by Levine, Nina
I had never imagined a life without Brynn.
Could never imagine it.
That afternoon, I was blindsided for the third time in my life.
Robbie and I arrived home from the science centre. His friend who lived next door waved at him as we pulled into the driveway, so he left me to go see him. I slung my bag over my shoulder and exited the garage into the house. Brynn’s car was parked in my garage, so I was surprised to find the house in silence. She usually blasted music while she cooked. Maybe she’d decided not to cook after all.
“Brynn, where are you?” I called out as I walked to the kitchen. “I have some goss to share with—” I came to an abrupt halt as I entered the kitchen.
Oh God.
No.
I was seeing things.
My heart raced as I stared at my sister lying on the floor with blood oozing out of her.
I screamed. I know I did, but I couldn’t hear it.
I scrambled to the floor to pull her into my arms.
I couldn’t think straight.
“Brynny, no!”
I sat with her head in my lap, clinging to her. Willing her to not die.
Gulping down breaths, I suddenly realised I should check for a pulse.
There was a pulse.
With shaky hands, I reached into my bag and pulled out my phone. Somehow I called 000 and got through the call.
“Brynn!” I cried out as if that would magically fix her.
My chest hurt.
I couldn’t do this.
I needed Brynn to get me through this.
I dialled King. It was instinctual. There was no thought process. Somehow I just knew he was my person. He would get me through this when my sister couldn’t.
He answered on the third ring. “What’s up?”
I gripped the phone hard and tried to talk, but the only sound that came was a wail.
“Lily, what?” he demanded. “What the fuck has happened?”
“It’s Brynn… She’s been shot. I need you.”
“Fuck. I’m on my way.”
I couldn’t breathe.
My heart was going to explode out of my chest.
My sister could not die.
I couldn’t do life without her.
Hurry, King.
I need you.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
King
I paced the hospital corridor early Sunday morning, my mind working out how I would avenge the shooting of Lily’s sister. There was no doubt in my mind this was Romano’s doing. And that shit was on me. I hadn’t taken enough precautions to keep Lily and her family safe. I thought I had, but clearly I fucking hadn’t. Her sister wouldn’t be lying in a coma if I had.
Fuck.
I shoved my fingers through my hair and stopped pacing as I watched Lily walk my way. Empty eyes met mine, and I swallowed hard. Her arms circled me and she clung tightly as she sobbed. I held her for as long as she needed. I gave her that now because I wouldn’t be giving it to her later. This would be the end of the road for us. No fucking way was I putting another woman’s life at risk simply because she was in my life. Lily would never become a casualty of my war.
“Thank you for staying with me all night,” she said softly when she let me go. “I couldn’t have gotten through it without you.”
I nodded, but I had no words for her. Not when the only words that would be honest enough were—this is my fucking fault.
“I’m going to take Mum home. The doctor has given her something to help her sleep.” Another sob escaped her lips as her hand flew to her mouth. “I’ve never seen my mother so distraught.” Her eyes pleaded with mine for answers when she added, “It will kill her if she loses Brynn.”
I knew she wanted me to say everything was going to be okay, that Brynn would pull through and they’d go back to life as they knew it, but I couldn’t. That had never been my experience in life, and I wouldn’t lie to her just to make her feel better. Lies only helped in the short-term; they just made shit worse after that.
“I’ll take you home,” I said, needing to give her that before walking away from her. I’d already organised for some of my men to watch her mother’s house. Once I’d dealt with Romano, I’d be completely gone from her life, and she’d be safe again.
“Thank you.”
Forty minutes later, she glanced at the bikes outside her mum’s place as I pulled into the driveway. “Who’s here?”
I parked the car and looked at her. “I’ve put some of my guys here to watch over you.”
She frowned. “Do you think whoever did this will come back?”
I knew she thought it was a robbery gone wrong, and I would have liked to let her continue thinking that, but I couldn’t. She had to be prepared in case shit did go down again. “I don’t know, but they may. Hopefully it will get sorted, and the guys won’t be here long.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh my God, King. Are my kids safe?”
“Yes. These men are my best, Lily. Military trained. You’re safe.”
Her shoulders sagged. “Thank you,” she said before brushing a kiss over my lips. “I really would be lost without you right now.”
Fuck, I was a bastard. I wanted more of that kiss. It would be my last taste of her. Gripping the back of her neck, I pulled her mouth back to mine and kissed her for a long fucking time. It was rough and demanding, and she gave that to me even though her world had turned upside down. Even when she was struggling just to breathe, Lily gave. I didn’t deserve a woman as good as her in my life.
We woke her mother, and I got them both inside. Linc was there with the kids, and I stayed out of his way. As little as I thought of him, Lily would need him, and I hoped to fuck he came through for her.
