by Zoe Hill
THE DANGEROUS SON
Copyright © 2020 Zoe Hill
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
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.
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.
This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return it to the seller and purchase your own copy.
Thank you for respecting the author’s work.
Published: DyMi Ink
Cover Design: Designs by Dana
Editing: Amy Briggs from Briggs Consulting
Proofreading: Robyn Corcoran
Cover Images: DepositPhotos
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ALSO BY ZOE HILL
THE DANGEROUS SON (a Coalition Collection novel)
For Spenser Ingram love is an abstract concept. Friendless and fearless, he unhappily walks his own solo path. Encouraged by his parents to wield his cold-blooded ruthlessness like a weapon, the boy who never cried grew into a man who regularly makes others weep.
Sent to deliver a message to a local motorcycle club that’s standing in the way of his family’s never-ending pursuit of power, he encounters Poppy Tennyson and is immediately captivated.
For the first time in his life, Spenser wants something for himself.
Unfortunately, a decades-long conspiracy is playing out behind the scenes, and he’s quickly left questioning if his affection for Poppy is genuine or a carefully crafted illusion created by the one person he thought he could trust.
The Dangerous Son is a dark and erotic romantic suspense novel set in a world where deception is the norm and the truth can’t be trusted. It is the first book in the Coalition Collection, a series of interconnected standalones featuring the Ingram-Greaves, Averell, Zidane, and Du Croix crime families.
*Full-length 95,000-word novel, complete with a HEA, and can be read as a standalone*
THE OPTIONAL AUNT (a Coalition Collection novel)
Rosalie Carmichael’s story.
Complete blurb coming soon.
The Optional Aunt is a dark and erotic romantic suspense novel set in a world where deception is the norm and the truth can’t be trusted. It is the second book in The Coalition Collection, a series of interconnected standalones featuring the Ingram-Greaves, Averell, Zidane, and Du Croix crime families.
*Full-length novel, complete with a HEA, and can be read as a standalone*
THE WORTHLESS BROTHER (a Coalition Collection novel)
Luca Zidane’s story.
Complete blurb coming soon.
The Worthless Brother is a dark and erotic romantic suspense set in a world where deception is the norm and the truth can’t be trusted. It is the third book in The Coalition Collection, a series of interconnected standalones featuring the Ingram-Greaves, Averell, Zidane, and Du Croix crime families.
*Full-length novel, complete with a HEA, and can be read as a standalone*
THE UNSUITABLE WIFE (a Coalition Collection novel)
Emmaline Averell’s story.
Complete blurb coming soon.
The Unsuitable Wife is a dark and erotic romantic suspense set in a world where deception is the norm and the truth can’t be trusted. It is the fourth book in The Coalition Collection, a series of interconnected standalones featuring the Ingram-Greaves, Averell, Zidane, and Du Croix crime families.
*Full-length novel, complete with a HEA, and can be read as a standalone*
THE SAMARITAN SOLDIER (a Samaritan’s Soldiers MC novel)
The Samaritan Soldier is a free Patreon-exclusive serial featuring the Tennyson family as they create a new life in New Haven, Connecticut after Poppy's abuse at the hands of Harrison Greaves.
Complete with appearances from Zoran and Sophia Ingram-Greaves, Spenser and Stirling as young boys, and including background information about how the motorcycle club came to be the Coalition’s biggest enemy, The Samaritan Soldier is the perfect story to accompany the Coalition Collection and acts as an origin story for the Samaritan's Soldiers MC series scheduled for release in mid-2021.
This full-length novel will not be published anywhere other than Patreon within 12 months.
SHIELDED (K. Bromberg’s Everyday Heroes story)
Shielded is written in K. Bromberg's Everyday Heroes World and is scheduled to release on December 10, 2020. Featuring characters from Zoe Hill’s Coalition Collection/Samaritan’s Soldiers MC worlds, Shielded is a contemporary romance filled with angst, revenge, and the first flushes of new love.
RELENTLESS (Corinne Michaels’ Salvation Society story)
Relentless is written in Corinne Michaels' Salvation Society World and is tentatively scheduled to release in early 2021. Featuring characters from Zoe Hill’s Coalition Collection/Samaritan’s Soldiers MC worlds, Relentless is a contemporary romance filled with angst, drama, and a second chance at love.
CONTENTS
Title
Copyright
Become a VIP reader
Also by Zoe Hill
Contents
Dedication
Playlist
Content Note
Prologue
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Epilogue
Sign up bonus
Acknowledgments
About Zoe Hill
Contents
DEDICATION
For my beautiful husband.
Without you, I’d be nothing.
