by Evie Harper
Parkland crew stands around Corey. They’re Rexs’ men; men who followed him anywhere, who did so recklessly, who put their lives on the line for their fearless and now dead leader.
My fingers inch to wrap around Corey’s neck and squeeze. He should have reached out to me sooner about Rex’s addiction.
I badly want to blame Corey. I need to place blame somewhere. Someone has to pay. And as much as I know Corey tried his best, I wish he’d tried harder. I long to rewind time and wish Corey had thought more about the consequences of hiding such dangerous circumstances from me.
But it’s my family who is truly to blame.
I drag my eyes back to the coffin.
I’m not only angry with men who were once like family to me, and my own screwed up family, but with Rex. I’m mad at him most of all.
This is what it took Rex? Are you happy now? Your vengeance and pride finally killed you. But what about me? You had a sister. Why couldn’t you have thought of me? Why am I always left behind?
My strength depleted, tears prick my eyes and my body bows as a sob catapults up through my chest and claws its way out of my mouth.
Mack follows me gently to the ground and holds me tight to his body.
I shamelessly beg Mack, “Please don’t leave me. Don’t ever leave me behind.”
Mack softly murmurs into my ear, “Never, Dove.” He jolts my body as if to say, feel me, I’m solid. “Hold on to me. I’ve got you. I’m never leaving you.”
Mack’s still holding me hours later, after everyone else has left and long after the last shovel of dirt was placed over Rex’s coffin, signaling this spot is now a grave.
His tombstone reads:
In Loving Memory Of
Rex Scavello
Tragically Taken From Us Too Soon.
Dearly Beloved Brother To Lana and
Cherished Friend To Many.
Tenderly I Treasure The Past,
With Memories That
Will Always Last.
The sun sets. It’s bright yellow hue dimming to a beautiful gold. Shadows appear and the cool night air wisps around my face and bare legs. I pull my black dress down as far as it will go, but darkness takes its inevitable turn, and I decide it’s time to say my final farewell and go home.
Epilogue
Lana
I’m up. I’m struggling. Nevertheless, I’m trying.
Sitting at the table across from Mack eating toast, I’m attempting to stomach food for the first time in three days. My throat’s been too raw from crying to eat before now.
Today I woke up and found my tears had dried up. Did I run out? That was my first thought, and then water hit my eyes and I realized no, they’re still there, but today I found I could control them a little bit better than yesterday.
I showered, dressed, and came downstairs on my own to a shocked room full of men.
Mack has been with me almost 24/7, but I’ve pushed him out of our room a few times to get information on Della and Dom.
After Della was taken to the hospital, they found the bones in her wrist were shattered, but her head was fine. She has scratches and bruises from some sort of impact. But Della says Rex pushed her out of the way at the last second, so the doctors think it could have been her hitting the ground or possibly the train, but they said that’s really not probable and if it was, then it’s a miracle she’s alive.
The police questioned everyone at the scene and Slater had an argument with Sheriff Johnson, who mentioned Della had only recently been discharged for a bullet wound. He told Slater straight out if he wasn’t such a disgusting criminal then maybe his sister wouldn’t get hurt.
Mack and Pacer had to physically remove Slater from the Sheriff’s presence before Slater did something he’d regret.
Della was in the hospital for three days, two days post her hand operation before Dom got word that Lucini had heard about Rex’s death and he was sending his enforcers to pick Della up.
Dom said my great Uncle Frank Lucini wouldn’t hear that Rex committed suicide. He said if Rex was unstable, Bone would have noticed and reported back to him. He thinks it’s foul play and he’s coming for Della. Lucini considers two deaths an attack against the family.
Dom and Slater got into it badly. I was lying on Mack’s bed, surrounded by tissues. But even I got up and out of bed after hearing the shouts. Opening the bedroom door, I went to the window at the end of the hall and peered out through the glass at the two men on the ground fighting and throwing punches.
Mack said that Dom came up with a plan, but it entailed him taking Della with him to his hometown up North, to Dom’s friends and to Della’s real family. A twenty-five hour drive across the country.
Slater forbid it.
Della and Dom still left. Della left behind her brothers’ backs, willingly. Slater promised to go after her, but Piper talked to him. She explained what we all knew, Della was doing this for them. She knows the safest place for her brothers is for her to be far away from them. And as long as the Kings are still in Portland and are seen going to visit their sister in the hospital each day, the enforcers have no idea Della’s already left town and it will give Dom and Della the head start they need. However, Slater has sworn, the moment they get even a hint that the enforcers know they’ve been played, they’re going after their sister.
Della and Dom are on their way to Minnesota. Once they arrive and Della meets her new brother, William—who’s going to be in Minnesota with his cousin Joseph and his partner Alexa—they will decide where to go from there. Della’s other two brothers, Matthew and Alexander, are still in Mexico putting plans together to offer Lucini a trade for Della’s life. Mack says the brothers understand that kind of life, they know the only way to save Della is to make a trade for something Lucini wants and they think they have something he won’t be able to refuse.
