by Nina Levine
That night had started like any other for me. I’d gone to work at Hyde’s, a local bar. Rob worked with me as a bartender and we’d had a fun night with all the regulars. However, after close, while I was waiting for J to pick me up, Rob had turned on me and attempted to rape me in the car park outside the bar. J was late picking me up and arrived mid attack, just as Rob had pulled a knife on me and slashed my arm. Five minutes later, Rob was dead after J shot him and so began our descent into hell.
J and I had been together for a little over two years at that point. We’d been great friends for a lot longer than that. He’d joined Storm when he was nineteen. I was a seventeen-year–old schoolgirl at the time and fell hard for him. However, nothing but flirting happened between us for six years, and during that time, we built a strong friendship. Our relationship as a couple had been fiery. We couldn’t get enough of each other, but at the same time, we argued constantly. Our main problem stemmed from the club. J didn’t involve me in club business, annoying the hell out of me. I wanted to be a part of every aspect of his life and when he refused to talk about the club with me, I felt closed off from part of him, which led to many arguments.
In the end though, what tore us apart was our inability to deal with the fallout from Rob’s death. After the attempted rape, J tried to wrap me in cotton wool. He constantly monitored my whereabouts and tried to dictate where I could go and what I could do. I was not a woman who could cope with that style of relationship. On top of that, I’d started drinking heavily. Feeling responsible for Rob’s death and being unable to work through my feelings associated with that, I’d resorted to shutting it all out by hitting the bar.
It started out as a bit of fun, but quickly spiralled into an addiction I couldn’t get under control. J had lived with an alcoholic parent and had no tolerance for drinking to excess. He tried desperately to get me help but I blocked all his attempts. This went on for almost a year and the final nail in our coffin had been Jodie, a club whore who J had supposedly cheated on me with. I’d believed the rumours, or perhaps I had wanted to, simply to have an excuse to walk away from the hard work our relationship had become. Sometimes it didn’t seem like love was enough when everything else was a struggle.
The year after I left J was the lowest point in my life. My drinking was worse. I had shut myself off from family and friends, and I had hooked up with a violent and controlling biker from Storm’s rival club, Black Deeds. Nix was the VP of Black Deeds and getting involved with him had angered my father, brother and J. This had been a good reason for me to continue the relationship because at the time, they were all pissing me off and it felt good to return the gesture. A couple of months into the relationship, I discovered that J hadn’t cheated on me. I was gutted that I’d thrown our relationship away so easily because of a lie, and went to him to apologise for not believing in him. That had been a turning point for me because we rekindled our friendship and he tried to help me get my life back on track. The problem was that Nix wasn’t about to give me up that easily. Although we had only been together for a very short time, he was committed to keeping us together. He didn’t like my friendship with J and the day he worked out I was still in love with him was the day he almost beat me to death. That was the day my life turned in a new direction and led me to where I was now.
I hadn’t spoken to J in over two years. I’d also stayed sober in that time. Moving away from Storm saved my life. The problem was, I felt dead on the inside. I was a twenty-nine year old single woman just going through the motions of life. Sure, I had a job, good friends, and a great social life. On the outside, my life looked like fun. But it wasn’t real. And I didn’t know how to make it any better.
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Acknowledgments
There are two people who this book would not be possible without - Jodie O’Brien (she’s a lot of things to me, but for the purposes of these acknowledgements, she was my one beta reader for this book) and Becky Johnson (my editor). These ladies worked around the clock for me to help me get King ready for you. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU <3
I also need to give thanks to Letitia Hasser my cover designer for creating my fave cover ever for this book, and Wander Aguiar for taking the sexy photo. You guys are both so very talented and I am so grateful to work with you <3
Now! I really need to give HUGE thanks to some of my Levine’s Ladies for helping me build the King’s Reign playlist. I have one for every book, but this has been the best playlist I have ever built. I didn’t use all the suggestions, but without them, I wouldn’t have been led through the Spotify jungle to discover songs I had never heard of before now. Thanks must go to - Bethany, Lee Anna, Sara, Tiffany, Rhiannon, Cindy, Melissa, Laurie, Fern, Alana, Diane, Lisa, Monica, Jennifer, Suzan, Paula, Larissa, April, Wendy, Silvia, Jessica, Angela, Ronda, Missy, Nadia, Melissa, Beth, Shannen, Jolena, Jo, Lisa, Sallie, Megan, Melanie & Tracy. I hope I got everyone! You ladies rock!
Check out the King’s Reign Playlist here.
To my mofos, you know who you are. Love you girls for having my back xx
To my bloggers & reviewers & street team! I FREAKING LOVE YOU GIRLS!!! From the very bottom of my heart, thank you <3 Also, I suck at ARCS but I’ma try really hard on the next book to get them out early! *dies of laughter*
To my beautiful readers, this one was for you. I wrote a book I truly love, but I did it for you. I worked the longest hours I have ever worked in my life to get this book done in a month, and while I am sitting here today feeling like I am from The Walking Dead, absolutely exhausted, and happier with a book than I have ever been, I am blessed to get to spend my days making up stories about alphas I adore, and I only get to do that because you continue to buy my books and love my alphas as much as I do. Thank you for waiting so long for King. I hope you loved his story. And if you didn’t, I am sorry for that, but I wrote him exactly how he has been coming to me for years, flaws and all. I, at least, can tell you I poured my heart and soul into his story. <3
Also by Nina Levine
USA Today Bestselling Author
Visit Nina’s Website
All Books Available In Kindle Unlimited
Storm MC Series
Storm (Storm MC #1)
Fierce (Storm MC #2)
Blaze (Storm MC #3)
Revive (Storm MC #4)
Slay (Storm MC #5)
Sassy Christmas (Storm MC #5.5)
Illusive (Storm MC #6)
Command (Storm MC #7)
Havoc (Storm MC #8)
Sydney Storm MC Series
Relent (#1)
Nitro’s Torment (#2)
Devil’s Vengeance (#3)
Hyde’s Absolution (#4)
King’s Wrath (#5)
King’s Reign (#6)
Coming Soon
Storm MC Reloaded Series
War of Hearts (October 2018)
The Hardy Family Series
Steal My Breath (single dad romance)
Crave Series
Be The One (rockstar romance)
The Vault Books
Risk (billionaire romance)
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About the Author
Dreamer.
Coffee Lover.
Gypsy at heart.
USA Today Bestselling author who writes about alpha men & the women they love.
When I’m not creating with words you will find me planning my next getaway, visiting somewhere new in the world, having a long conversation over coffee and cake with a friend, creating with paper or curled up with a good book and chocolate.
I’ve been writing since I was twelve. Weaving words together has always been a form of therapy for me especially during my har
der times. These days I’m proud that my words help others just as much as they help me.
www.ninalevinebooks.com