We got her mum into bed, and then I helped Lily shower and dress before settling her in bed, too. When I brushed a kiss across her forehead and stood, she frowned. “Are you leaving?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Why?”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “I’ve got shit to take care of.”
“Oh, okay. Do you know what time you’ll be finished?”
“No.” It came out hard, but I couldn’t help that. I had to shut the fucking feelings I had for her down, and hard was the only way I knew how to do that.
She frowned again. “King, what’s going on?”
“I don’t have time to get into it. I have to go.”
She was silent for a beat. “Well, I’m going to head back to the hospital in a few hours. I’ll call you then and see where you are.”
“Don’t call me. I’ll be on my way to Melbourne.”
She sat up, her features filled with confusion. “I don’t understand what’s happening here. Why are you going to Melbourne? And when will I see you again?”
I took a step back at the same time I clamped ice down over my heart. When I answered her question, I let that ice coat my words. “You won’t see me again. This is over between us.” This has to be over between us.
I stalked out of the house without waiting for her response. By the time I reached the car, I’d switched to battle mode. The only thought in my head was that I had to obliterate Tony Romano’s operation. Something I should have done a lot fucking sooner.
“King!” Lily called out, running out to the car. “Wait!”
My jaw clenched as I opened the car door. “Go back inside, Lily. This isn’t up for negotiation.”
She stood on the other side of the door, staring at me with shock. “I don’t understand. Why?”
I ignored the tears streaming down her face. Refused to see them. I’m doing this for her. “Because you don’t belong in my world, and I don’t belong in yours. Now go the fuck back inside. We’re done.”
She flinched as if I’d punched her. And then she stared at me like she didn’t know who I was. Wrapping her arms around her body, she moved away from the car. She didn’t utter another word.
As fast as we’d begun, we were done.
&
nbsp; And I was reminded once more that the journey through life was best taken alone.
King’s Playlist
Did you know I have a playlist for every book I write? They’re on Spotify here.
King’s list:
To Be Alone by Hozier
Bloodstream by Ed Sheeran
My Sacrifice by Creed
Best of You by Foo Fighters
Sympathy For The Devil by Guns N’ Roses
With Arms Wide Open by Creed
Let’s Hurt Tonight by OneRepublic
Choke by OneRepublic
I Love You Always Forever by Betty Who
Still Falling For You by Ellie Goulding
Remedy by Adele
Water Under The Bridge by Adele
River Lea by Adele
It’s Gotta Be You by Isaiah
Spaces by One Direction
Long Stretch of Love by Lady Antebellum
One Great Mystery by Lady Antebellum
Smooth by Florida Georgia Line
Beautifully Unfinished by Ella Henderson
Hard Work by Ella Henderson
Long Way Down by One Direction
Over You by Daughtry
Waiting For Superman by Daughtry
Start of Something Good by Daughtry
No Surprise by Daughtry
Torches by Daughtry
Go Down by Daughtry
Baptized by Daughtry
I’ll Fight by Daughtry
High Above The Ground by Daughtry
Undefeated by Daughtry
Losing My Mind by Daughtry
When We Were Young by The Killers
White Blank Page by Mumford & Sons
Home by Nickelback
The Betrayal - Act III by Nickelback
What Are You Waiting For? by Nickelback
Break Me Shake Me by Savage Garden
Desperado by Rihanna
The Sound of Silence by Disturbed
Down With The Sickness by Disturbed
River by Bishop Briggs
Coming Undone by Korn
Pain by Three Days Grace
State of My Head by Shinedown
Running Away by Midnight Hour
Fire Away by Chris Stapleton
Your Betrayal by Bullet For My Valentine
You Want a Battle? (Here’s A War) by Bullet For My Valentine
Love On The Brain by Rihanna
Stay by Rihanna, Mikky Ekko
Love The Way You Lie by Rihanna, Eminem
But We Lost It by Pink
I Am Here by Pink
Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken by Pink
You Get My Love by Pink
Try by Pink
Take My Heart by Birdy
Wings by Birdy
Light Me Up by Birdy
Strange Birds by Birdy
Standing In The Way of The Light by Birdy
When She Says Baby by Jason Aldean
Boy by Lee Brice
Turnin’ Me On by Blake Shelton
The Wave by Blake Shelton
I Don’t Dance by Lee Brice
Red by Taylor Swift
Thunder In The Rain by Kane Brown
21 Guns by Green Day
Never Be The Same by Camila Cabello
Way Down We Go by Kaleo
You Are The Reason by Calum Scott, Leona Lewis
King’s Reign
King’s Reign
The epic conclusion to King's story.
I was chasing pure darkness.
Succumbing to the needs I’d forced to the far edges of my soul.
Running like a madman towards evil.
Then I found her.
She breathed life into me when I hadn’t thought there was any life beyond what I knew.
She gave me hope after I’d forgotten what it was.
