by Dannika Dark
Heartless
Crossbreed Series Book 9
Dannika Dark
HEARTLESS
Crossbreed Series Book 9
USA Today Bestselling Author
DANNIKA DARK
All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2020 Dannika Dark
No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author. You must not circulate this book in any format. Thank you for respecting the rights of the author. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Edited by Victory Editing and Red Adept. Cover design by Dannika Dark. All stock purchased.
www.dannikadark.net
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Contents
Summary
Also By Dannika Dark:
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
Back Cover
WHAT’S NEXT
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Books by Dannika Dark:
Summary
“For you, I’ll wait an eternity.”
Despite the spoils of a solid relationship and an idyllic life at Keystone, Raven is itching for the thrill of another big case. Things begin to heat up when a dangerous assignment falls in her lap.
Searching for the mastermind behind an illegal fighting ring is no easy feat, but as the weeks roll by, Raven’s undercover job begins to take an unexpected emotional toll. It’s a deadly mission, and if she’s not careful, she could lose everything.
The stakes are high in this powerful new installment of the USA Today bestselling Crossbreed series.
Book 9
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Also By Dannika Dark:
THE MAGERI SERIES
Sterling
Twist
Impulse
Gravity
Shine
The Gift
MAGERI WORLD
Risk
NOVELLAS
Closer
THE SEVEN SERIES
Seven Years
Six Months
Five Weeks
Four Days
Three Hours
Two Minutes
One Second
Winter Moon
SEVEN WORLD
Charming
THE CROSSBREED SERIES
Keystone
Ravenheart
Deathtrap
Gaslight
Blackout
Nevermore
Moonstruck
Spellbound
Heartless
We often give our enemies the means of our own destruction.
– Aesop
Chapter 1
Ruby’s Diner was one of those old-fashioned joints that stood frozen in time, and tonight it was lit up like a pinball machine. I parked my blue pickup truck on the side of the building near the row of windows. Beyond the booth seating were small tables and a long counter, but I didn’t see any sign of my father. He might have been sitting at the front of the diner, thinking I’d come in through that door, but I always took the side entrance. Aside from the food and hospitality, I liked Ruby’s because it was open twenty-four hours a day and mostly served humans. I glanced up at the sign on the window advertising today’s special: homemade chili.
I hopped out and took in a deep lungful of the warm evening breeze, which smelled like charred hamburgers. God, is it June already? I’d been with Keystone for a year now.
Halfway to the door, I spun on my heel and glared at my truck. “Are you coming?” I asked quietly.
Christian’s dark shadow remained on the passenger side for a beat before his door swung open and he got out with a long-suffering sigh. He looked smoking hot, and if I were a girl who easily swooned, I might have blushed when our eyes met. I’d selected his outfit, and he despised me for it. Not because Christian had anything against tank tops, but he didn’t wear them in public. Tonight was special. I wanted him to show off the raven tattoo on his right pec. The fabric covered most of it, but not the wing that stretched across his shoulder and arm as it reached for his back. The tips of the black feathers were dipped in blood, the right eye just as pale blue as mine.
“I don’t see why you dragged me along,” he grumbled. “You know I don’t eat.”
“Who says you have to eat?”
“Your da will have a go at me if I don’t.”
I hooked my arm in his and coaxed him to the side door. “Crush doesn’t bite. Besides, he doesn’t think you really care about me.”
“Is that so? And what have you been telling him?”
“I don’t have to tell him anything.” I reached for the handle. “Your absence speaks volumes. You’ve always got an excuse whenever I go to see him. Look, just be yourself. Wait. Scratch that. Just be respectful.”
Christian snorted. “And is your da going to share the same courtesy?”
I bit my lip and opened the door. “Grab a seat. I’ll be right back.”
Christian sat down in my regular booth while I headed to the front of the diner. Elton John was singing “I’m Still Standing” at a low volume, and one of the waitresses was shaking her hips behind the counter as she refilled the coffee machine. The real noise was up front where they were handling take-out orders. I spotted Crush in a red vinyl booth near the door. His eyes were fixed on the window, and when he caught my reflection in the glass, he turned to me with one of his closed-lipped smiles.
Crush scooted out of his seat. “Hey, Cookie.” His strong arms and the scent of cheap cologne wrapped around me.
“Hey, Daddy. I’m glad you pried your ass off the recliner to eat in public.”
