Every Kiss You Steal: A Redeeming Love Novel (Book 7)
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Every Kiss You Steal
A Redeeming Love Novel (Book 7)
J.E. Parker
Edited by
Sara Miller
Beta Read by
Christina Youngren
Cover Design by
Letitia Hasser
Contents
Playlist
Part I
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Part II
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
Part III
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Part IV
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Epilogue
Also by J.E. Parker
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About the Author
Acknowledgments
Copyright © 2019 by J.E. Parker. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without prior written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by the copyright law.
Resemblance to actual persons, things, living or dead, locales or events is entirely coincidental.
Dedication
Ziggy Bear
You were more than just a dog.
You were my companion and my anchor.
You were the glue that helped hold me together.
Losing you has shattered my heart,
but I know that one day we’ll meet again.
Until then, I’ll hold every precious memory tight.
Thank you for loving me, Zigs.
You were the best furbaby I could’ve ever asked for.
I love you, sweet boy.
Forever.
Playlist
“Rescue Me” —Daughtry
“Ocean” -—Lady Antebellum
“Mercy” —Brett Young
“I Know She Ain’t Ready” — Luke Combs
“What Happens In A Small Town” —B. Gilbert
“Make You Feel My Love” —Adele
“Someone You Loved” —Conor Maynard
“Kiss Me” —Ed Sheeran
“Beautiful Soul”—Jesse McCartney
“You Say” —Lauren Daigle
“Wanted” —Hunter Hayes
“Be My Baby” —The Ronettes
“At Last” —Etta James
Part One
Before Love Came Sorrow
“Life had broken her but she was still there persisting in the shards of her broken pieces.”
— Atticus
Chapter One
Ashley
I can’t breathe…
Covered in a fine sheen of sweat, I stared out the front windshield of the luxury four-door sedan where I sat, my starved lungs struggling to pull in enough air to satisfy my pounding heart.
The low hum of the car’s engine filled the quiet space, giving me something to concentrate on besides the well-dressed man seated next to me, his intense gaze fixed on the illuminated screen of his phone.
Mere inches separated his arm from mine, causing fear and disgust to slither through my veins. Fear for the pain he could inflict; disgust for the vile and twisted things he’d done in the past.
Things which he’d done to me.
Hands tucked firmly between my knees, I fought to block out the horrid memories that flashed through my head, one after the other, like a movie reel on repeat. With the smell of his expensive cologne still clinging to my damp skin, doing so was impossible.
None of this is your fault, I told myself.
It was a truth my heart refused to believe.
I jumped, almost coming off the seat when he dropped his phone to the console and turned, now focusing his rapt attention on me. “Look at me,” he demanded, his voice deceptively soft.
I shut my eyes, refusing.
It was a mistake.
His hand clamped down on my thigh, the pressure creating a throbbing ache. I bit the inside of my cheek, refusing to cry out. If I did, he would tighten his hold, causing even more agony.
It’s what he always did.
Without fail.
“When I tell you to do something,” he said through gritted teeth, “you will do it. Do you understand me?”
Though I didn’t want to obey him, one of the many villains that starred in the unending nightmare that was my life, doing so was inevitable. If I didn’t listen, the night would end with the back of his hand colliding with my already bruised face.
That couldn’t happen.
Not when my body was still reeling from all the pain he’d caused just hours before.
With no other choice, I twisted in the leather seat, facing him head-on. Our eyes met, and my throat tightened.
“Good girl,” he whispered, tracing a knuckle down my jawline. “You did well tonight. Worth every penny I paid.”
His words were a dagger to my chest.
Razor-sharp, they cut me deep.
Blinking back tears, I reached behind me, fumbling for the handle. “Can I go now?” I asked, my voice small and shaky, revealing the shame and terror that pulsed through me like a second heartbeat.
Both of which he reveled in.
“Manners, darling.” His dark, cold-blooded eyes dropped to my lips. “I’m your number one client, which I believe entitles me to a kiss before you leave.”
I froze.
“I c-can’t,” I stammered. “It’s against the rules. If Dominic finds out—”
“I am more than familiar with the rules,” he interrupted, his palm sliding up my bare thigh. “But they’ve been broken before.” Grabbing my arm, he lifted it, exposing the ink on my inner wrist. “This”—he nodded at my tattoo—“is proof of that. Is it not?”
Fire roared to life in my belly.