PLAYLIST
Music is a huge inspiration for my stories and many of the scenes in this book came to me after listening to one of the songs in the playlist. You can find the songs that inspired The Dangerous Son on Spotify or listed below:
“Itch” by Nothing But Thieves
“Ghost” by Badflower
“Odd One” by Sick Puppies
“Give Me a Reason” by Three Days Grace
“In My Veins” by Andrew Belle
“The Trick The Devil Did” by Sick Puppies
“Glass House” by Machine Gun Kelly
“Not Your Hero” by Emanuel Vo Williams
“Hard Act To Follow” by Grinspoon
“Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd
“Lover, Please Stay” by Nothing But Thieves
“Periscope” by Papa Roach
“Getaway Car” by Taylor Swift
“Take This Lonely Heart” by Nothing But Thieves
“Nightmare” by Halsey
“I’m Not Made by Design” by Nothing But Thieves
“Hurt You” by The Weeknd
“Soda” by Nothing But Thieves
“The High Road” by Three Days Grace
“You should be sad” by Halsey
“I Did Something Bad” by Taylor Swift
“No Love” by Eminem
“Space Bound” by Eminem
“Graveyard” by Halsey
“Not Afraid” by Eminem
“Go To War” by Nothing More
“24” by Badflower
“I Was Just a Kid” by Nothing But Thieves
“I Think I’m OKAY” by Machine Gun Kelly
“Excuse Me” by Nothing But Thieves
“Don’t Stop” by Nothing More
“Number Thirteen” by Nothing But Thieves
“Six Billion” by Nothing But Thieves
“My Name Is Human” by Highly Suspect
“First Punch” by Nothing More
“Wild Horses” by The Sundays
“Bad Things” by Machine Gun Kelly and Camilla Cabello
CONTENT NOTE
The Dangerous Son contains graphic depictions of potentially triggering events. Please >> CLICK HERE << if you would like a more in-depth description of the story.
PROLOGUE
“People say that bad memories cause the most pain, but actually it's the good ones that drive you insane.” ~Kid Cudi~
SABRA
Almost twelve years old
Holding her hand out, the little girl looks up at me with big, hazel eyes filled with nothing but trust. I drag in a deep breath, then extend my arm to accept her offer. When my skin makes contact with hers, I’m surprised to discover that the icky churning I usually get in my stomach doesn’t flare up. Instead, all I feel is the warmth of her touch and a glowing type of satisfaction from her confidence in my ability to help her to the top of the outcropping above the beach at Elmer’s Point.
As a small amount of enjoyment settles into my gut, I smile down at her and mentally celebrate when she grins back at me and her freckled nose wrinkles as she squints in the bright afternoon sun. Walking backward, I guide her upward as we pick our way over the jagged rocks that lead to the summit of the cliff. Whenever she struggles to find a foot hold, I use my strength to tug her upward. It makes her feet dangle in the air for a few seconds until I steady her on the rock next to me.
Every time I do this, she giggles like it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to her.
At seven-years-old, she’s a tiny, dainty thing, especially compared to my above-average size and height, yet there’s a fierceness in her expression that makes her appear both older and bigger than she really is. Her posture is stiff, and she glances around us like she’s anticipating an attack every time my identical twin and her three older brothers rush past us so they can jump off the clifftop and into the ocean below. While we are slowly making our way to the top, they’re acting as if the water will disappear and the cliff will crumble into the sand below if they don’t swim back to the shore and run back to the peak quick enough.
I’m in no hurry to make excuses when my brother asks why won’t take my long-sleeved top off once it’s wet, and it seems like she’s not eager to plunge into the crashing waves against the sheer rock face. There’s an unspoken understanding between us that reaching the summit isn’t necessarily the goal.
If anything, I’d hazard a guess that she’s only playing at the beach with me and my brother’s best friends—her boisterous brothers—because I’m here. Since I’m at boarding school, my brother gets to come here more than I do, and he’s mentioned that every time he comes, she seems to have become quieter. The only change in her is when I’m home from school. When I’m here, she talks about everything, from the colors of the sunset to the verses that intrigued her most at Sunday School, and I’m more than happy to share my thoughts as well.
Our “nerd talks” are something her second eldest brother ruthlessly teases her about. Although, his taunting doesn’t deter her from seeking me out whenever I’m with my family when they come to see the Montgomery family. Plus, despite my twin’s sage advice to, “ditch the kid and be normal,” I find myself drawn to her company as well. She is comfortable and familiar. Peaceful and calming. All things that have been lacking in my life since my uncle returned from Israel four and a half years ago and took a special interest in me.