He drew back and narrowed his blue eyes. “Don’t give me that sass.”
I reached up and pulled the rubber band out of his grey goatee.
He winced. “What did you do that for?”
After brushing out his goatee with my fingers, I flicked the rubber band into the trash. “Because you look like a wrestler with that thing on.”
Crush straightened his skull T-shirt. “Since when do you care what I look like?”
I glanced at the myriad of tattoos on his arms and the silver tooth that flashed at me when he grinned. I honestly didn’t give a damn what he looked like. He was perfect. But I knew if Christian and Crush got into verbal warfare, which was inevitable, that rubber band would be one less thing for Christian to poke fun at.
“I hope you brought your appetite,” I said, eager to give him the tour. “This is my absolute favorite place. I figured you’d like the retro look. And they’ve got amazing
Angus burgers.”
“Extra cheese?”
“How’s your cholesterol these days?”
He clenched his jaw. “If you wanted me to eat rabbit food, you should have invited me to that salad bar down the street.”
“I’m kidding. Come on. Let’s sit.”
As we rounded the corner, I heard Crush mutter a curse under his breath. I had conveniently forgotten to tell him that Christian would be joining us. He slid me an I should have known you were up to something look but kept his mouth zipped. I braced myself as he put on his war face.
Crush knew Christian and I were serious, but I had always accepted that no man would have an easy task in courting me. A Vampire just made it a hundred times worse.
Three glasses of water and a stack of menus were on the table.
“Mr. Graves.” Christian greeted my father with a dark twinkle in his black eyes. “I was just telling Raven how much I missed her da.”
“Cut the shit.” Crush slid into the opposite bench by the window.
Suddenly the two men were looking at me—waiting with bated breath to see which one I’d sit beside. I bit my lip. On one hand, sitting by my father would give him reassurance, but I needed him to acknowledge that there was another man in my life.
Just as I sat next to Christian, I glimpsed a pear-shaped waitress with bright orange hair approaching.
Christian lifted his glass in a victory toast and held it to his lips.
Betty sidled up to the table and gave me a soft squeeze on the shoulder. “Good to see you, honey.” She turned her gaze to my father. “And who is this handsome wildcat you brought with you?”
Christian choked on his water and quickly grabbed a napkin to clean the mess.
Crush hadn’t heard anything Betty said because he was too busy staring at Christian’s tattoo.
“This is Crush, my dad. Crush, this is Betty.” I kicked him under the table and dipped my chin to give him a scolding glance. Manners had never been his strong suit.
He dragged his gaze up to the seasoned woman in a waitress uniform. “Nice to meet you.”
“Do you need a minute to look over the menu?”
“That’s okay,” I said. “I’ll have my usual, and my father will have a number two.”
Christian chortled.
I collected the menus and handed them to her. “Do you have any orange soda?”
“Is Crush okay?”
I cracked a smile. “Perfect.”
Betty tucked her notepad in her apron. “You betcha. And for you, sir?”
Christian never ordered food when we came here, and Betty probably knew that. Still, she remained cordial even though she didn’t much care for Christian.
Christian glared at Crush, his fingers lightly drumming the table. With a look of defeat, he made an unexpected move. “I’ll just be having a bowl of soup.”
“Chili it is.” She spun on her heel before Christian could retort.
I tried to contain my laughter and looked in the opposite direction. Christian would never forgive me for making him eat a bowl of chili. Ruby’s made theirs with beans, beef, and a whole lot of hellfire.
Crush didn’t pussyfoot around. He leaned forward. “Is that ink real?”
“Aye.”
I watched with interest as Crush licked his thumb and reached across the table. When he rubbed at the ink, Christian reeled back his arm.
“For feck’s sake. Are you afflicted in some way?”
“Let me see it. All of it.”
Christian lifted up his tank top so Crush could see the details.
“That’s quality ink.” Crush groomed his grey goatee. “You do that for fun? I hear it wears off an immortal in a week.”
Christian rolled down his tank top. “It’s sealed with liquid fire.”
Crush rubbed his mouth with his large hands, skull rings on his fingers and motor oil staining his cuticles. I wasn’t sure what he was thinking exactly, but I knew that Christian’s permanent tattoo would convey the message more than words. A raven was one thing, but a raven with a blue eye was undeniably specific.