“Lana,” Mack calls to me softly. “Thinking pretty hard there, Dove.”
I lift my eyes. “Just thinking about Della.”
“Slater’s already been in contact with them this morning. So far so good. No tail.”
I nod. “That’s great.”
“Lana, I want to take you out tonight. Get you out of the house. You good with that?”
I’m surprised at the small spark of excitement that ignites inside me.
I force a smile. “Sounds great.”
“Don’t do that,” Mack states.
“What?”
“Push out a smile when it’s not real. I don’t want you to be excited or happy about going out tonight. I want you to feel how you feel, and I’m gonna get you out of the house because I think it might help, but no pretend bullshit with me, Lana. I’m here, even if it takes you years to grin again because your beautiful smiles are worth waiting for.”
Water hits my eyes. I mean what does he expect after he says all that.
Mack walks around the table and bends on one knee and holds me and I say, “These are happy tears.”
I feel his body shake as he says, “We’re getting somewhere then.”
Gosh, I love this man.
***
Mack and I are lying under the stars, on the lush grass of Iroquois Park, twenty minutes south of Portland. He brought me to an open space, where there are no trees, only open sky and millions of beautiful stars.
He placed a picnic blanket down and a basket, which I knew held Chinese food. I could smell it since the moment he got back home from running an errand, and rushed me to get dressed. I quickly threw on a wallflower patterned playsuit and then Mack hustled me into Fang and the smell of my favorite takeaway caused my stomach to growl all the way here.
Two hours later and quite a few of my favorite prawn spring rolls, Mack pulls me down to lie against his chest and we lie in silence. Only listening to the crickets and feeling the fresh cool breeze against my skin. I close my eyes and enjoy this peaceful, beautiful moment with a man I thought I’d lost five long years ago.
A few minutes pass and Mack wriggl
es his arm free from underneath me and we both sit up at the same time.
“I have something to show you,” Mack says.
Immediately, I think he’s trying to joke around with me so I reply, “If it’s two inches long and wrinkly. I’ve already seen it before.”
Mack’s expression turns serious and his brow furrows. I grab my stomach and laugh out loud. Strangely enough, it feels as if it’s the first in a long time, but really it’s only been just over a week.
Mack’s lips split into a wide smile. “Very funny. Seriously, though, I have a surprise for you.”
I rub my hands together and cross my legs and say, “More than this picnic? What is it?”
Mack reaches over his shoulder to his back and pulls the black T-shirt off he’s wearing. My eyes roam up as the shirt disappears. Smooth, tanned and toned abs. My eyes continue to go up over Mack’s sexy sprinkle of chest hair and then I freeze and gasp.
Mack has a new tattoo, over his heart.
A dove with a keyhole in its chest. The words, ‘Happily Ever After’ are etched in the exact same calligraphy that I have on my thigh.
Mack has matched my, ‘Once Upon A Time’ writing.
He’s matched our tattoos.
I trace the intricate lines and shading of the stunning dove. Moving to the lock, I'm surprised to find it’s shaped like a castle. My eyes blur and I wipe at them quickly, not wanting to take my stare off the matching tattoo Mack got for me.
“Ink, something engraved in us forever that we will be buried with.”
My sight blurs as Mack repeats the words he said to me a long time ago. Words I had re-lived in my mind many times.
“You’re my life-long love, Lana. I still want to give you a ring and have you take my name, but this…” he places his right palm over my hand and our tattoo “…this is forever.”
Mack rubs his thumb across my cheeks. “Don’t fall apart yet, Dove.” He smiles, “I have one more thing to show you and then you can cry your happy or sad tears.”
I laugh because damn there’s nothing that can top this.
Mack pulls a white piece of paper out of his back pocket and says, “You told me you don’t want to visit Rex’s grave because you don’t believe he’s there. You think he’s passed on, gone to Heaven.”
I nod, tilting my head to the side, waiting patiently, but curious as to what Mack is getting to.
“Well, now you have a new place.” Mack points to the night sky and says, “I bought you a star and named it Rex. The lady from the local Astronomy group told me if I brought you to this park and if we looked up, Rex’s star would be directly above us. I also have coordinates and a new telescope for you in the car so you can see it clearer anytime from home. You can look up and find your brother, whenever you need him.”
My chin trembles and fresh tears threaten to spill. I’m not sure what to say. How do I thank someone for giving me a beautiful place to talk to my brother? A gift to remember who I saw Rex as; my shining light in a dark world. My big brother who will always be looking down on me now and I have Mack to thank for that.
“I don’t know what to say,” I stutter.
