Table of Contents
Title Page
Prologue
Chapter 1: The Charmer
Chapter 2: The Mission
Chapter 3: Inner demons
Chapter 4: Reanna Pierce
Chapter 5: The Advice
Chapter 6: Dinner with Dad
Chapter 7: Cesare & Anastacia
Chapter 8: The Date
Chapter 9: First Date
Chapter 10: I need you …
Chapter 11: Shame
Chapter 12: Dr. Ex
Chapter 13: Suits
Chapter 14: The Getaway
Chapter 15: I more than love you …
Chapter 16: The Diamond
Chapter 17: Home again
Chapter 18 Family
Chapter 19 Long day …
Chapter 20: Kiss Me
Chapter 21 Incognito
Chapter 22 The kids
Chapter 23 Can you hear me now?
Chapter 24 Peace Deal
Chapter 25 Broken
Chapter 26 New beginnings
Chapter 27 First Fight
Chapter 28 Broken: Part Two
Chapter 29 Healing
Epilogue
Promo
About the Author
Acknowledgements
Dangerous Beauty: Part Four: Beautifully Broken
Dangerous Beauty Series
By Michelle Hardin
Dangerous Beauty: Part Four: Beautifully Broken
© Michelle Hardin 2016
ISBN-10:
0-9964400-4-6
ISBN-13:
978-0-9964400-4-2
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 the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
Dedication
To my sisters. Thank you both for helping me through this one. You two are my inspiration, my drive, and you keep me believing in myself. I love you.
And this is also dedicated to the readers that stood by me in my hard times. I know I disappointed you all a few times, and I’d like to thank all of the wonderful readers who did not turn on me, put me down, or make me feel any worse than I had already felt for making you all wait so long. This book is for all of you, and it is for you all that I am continuing this series. I love you guys. Thank you for everything. Truly, from the bottom of my heart.
I hope you enjoy the story!!
Prologue
“Kyle, bambino …”
When her soft voice sounded on the other side of the door, four-year-old Kyle Valente quickly scrambled to the back of the closet, curling up in a dark corner. He closed his eyes, silently hoping that his papa and Ana would hurry and come back for him now. They had been gone too long, and Mama was no longer happy with him. She was getting worse.
“Il mio, bambino ... mi dispiace tanto ...”
She was crying now, he could hear her. She always cried after she hurt him. She told him that his tears made her tears come out, too. Kyle didn’t like it when Mama cried, but he knew better than to come out of his closet yet. If he went out now, she’d hurt him again. He had to wait until she was sleeping. Sleeping always made her stop being mad at him.
“Bambino, ti prego perdonami ...” she wept. Her hand pounded on the door, making Kyle flinch and bury deeper in his corner. “Kyle, please. Il mio bambino prezioso. Do you want Mama to speak English like your Papa does sometimes? I can be like him. I can be good to you, too.”
Kyle didn’t move. He knew better than that now. Mama would say that she was better, but then she’d get angry again.
“Kyle.” He heard her lie her hand against the door again as she sniffled softly. “Mama just doesn’t like it when you say ... that you don’t want to be here.” She sobbed softly. “It hurts me, bambino. You make me think you love them more. That y-you don’t love your mama. Kyle, do you hear me? They’ve … they have taken so much from me already. You are all I have now, baby. I can’t let them take you back …”
He remained silent.
“Kyle, please open the door. Unlock it now so I can see you. So I can make you better. You’re hurt.”
Kyle shook his head.
“Kyle, open it!”
“No, Mama,” he said in a small voice. He gently wiped the blood from his nose; the pain he felt when touching it brought tears to his eyes. He’d fallen and hit his face against the door of his bedroom when he’d been trying to escape his punishment. All he’d wanted was his papa and Ana to come back now to take him home. He hadn’t even been bad this time. He’d only asked to go home. “Can I call Papa now?”
She didn’t answer for a moment. “Your Papa is busy right now—”
“N-no,” Kyle whined. “he said I can—”
“He’s working!”
Her abrupt, sharp scream immediately caused fear to seize his small body. He curled up even tighter, ducking his head and sobbing softly. “Go away, Mama.”
“No, bambino, don’t ... please don’t cry.” She wept as she raked her nails down the locked closet door. “Just ... open the door, baby. I won’t scream anymore—”
“No,” Kyle sobbed desperately. He brought his tiny hands to his ears, gripping on and closing his eyes tightly. In his mind, he saw their faces, their smiles; Papa and Ana. He wanted to go home to them. “I want Papa!”
“Papa’s not coming, bambino.”
“Pa-papa said he would—”
“He not coming, Kyle. He doesn’t want you!”
“Then call, Ana—” His words cut off with a scream when Mama hit the door hard. “Mama, stop!”
“She is not your mother!” Mama screamed, repeatedly beating the door with her fist. “Io sono tua madre!! Mi! Mi!”