Crush shot me a look before sliding across the bench to sit in front of me instead. “You got any ink?”
“Nope.”
He eased back with a sly grin. “That’s my girl.”
“She doesn’t need any,” Christian replied coolly. “She has a million-dollar necklace around her neck.”
“I didn’t ask you, peckerhead.”
“You don’t think my face would look good on her arse?”
I slammed my hand on the table. “Will you two shut the hell up so we can have a nice dinner?”
Christian’s lips twitched.
And so did my father’s.
I gripped Crush’s hand. “Go easy, you old bulldog. I know Christian isn’t what you had in mind for me, but he’s saved my ass more than once. He loves me as much as you do.”
Crush shook his head adamantly. “I’ll never leave you. Can he say that? He obviously left Ireland. Or did they kick him out?”
Not even attempting to hide his apathetic look, Christian folded his arms on the table.
Betty hustled back with our drinks. “A milkshake for the lady and an orange Crush for the handsome father.” She gave him a wink before making herself scarce.
Crush peered over his shoulder at her. “Older women have always had a thing for me.”
“She’s not that much older,” Christian quipped.
Crush gave him an indignant look as he pulled the straw out of his glass. “I’m fifty-eight.”
My father had lived a hard life, and he looked all of his fifty-eight years and then some. I had forgotten his exact age until that moment. I thought about how many of those years he’d wasted alone. But he was so hard-core devoted to my deceased mother that he’d never settle for anyone else.
Before they really got into it, I decided to bring up something else that had been on my mind. “This wasn’t just an ambush. I also wanted to invite you here to thank you for everything you did.”
Crush furrowed his brow. “I don’t follow.”
“The whole mess with guarding the mansion and Hunter.”
Crush laced his fingers together. “That’s what good fathers do.”
“Switch shouldn’t have called you. And you definitely shouldn’t have been on the front lines storming into that Mage’s apartment. You could have gotten yourself killed.”
He grinned like a foolhardy boy. “Took me back to my days in the service. Made me feel young again.”
I sipped my vanilla shake and grimaced when my throat froze. “You’re supposed to be retired from all that.”
“A good Marine never retires. You’ll figure that out one day, little girl.” After another drink, he leaned in tight. “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about a wolf hanging out on my property, now would you?”
I thought back to the deal I’d made with his friend, Wizard. It hadn’t felt right leaving Crush completely alone, so Wizard volunteered to place a wolf on his property to keep an eye on him. After the loan shark fiasco ended, I’d just assumed Wizard had pulled back his men. Apparently not.
I drank more of my shake.
“I don’t need a damn watchdog.”
I shoved my glass toward Christian. “What if something happens and you can’t get to a phone? You live by yourself and don’t have neighbors within earshot. I can’t call you every day, especially if I’m on a mission. What if you slip in the tub?”
“I’m not dying in the damn bathtub.”
Christian extracted the straw from my glass. “Imagine the mortifying shame of it. Ass up, lying in a puddle of your own filth. The fire department would have to use the Jaws of Life to get you out of there.”
Just as he put the end of the straw into his mouth to lick off the thick milkshake, I kicked him under the table.
Crush played with an ice cube in his glass. “You know what we did to peckerheads like you in the Marines?”
“Fecking hell. I’m starting to regret all those premium steaks I bought you that time when I set you up in that fancy trailer to keep your arse safe.”
Crush’s shoulders sagged and he sat back. “I’m not denying you’ve done a lot for me and mine, but you have a mouth on you. What happened to respecting your elders?”
“Now you’re starting to talk some sense.” Christian put his arm around me. “Did I ever tell you that I was born in the nineteenth century?”
I chuckled. “He’s got you there.”
“Dammit, Cookie. You’re supposed to be on my side.”
“I’m on both your sides,” I assured him. “Maybe I should buy a shelf from Ikea and have you two assemble it.”
“For what reason?” Christian asked.
“You boys need a special project to work on together. Maybe that’ll help you figure out a way to communicate.”
Crush cackled. “Maybe you’re our project.”
Betty returned with our plates balanced on her arms like some kind of magic act. She set down the big one first, and Crush’s eyes rounded at the double-patty Angus burger with cheese oozing from the sides. When he reached for the saltshaker, I snatched it away.
Then she set down a white plate in front of Christian. A bowl of steaming chili was in the center, surrounded by saltine crackers.