to hold over her head when she threatened her own wellbeing or that of her own son.
She didn’t have to worry about being physically or mentally abused anymore either. Cordy was gone out of her life for good and Bane had promised not to come back.
She only had one wish now, she really wanted a home of her own. A place she could feel safe and loved. She had that once when her mother was still alive and she missed it after her mother was gone.
Looking out into the dooryard, she noticed the birds were singing now and the things around the compound were starting to come alive again, just as they had done the day before and the day before that.
Crickey smiled and took a deep breath, inhaling the scents of a new and wonderful day. Then she turned and went back over to the bed. Crawling in beside Raine, she took another deep breath. This time, she inhaled his scent.
She loved the way he smelled, woodsy and fresh with just a hint of earth. His skin was tanned from being outside all day and his hair curled down around his ear. The curls were soft and his coloring still amazed her. He and Dusty shared the same color hair, as did most of his brothers from what she remembered. It ranged from dark brown to golden yellow and every shade in between.