“You don’t need to say anything, Lana.” Mack kisses my lips gently. “I’m going to give you everything, Dove. I’m going to bust my ass every day to make you happy, and in a few years when things have calmed down and we can build a life together, we’re going to have a family. I’m going to give you as many babies as you want, and I’m going to love them as much as I love you. We’re going to keep them safe. Love them. Encourage them. Tell them they can be anything they wanna be.”
I shake my head and smile. “Where did you come from, Mackson King? It’s as if you were created straight from my dreams as a little girl.”
"I might have been, Dove. Because if there's one thing in this life I'm certain of, it's that I was made to love you."
The End
Would you like to read the next book in the Portland Street Kings series?
Tail (Dom and Della) is due to release on June 24th, 2016
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If you’d like, in the meantime you can read another series of mine.
The You Loved Me series.
There are three novels and the series is complete.
Keep flipping to find a sneak peek of You Loved Me At My Darkest, book one.
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Sneak Peek
You Loved Me At My Darkest
Book one in the You Loved Me series.
PROLOGUE
Hopelessness wraps around my body like a tight cord. Alone and beaten, each breath comes quicker. My eyes are almost swollen shut, with only tiny slivers of light shining through to let me know it’s daytime. Thick, rough rope scrapes harshly against my wrists. A dirty white dress, held up on my shoulders by thin straps, covers my shaking body.
What have I done? I failed in my escape, caught in the grasp of evil again. Have I failed Lily too? Will I die down here—never being able to let my sister know how thankful I am that she did everything she possibly could do to save me? I would give up anything in this world to tell her how much I love her, and to tell her to keep fighting.
So many hits to the head has left it pounding like it never has before. I've vomited twice already. I dread more may be coming up. My lip quivers and my chest expands heavily. Tears squeeze through my swollen eyes and spill down my face.
I hear the door opening, and I sense movement near my body. Hot breath heats my cheek letting me know someone’s there. "Sasha, you need to reveal to us who helped you, or things are only going to get a lot worse for you." A gruff voice I know all too well causes bile to rise and threatens to empty again.
I turn my head away and say, “I will never give up who helped me.” Only my words come out all wrong and slurred. What's wrong with my speech?
He sighs. "Fine then, the hard way it is."
I laugh in my mind. Given what I have already been through, I thought that already was the hard way.
I'm pulled upwards by the ropes around my wrists, and he begins walking. I fall to my knees as soon as I try to take my first step.
"Get up," he growls.
My hands are yanked up, and my shoulders scream from the pain. A whimper tries to escape but can't get past the lump in my throat. He grips my elbow and pulls me along with him.
Light explodes between the tiny cracks in my swollen eyes and heat from the sunshine hits my skin. I realise I’m outside. I smell the salty ocean air and feel the chilly breeze. He continues to walk me for a moment, and then stops. I'm pushed to my knees, and then my hands are lifted above my head and tied to something round. I feel it with my fingertips; it’s hard and rough, and feels like a wooden pole.
"Now, boys, watch and learn. This is what we do to slave girls who try to escape and protect traitors." I can hear the sick excitement in his voice. He has been gunning for me ever since I arrived.
My head is still thumping painfully, and my chest is rising and falling fast, waiting for the first punch to come. Trying to predict from which angle, so I can brace for the pain, I feel it.
A scream is ripped from my throat as a searing sensation runs down my back. I arch in response to the blistering pain. I sob when I realise he's whipping me.
I try to move forward to get away. When I feel it again, I sc
ream. My back forces itself forward, trying uselessly to get away from the attacking whip.
Trying to force my hands out of the ropes to defend myself has caused my wrists to throb with pain. I want to crawl into a ball and try to protect what piece of untouched flesh I have left.
I scream again as the whip slashes through my thin dress and skin. The pungent smell of metallic fills my nose. The sliminess of my blood as the whip flicks down my back, seeps downward. The pounding in my head is growing. My eyes are begging me to open them to see, to escape. My body arches again along with a piercing scream from another strike.
Tears overflowing through my swollen eyes, I can taste the saltiness on my lips. My head sags to my chest, my breathing heavy. I sense my body going faint. I'm so tired. The promise of unconsciousness whispers on the edges of my mind. Darkness begins to envelope me.
All of a sudden, I hear screaming in the distance. I recognise that voice. It's Lily. She's getting closer. Oh, thank God, I can tell her how much I love her. How much she has been the best big sister anyone could ever ask for, and demand that she keeps fighting.
Suddenly, I'm turned over. I hear her sweet voice talking to me; she's crying. Lil's arms feel so warm around my body. Home. I'm finally home. I love you, Lil. I try to say except my mouth won't move. I scream it in my mind to her. I love you, Lily! These are my last thoughts as darkness surrounds me and the light drifts away.
CHAPTER ONE
Carefree and Flying High
Taking a seat and looking through the enormous glass window, I watch a plane move down the runway, building up speed, until it's up, and flying into the sky off to some exciting place in the world.