It went on for hours. Her screaming, and crying, and beating the door over and over, until—out of nowhere—it stopped. The noise, the crying, the desperate beating. Suddenly, there was only silence.
For a long while, Kyle remained still, not trusting the silence, unsure if it was safe for him to go to his bed for sleeping yet. Sometimes he just slept in the closet. Sometimes he gave Mama the whole night to feel better. It always helped when she did not have to look at him. She always stopped crying faster. But tonight, he didn’t want to sleep on the hard wood floor in the closet; tonight he wanted to go to bed. He wanted his blanket, his pillows, and he was hungry. He hadn’t eaten since the morning and his tummy was beginning to ache.
So after waiting a couple more hours, Kyle crawled to the door, leaned down, and peeked beneath it. Nothing was there. And it was dark so Mama would be in bed.
Slowly, he stood to his feet, catching himself on the door when his head hurt him. For a second he couldn’t see very well, everything was moving around him. But as soon as he stood still, the moving stopped. Taking his time, he unlocked the closet door, then opened it slowly. It was still dark, but that just meant Mama was sleeping. He felt safer now, knowing Mama wa
s not awake. Now he could make himself some dinner, then lock himself in his bedroom so he could go to sleep.
With light footsteps, Kyle held his blanket to his chest and made his way down the hallway, in the direction of the kitchen. Once to the entrance, he stood on his toes as he felt the wall, searching for the light switch. When he couldn’t find it on one side he switched to the other, feeling up and down the wall until the light in the kitchen flipped on … without him even touching it.
Mama snatched him by the back of his shirt roughly, proceeding to drag him across the kitchen floor.
“Mama, no!” The scream that tore loose from Kyle’s mouth nearly burned his throat. Tears streamed down his crimson red face as he clawed at the floor, desperately trying to break loose from her grip. Even when his shirt tightened around his neck, he kept fighting. He screamed and wept for his Papa, for Ana, but Mama didn’t stop. She dragged him to the kitchen table, lifted him from the floor, and slammed his face down on the top of the table.
“Mama, I’m sorry!” he sobbed. “I promise, Mama. Please don’t do it again, please no—”
“You have to be punished,” she whispered, her shaky voice devoid of any mercy. “You have to learn, mi bambino.”
“I won’t say it again, Mama! Non voglio dire che!”
“I’m so sorry, mi ragazzino …” Turning his face to the side, she held him to the table with her arm.
Kyle screamed.
“Just one more time, I promise …”
He heard the ripping of his shirt as she tore through it with a knife.
“Mama, per favore! Si prega di non più!”
“Hold still, baby … Just a few more times, then Mama will be happy again.”
The sharp, cold silver pressed against the skin on his back.
“Papa! Papa! Papa!”
Chapter 1: The Charmer
Kyle “The Charmer” Valente, age twenty-nine years old, and consigliere for the Salerno Organized Crime family. Known as “The Charmer” because he’d been known to charm any man or woman to death … sometimes literally.
But sometimes … charm wasn’t such an effective tactic, at least in Kyle’s current situation it wasn’t. And in times when mere ‘charm’ didn’t suffice, that death part really did come in handy. After all, no matter how much of a badass one claimed to be, nobody really wanted to die, did they?
“Please!” the agonizing cry of—whom Kyle preferred to call the nameless man—rang out, literally bouncing off of the four walls of the small basement where his face was pressed against the cold, stone floor. “Please, I’m begging you! Don’t kill me, don’t kill me, don’t kill me.”
The answer was no … nobody wanted to die.
Releasing a long, tired sigh, Kyle raked his fingers through his now short, black hair, then slipped his hands into his pockets as he began a slow stroll around the devastated man, silently listening as ‘nameless man’ continuously begged for his life.
“I’ll give you anything—money, drugs. Everything I possess. I don’t wanna die, please!”
Anything? Everything he had… Men made such stupid offers when begging for their lives. What the fuck gave the man the impression that Kyle needed, or wanted anything he possessed?
Looking away from the pathetic fool dismissively, Kyle stared down at his Italian leather shoes as he continued to walk in a slow circle.
“The only thing you have that I want is the truth,” he said in reply to the man’s plea.
There was an attack on the Salerno crime family. Men were killed, money was stolen, and territory was taken. Kyle wanted information, and ‘nameless man’ had information. Time was wasting. Nathan was back at S.O. and on the edge, and Kyle’s patience was wearing thin dealing with this idiot. He wanted answers … now.
When he was once again in front of the man, he ended his stroll and glanced down with narrowed eyes. “Tell me what you know.”
“I’ve already told you everything!”
“No you haven’t.” Pushing his foot forward, Kyle lightly tapped the man’s head with the tip of his shoe. “Look at me, please.” The man quickly obliged, lifting his bruised and bloodied face up to Kyle. “Tell me the truth …”
The nameless man sobbed, shaking his head back and forth. “I can’t … they’ll fucking kill me.”
Frustrated, Kyle ran his hand over his face impatiently. God, this guy was an idiotic, son of a bitch. “I’ll fucking kill you!”