Jerking free of his hold, I covered my wrist with my hand, hiding every piece of beauty that it represented from his view. He chuckled in return, and my fingers twitched with the need to slap his cruel face.
It was an action I didn’t dare take.
I was angry, but the crippling fear possessing me still overrode the rage that nipped at my spine, demanding to be let free.
One day I’ll be brave, I told myself.
Then, I’ll fight back.
“Now”—he leaned closer—“about that kiss.”
I curled my shoulders, turning in on myself. “It can’t happen,” I started. “Dominic will—”
He gave me no chance to react before sliding his hands into my hair. Dark locks clutched tight in his fist, he wrenched my head back, sending jolts o
f pain careening through my scalp.
I cried out, but my voice was silenced when his mouth slammed down on mine, possessing it completely.
Searing panic engulfed me.
Adrenaline spiking, I pounded my clenched hands against his broad chest and screamed into his hungry mouth, hoping he’d let me go before it was too late.
He never got the chance.
Behind me, the window suddenly shattered, sending shards of glass flying into the car. Before I could comprehend what was happening, the door popped open, and I was being yanked from the vehicle by my neck.
My back and elbows hit the concrete sidewalk, ripping flesh from bone. “You motherfucker!” A voice which I feared more than any other, screamed from above me, sending my pulse into overdrive. “What the fuck do you think you’re doin’?”
“Careful, Dominic,” the man warned. “Remember who you’re speaking to.”
Scared out of my mind, I studied Dominic, the man who I’d once believed to be my savior, yet who had turned out to be anything but.
Face contorted with fury, his muscular body was drawn taut, his calloused hands fisted at his sides.
He looked murderous, something which didn’t bode well for me, or the man who sat in the car, an ugly sneer etched on his even uglier face.
Furiously wiping my palm across my lips, I prayed he hadn’t witnessed the kiss.
Deep down, I knew that he had.
His rage was evidence of that.
And now he’ll make me pay...
Forearms resting against the car’s frame, he leaned forward, ducking his head inside. “Remember who I’m talkin’ to?” he repeated, a mixture of disbelief and hatred plastered on his face. “What, you think I’ll bow down to you just because you’re the goddamn DA, Ellington?”
He chuckled, but there was no humor behind it. “Look around you, pendejo. This isn’t your fancy downtown office. I run these fuckin’ streets, and you just crossed a major line. You know the rules, and yet you pull this bullshit with my girl? You got a death wish, man? ’Cause others have died for a lot less.”
I almost vomited upon hearing Dominic say the man’s name. Though I’d learned it the first night he’d hand-delivered me to the pay-by-the-hour motel room the man had rented, I’d always refused to use it.
Acknowledging who he was only made the time I was forced to spend with him that much more gut-wrenching.
Jeffrey Ellington.
Toluca County District Attorney.
Happily married.
Father of three.
Unaffected by the threatening words being spewed in his direction, the man slid his eyes to me, his pervy gaze skimming over every inch of my bare flesh. Unlike everyone else, he showed no fear of Dominic, a man who’d taken more lives than I could fathom.
Whether it was because of the arrogance he wore like a second skin or just plain stupidity, I had no clue.
“I understand your infatuation with her,” he said, casually leaning back in his seat. “I’ve tried all your girls out, but she’s worth more than all of them combined.” My stomach rolled, the urge to puke returning with a vengeance. “If you ever decide to thin your stock, I’d be willing to make a deal.”
It was the wrong thing for him to say.
In one swift move, Dominic pulled a shiny black revolver free of his jeans and pointed it inside the car. “That’s not happenin’,” he said, his mental instability making its presence known. “No one will ever get my Tesoro, especially a white-bread hijo de puta like you.” The gun made a clicking sound as he cocked the hammer, ready to fire. “If I were you, Jeffrey, I’d kick rocks while you still can.”
Angry as I’d ever seen him, the man pulled a brown, cash-filled envelope from his suit jacket and tossed it out of the car. It landed on the sidewalk at my feet, crisp hundred-dollar bills visible from the open flap. “The next time you point a gun at me, D-boy,” he snarled, addressing Dominic by his street name, “there will be consequences. Lasting ones.”
Dominic stepped back, lowering the gun just as the man shifted his sleek, black Mercedes into drive and took off. The door was still open, the busted window raining bits of broken glass in its wake.