She helped quiet the demons raging deep inside me.
Now I will lay myself bare for her.
I will bleed for her.
I will love her madly, deeply, passionately, completely.
Dedication
This one’s for all my amazing readers.
Chapter One
King
Some say the art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. I didn’t buy that shit for a second. I’ve always said show the fuck up with the biggest army you can amass and crush the motherfuckers with brute fucking force.
I was here to crush Tony Romano’s empire with the kind of force that would tell the world never to fuck with Storm again.
We’d arrived in Melbourne just after 8:00 p.m. and had staked out both his home and his business headquarters for the past two hours. Biding our time. Something I wasn’t good at, but Axe had convinced me this was the best course of action to ensure we were running on good information that left little room for surprises when we did attack. I’d left a skeleton crew back in Sydney and brought just over forty men with me. Zane and Griff were in charge of surveillance, pulling intel on how many men we were dealing with inside. Last week, they’d found the floor plans for each building and had mapped out different scenarios for how to infiltrate and attack. The thing I wanted to make sure of before we went in, guns fucking blazing, was that there were no women or children who’d be caught in the crossfire. The intel so far led us to believe there weren’t, but Zane was making sure that information was accurate.
Hyde approached me as I watched the entrance to Romano’s headquarters. A van had just arrived and five more men were about to enter the building. “You sure you don’t wanna just burn the joint down and be done with it, brother?”
I turned to him. We’d been going back and forth over this question for about an hour, and disagreed on it. As far as we knew, there were about thirty guys in the building. Hyde held concerns that was too many for us to deal with. “I want to look these motherfuckers in the eye and see them bleed. And I want to make sure every last fucking one of them dies. There will be no survivors here today.”
“Okay, we do this your way, but if shit gets out of hand, I’m torching the place and getting us the fuck out of there.”
I clenched my jaw, pissed that he kept arguing over this. “No.” No fucking way was I not getting my hands dirty with these cunts. If they wanted to come at me the way they had, they would feel the full extent of my wrath.
He returned my scowl. “King, you’re running on emotion, and we both know that’s a dangerous headspace to be in with this kind of shit. I don’t wanna see our club wiped out because you couldn’t fucking think straight.”
“I fucking said no, so drop it. And if you can’t, you can stay the fuck out of this entire operation,” I barked before turning back to continue watching the building.
“Fuck,” he fired back before stalking away from me, muttering some other shit under his breath I couldn’t work out, nor had any fucking interest in trying to.
As he left, Zane made his way to me. “Best we can figure, there won’t be any collateral damage if we go in now.”
“You’re sure?”
He gave a quick nod. “Yes.”
I glanced at Axe who’d also joined us. “You agree we’re good to go?” My brother was the only person whose opinion I ever gave this much weight to. He’d proven his skill in this kind of situation a long time ago, and while it sometimes killed me to take his suggestions on board, I almost always did.
“I do. There may not be a better time than right now. Most of the guys inside are concentrated in the back corner of the building. That neutralises a lot of the risk associated with this. And there’s no one at Romano’s home, so it’s good timing there, too.”
I texted Nitro who was at Romano’s home and told him to proceed. I then spoke into my handheld radio that connected me to Kick and Devil who were at various points around this building. “Go!”
We moved fast and silently towards the perimeter, entering the building as Zane and Griff had planned. That was after Axe and I slit the throats of the two guys guarding this side of the building.
Griff had shut down the video surveillance, allowing us to enter with ease. That I finally had some of Romano’s men’s blood on my hands lit my fucking mind up.
I needed more.
I fucking hungered for it.
This shit had been going on for too long; I was like a jittery fucking addict waiting for his next hit.
My finger twitched at the trigger of my gun.
If only Romano were here.
Fuck, I wouldn’t kill him on sight; I’d take him with me so I could keep him like a fucking toy that needed to be played with daily. Pull that fucker out every hour and give him some King love. The kind of love my father taught me.
Once inside, I led the way to the back corner room, meeting the two other teams of men who’d entered at different access points. Darkness blanketed the building, the only light spilling from the back like Zane had predicted.
Devil, Kick, and Hyde locked eyes on me. Without pausing for even one fucking second, I stormed through the door and opened fire the minute my gaze landed on the first of Romano’s motherfuckers.
Surprise rolled across his face before terror as he took in my gun. I zeroed in on that terror, feeding the craving that lived deep in my soul. Satisfaction filled my veins exactly like the addict I was, and every instinct I had for death and torture roared to life in a way it never had before.
There will be a bloodbath here today.
I’d been shutting my shit down for far too fucking long.
Keeping a tight fucking rein on my crazy.
No more.
I would allow every impulse I had to take over and run its course. And when the chips fell wherever they did, I would pick those fuckers up and do it all over again with the next enemy on my motherfucking list.