“I didn’t want to do it, man!” he shouted, a mixture of blood and saliva oozing from his mouth. “I don’t wanna be a part of this. They made me. I didn’t have a choice …” Dropping his head forward, he cried softly.
Kyle rolled his eyes. It was always the sad fucking story with guys like this, and it was always a lie. He had a choice. They always had a choice. But, instead of making the right choice, this … nameless man decided that money was more important than his life. He deserved to die.
“I want you to tell me everything you know,” Kyle said nicely for the last time. If the man didn’t give him what he’d asked for this time, Kyle would just call it, and end the man’s life. “Whether or not you walk out of this building alive is up to you.”
The man lifted his head once again until he was looking Kyle in the eyes. For a moment, he didn’t say a word, only stared as if silently weighing his options. And after a little more time than Kyle normally allowed, he nodded his head, finally surrendering.
“I’ll tell,” he cried. “J-just promise me something in return.”
Kyle nodded for him to continue.
“Promise … promise that you’ll protect me from them.”
Although Kyle wanted to roll his eyes at the request, he instead chose to keep his features impassive. Nameless men like the one in front of him always went for protection first when it came to these types of situations. Kyle always promised them the protection they desired of course, and he always made good on his promise.
“You have the protection you request,” Kyle promised with a nod, and chose not to disclose just how they’d go about giving the man what he’d asked for in effort to forgo any more unnecessary dramatics. There was only one way to protect a nameless man from brutal deaths at the hand of a common enemy, and Kyle knew for a fact that this idiot wasn’t going to be too fond of the truth.
However, he had no time to think about anything but getting the information he needed right now. Nathan, Lucca, and a few other leaders were waiting for him back at S.O. Therefore, the sooner he gathered all the information they needed to stop the Bonaducci’s impending attack on the Salerno Organization, the better.
Snapping his fingers, he motioned for his men to bring him a seat. They immediately did as he asked. As Kyle took his seat, he reached into his jacket pocket, feeling the need to make arrangements for his surely changing schedule. Days like these always seemed to run later than they were supposed to, and if he didn’t make arrangements now, he’d have to drive all the way to Nathan and Carter’s house in the country to pick up Sofia before his date this evening. That was the last thing he felt like doing after a long day of work. He’d rather just get his sitter to do a little overtime. He knew she wouldn’t mind.
Quickly taking out his cell, he dialed her number. “Give me a second. I need to make arrangements with my sitter before we begin.”
Silence fell over the room.
“Sitter?” the nameless man asked, confusion on his bloodied face. “Sitter, as in … babysitter? Are you fucking kidding me?”
Kyle frowned, but didn’t respond as the phone began to ring.
Nameless man chuckled, prompting the man holding him to the ground—along with the others lining the walls—to roll their eyes. “You call a fucking babysitter for your kid during something like this, man? That’s not very intimidating.”
Kyle’s brow arched at the man’s words, and he nodded his head. Not very intimidating. Interesting. Holding the cell to his ear with his arm, he decided to turn it up a notch. He did, after all, a
lways aim to please.
Removing his gun from the holster on his chest, Kyle aimed and shot the nameless man’s leg once. Twice. Three times, laughing along with his men when the man’s agonized screams filled the small space.
“Hello?”
The soft feminine voice in his ear sobered him almost immediately.
“Fuck,” he muttered sharply, shooting glares around the room at his men. How the hell had he’d forgotten he was on the phone? Quickly, he covered the phone with his hand. “Shut the fuck up! Everybody …” His men clamped their mouths shut, but the nameless man’s cries persisted. Clenching his jaw tightly, Kyle aimed his gun at the man’s head. “Shut. The fuck. Up …”
Silence.
Satisfied with the silence, Kyle uncovered his phone and spoke his words as innocently as he could. “Hey, baby … No, no, that was nothing, don’t worry about what that was … Because I’m not telling you … Well, stop asking me then.” She fussed at him a little, which made him smile. She had the sweetest voice; the woman could never sound angry even when she tried. It was one of the things he adored most about her. “Will you cease your little attack, woman, and listen to me? I need another favor for tonight.” He chuckled at her response to his request for yet another favor. If only she knew that he’d rather spend the evening with her and Sofia. She probably wouldn’t have been as irritated as she was with him. “You’re not staying over as a favor, you’re doing that because you love me, remember?”
Her reply to that made him laugh loud.
God, the woman never ceased to make him smile. Even on a shitty day like this one.
Chapter 2: The Mission
Revenge, in Kyle’s opinion, was never really something that … particularly helped in every situation. At least not right out of the gate it didn’t. The whole back and forth, you hit me, I strike you back thing was time consuming, and bad for business. Yes, it was true that Kyle had been known to use force every now and then, when necessary of course, but in all honesty, he much preferred taking the necessary time to fully understand an issue before solving it. He believed in talking first, brutality later, and ninety percent of the time that tactic was effective.
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