A shudder runs the length of my body as I think about what he’s interested in and I nearly forget how to breathe. The only thing that stops me from dropping to my knees and crying is her. She trusts me to keep her safe and I can’t do that if I’m lying on the ground sobbing over how terrible my life is right now.
Too soon, we reach the top. The cool breeze from the beach takes on a definite chill as we stand at the edge of the outcrop that hangs over the ocean. On our left is the lighthouse. Even in the bright afternoon, its light spins in circles to alert sailors to the dangerous reef hiding beneath the tide. Still holding her hand, I look out to the horizon at the sun that’s beginning its long descent toward nighttime.
Bright and full of promise, the sun doesn’t seem scared of the darkness it leaves in its wake.
Five years ago, I wasn’t scared of the night, either.
Nowadays, I fear the dark because that’s when my monster comes out to play with me.
As the boys run up the hill toward us, she giggles.
“What’s so funny?” I ask. Looking down at her, my gaze follows her thin finger when she gestures toward the lighthouse and laughs once more. “It’s a lighthouse, squirt.”
She runs her tongue between her top lip and her teeth. “What did the ocean say to the lighthouse?”
I screw up my nose and stare at the lighthouse trying to remember the punch line. Her father made this joke at the dinner table last night. At the time, I wasn’t paying attention because my uncle was sitting next to me, and I was trying my hardest not to move a muscle so he wouldn’t realize that I was so close to him.
“Something about the waves, isn’t it?” I mutter.
“Almost, Sabra. The ocean says nothing, it just waves.”
When she shakes her head and scoffs at my lack of knowledge, I don’t quite register her good-natured teasing. Instead my attention is captured by the mark I see on the inside of her upper arm as the cotton tunic she’s wearing over her swimsuit blows open. Taking hold of her wrist, I pull her arm out straight and slide the tunic off her shoulder.
Recognition burns up my throat and I find myself swallowing down the bile that erupts into my mouth. The matching marks I have on my own body pulse with shame, the cigarette burns an enduring sign of my suffering. As the truth begins to settle into my brain, I drag her into my embrace and hug her small body tight.
“Who did that to you?”
“Nobody!” she screams. Writhing in my embrace, she attempts to fight me off her, but I won’t let go. Rather than scare her, I drop to my knees, so we’re almost the same height. Grabbing hold of her upper arms, I hold her at arm’s length and look her right in the eye. As our gaze’s lock, she bursts into sobs. “N-nobody. N-n-nobody.”
In her, I see the same fear that’s dogged me since the first time I tried to tell my parents what was happening, and they took his denial as truth instead of believing me. Touching my fingertip to her forehead, I run my finger down her nose and over her lips to her chin in the same way my dad touches me when I can’t sleep. It always helps me relax, so I’m hoping that it will work on her.
I need her to calm down.
I need to know the truth.
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Her cries turn into hiccups, and she hits me with a tear-filled plea, “Don’t say n-nothing. Please?”
“Who did he threaten to hurt if you told?” I ask. In silence, we watch her brothers and mine run past us without stopping to spare us a glance. “Was it your brothers?”
She shakes her head.
“Your mom and dad?”
Once again, she shakes her head.
Since he uses my twin to keep me in line, I find it hard to think of anyone else. Wracking my mind for other people that he might use to scare her, I run over her family in my head. She has a mom and dad, the three brothers’ cliff diving with us today, and two more younger brothers playing at the church under the watchful eyes of the adults. I almost give up until it hits me.
“Did he say he’d hurt the baby?”
“Yes,” she admits in a lifeless voice. Although her mom is almost five months pregnant, she is barely showing. I mentally high-five myself for remembering that her mom is pregnant and allow the knowledge that she’s not far along to soothe the guilt that’s eating at me. Threatening the baby means that he hasn’t been hurting her for years like he has me. “H-he said the b-baby would die if I told anyone.”
“That’s bullshit,” I declare in an angry voice. When she recoils from me, I pull her closer and whisper, “He’s bullshit, not you.”
“O-kay,” she replies. Lifting her eyebrows, she tilts her head to the side. “It hurts, Sabra. It always hurts.”
“I know.” The agony in her voice hits me right in the chest. “I know it does.”
“You’re big. Can you make him stop?”
“No,” I reluctantly admit. Big, fat tears begin to roll down her cheeks and each one stabs me in the heart harder than the one before. I wipe them away with my thumbs as I add, “I can’t make him stop, but you can. Promise me you’ll tell your parents, squirt. Tell them tonight and they’ll make him stop.”
When she doesn’t answer straightaway, I lean closer and demand in a louder voice, “Promise me.”