I should’ve been relieved to see the car fade into the distance, but that wasn’t what I felt. Instead, it was heart-stopping anxiety. Well aware of the trouble bearing down on me like a runaway freight train, my fear grew tenfold.
And for good reason too.
Dominic had hurt me before.
Many times.
But this time would be bad.
Like, really bad.
Eyes wide with fear, I pushed to my elbows as he turned, his hard face now devoid of all emotion. Finger resting on the gun’s hair-trigger, he stepped over me, straddling my hips with his feet.
“You’ve betrayed me, Tesoro.” My lungs froze. “And you know what the consequence for that is.”
“I told him not to kiss me!” I cried. “I swear I did! But he didn’t listen and—”
I screamed when his heavy fist met my left cheek, splitting the skin wide open. I turned to the side, blood streaming down my jaw and pulled my knees into my belly, covering my face with my arms. The move was one of protection, but it did little to protect me from the blows raining down.
Clutching a chunk of my hair with his free hand, he yanked me up off the ground, wrenching a yelp from my throat. “You goddamn whore!” he screamed, spittle flying from his mouth, his nose nearly touching mine. “How could you do this to me?”
Terrified beyond belief, I didn’t reply.
It was yet another mistake.
My heart slammed against my ribcage when he snarled and dropped me back to the concrete. “Dom,” I whispered, my voice barely audible. “Please… p-lease don’t hurt m-me.”
My staccato plea fell on deaf ears as a handful of people gathered in the various yards lining the nearly abandoned street, all of them watching the scene before them unfold. I held my breath, waiting to see if one of them would step in and stop the suffering I knew was coming, but like always, no one did.
To some, Dominic was their pimp.
To others, he was their loan shark.
To most, he was their dealer.
But to everyone, he was el diablo... the devil.
“You fucked up,” he said, pointing the gun at me. “And now you’ll pay.”
I screamed as he pulled the trigger.
Then, everything went black.
Chapter Two
Ashley
I came to on my back.
Vision blurry, I blinked up at the hazy ceiling, burning pain radiating throughout my right shoulder. Mind completely blank, I worked to remember how I'd ended up on the ground, the top of my dress warm and sticky.
Confused, I started to sit up.
"Ash, don't move," a soft voice, one which brought immediate comfort, said from beside me. "I just got the bleeding stopped."
In an instant, everything came rushing back.
The unwanted kiss.
The broken rule.
The sound of the gunshot.
Panicked, I jerked my head to the right, locking eyes with one of my only two friends. "Jade..." My mouth was dry, my tongue heavy, making it hard to speak. "Dominic, he..."
"I already know," she whispered, pressing hard on the wad of fabric she held against my shoulder. "He made sure to tell me what you'd done the minute he carried you inside earlier. It was his sick way of warning me not to break any of his stupid rules, I think."
I rushed to explain. "I didn't want it. I swear I didn't. I told him no, but he didn't care and—"
"I have no doubt," she interrupted, a sweet smile on her freckle-covered face. "Ellington is a psychopath. Everyone knows that. It's why he pays so much money to spend time with girls like us. He knows he can do whatever, whenever, and no one will—"
She snapped her mouth shut when the bedroom door suddenly burst open and bounced off the graffiti-covered wall behind it, sending broken pieces of
busted plaster flying through the air.
"Dios mío!" Carmen, friend number two, screamed as she rushed our way, the threadbare fur coat she always wore swirling around her ankles. Words rushed, she was panicked, her cinnamon-colored eyes filled with fear and confusion as she looked from my blanched face to the blood-soaked cloth Jade held. "What the hell happened?"
"Dominic shot her," Jade answered matter-of-factly. "Well, he grazed her. You know he wouldn't actually shoot her. I mean, he would, but if he did, she wouldn't wake up." Visibly cringing, she paused. "I should probably shut up now."
Bronzed cheeks tinged red with anger, Carmen crossed her track-mark covered arms over her chest. I wasn't sure when she'd last shot up, but it wasn't recently. Her sweat-soaked skin and dilated eyes were proof of the withdrawal beginning to set in.
Seeing her like that…
It made my heart hurt. Badly.
"That cabrón!" she shouted, her ruby-red lips trembling. "I ought to smash his huevos with a sledgehammer!"
My heavy-lidded eyes flared as Jade sucked in a breath. "Carmen, for heaven's sake," she fussed quietly. "Don't say that. If he hears you—"