Forever Love
Brooke Summers
Contents
1. Hudson
2. Mia
3. Hudson
4. Mia
5. Hudson
6. Mia
7. Hudson
8. Hudson
9. Mia
10. Hudson
11. Mia
12. Hudson
13. Mia
14. Hudson
15. Mia
16. Hudson
17. Hudson
18. Mia
Epilogue
All the ways you can follow Brooke
Books By Brooke
FOREVER LOVE
First Edition published in 2020
Text Copyright © Brooke Summers
All rights reserved.
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
Cover Design by Lee Ching of Undercover Designs.
Formatter Kristine Moran of word bunnies.
Editing by Lisa Flynn of Simply Writing.
Proofread by Kristine Moran of word bunnies
No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means
(electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording
or otherwise), nor be otherwise circulated in any
form of binding or cover other than that in which
it is published without the prior written permission
of the author. Any person who does any
unauthorized act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil
claims for damages.
All characters in this publication are fictitious
and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Created with Vellum
One
Hudson
Walking into the hospital, my feet move quickly toward the surgical floor. The smell of sterile cleaning solution assaults my nose. I fucking hate this place, we’ve spent too much time in hospitals or makeshift ones lately. Every time we come to this damn place, we lose someone. The last one was David’s wife, she didn’t survive the night, the burns she had were so severe.
Dad’s waiting for me as I get there. He looks like shit, he hasn’t told me who’s been shot, I just needed to get my ass to the hospital. So here I am, and seeing his pale face has me on edge.
“Son…” he begins, his voice shaky.
“Who?” I demand, hating the small talk.
He glances to the floor and then back at me, his eyes glassy as though he’s trying not to cry. “There’s been two shootings.”
“Dad, just fucking spit it out,” I tell him. He’s pissing me off, I know that whoever it is that’s been shot is someone close. I just pray to God that it’s not Jagger, Sarah, or Allie.
“Son…” His voice breaks, “Your Ma and Tina were shot.”
I blink, my hands balling into fists, “How?”
Dad shakes his head. “Tina was shot first by what I’ve gathered, she has lost a lot of blood, she wasn’t found for a while, your ma, she was shot outside her house. Her neighbors called the cops and an ambulance. She was seen to immediately. They’re both in surgery right now.”
I shake my head. “Dad, what aren’t you telling me?”
He glances away again. “Martin took the two of them out. I’ve had David search through the security cameras trying to see if he could find out who did this or if there was anything that could lead us to finding out who did it.” He’s still not telling me something, and I don’t have the time to fucking play with this shit.
Pain hits me, he shot my mom. This man is coming after everyone I love. “Fucking hell. How did he know where Mom was? Hell, how did he know where Tina was? Even I didn’t know where she was staying.”
“I don’t know son, I don’t even know where your mom’s staying. Has he been following you?”
I give my dad a look, and he holds his hands up in surrender. “Look, Son, I wasn’t saying that to piss you off, but it’s a possibility.”
“I know, but he hasn’t Dad, I would have known if he were and would have lost him. I can spot a tail a mile off. Every time the cops trail me, I lose them.” I laugh. “Fucking hell.”
Dad frowns, “What, Son?”
“Before this shit began, I had a tail, a fed, his name was Johnson. A real fucking douche. Anyway, he’d been on my case for months until this shit began, and I’ve not seen him since.”
His eyes narrow. “You think this Johnson’s in on this?”
I shrug. “I don’t know, but I think the timing is suspect, and I don’t believe in coincidences.”
“It’s time to call the men, have Johnson found,” Dad tells me and I sigh. Fucking A, just what we need, kidnapping and threatening a federal agent but it needs to be done.
Pulling out my cell, I call Jagger, he’s meant to be with Sarah today but that’s about to change. “What?” He grunts and I smile, I’ve just interrupted something.
“Wrap it up and get your ass over to the club, I’ll meet you there in twenty minutes. Gather the men,” I tell him. “I’m at the hospital, I’ll be leaving soon.”
I hear movement and know that he’s doing as I ask. “Hospital, what’s happened now?”
“I’ll tell you when I see you. Call Frankie and get his ass over to your house. Put him on Sarah and Allie.”
“Fuck. On it, I’ll see you soon.” He ends the call, knowing that shits about to go down.
Turning back to Dad I say, “Call me once they’re out of surgery, let me know what the doctors say.”
He nods. “Son, prepare yourself though. Tina was in bad shape when she was brought in.”
“Fuck, just what Mia needs.”
“Why don’t you call her and bring her here?”
“Dad, until I know for certain, Mia stays at home, she’s safe there with Aaron.”
“Okay son. I’ll call you if I find out anything.”
I turn on my heel and walk out of that damn fucking hospital. As soon as I’m outside, fresh air filling my lungs, I dial Aaron to check in on Mia.
“Hey, boss, everything okay?”
“Yeah, how’s Mia?”
“I spoke to her once you left, letting her know that I was here and she told me that she was going to have a shower.”
I walk toward my car, my eyes glancing around the parking lot, making sure that I’m aware of who’s around me. “Okay, there’s a meeting behind held in twenty minutes, you’ll not be attending for obvious reasons. What I’m about to say to you does not get repeated.”
“Of course, Boss,” he replies instantly.
“My mom and Mia’s mom were shot, they’re both in surgery. Until I know what’s happening, I’m not saying anything to Mia, in case Martin’s waiting for her to arrive there.”
“Makes sense, Boss. Let me know when you want me to bring her to you.”
“Thanks, Aaron there’s another bit of business but we’re on the phone,” I tell him, so he knows why I’m not saying anything about it. “I’ll talk to you later.” I end the call and slide into my car, my mind’s focused on how the fuck Martin found out where both Mom and Tina lived, and he’s got a thing about going after women. Mia, Lacey, David’s wife, Mom, and Tina. It’s why I’m glad I had the women and children moved to a safe house. They’re out of Martin’s reach, they’re heavily guarded and as Martin doesn’t have an army any more, he’s fucked if he ever tried to get to them.
I stride into the club, Jagger has gathered every man available. The others are at the safe house, and Aaron is with Mia. As soon
as I walk in they descend into silence.
“Boss, what’s happened?” Alex asks, he’s one of the new recruits, I have fifteen of them now. It’s great when we’re at war and everyone knows it. They want to be with the badass who’s offing everyone.
“I had a visit from Aaron this morning at seven o’clock.” A murmur goes around my men as they realize he’s not here. “He’s with Mia right now.” That seems to satisfy them. “He informed me that Martin had shot two people this morning or rather late last night. The details are sketchy, but those two people are in surgery right now.”
“Who Boss?” Liam asks.
I ignore him for now. “David was tasked with the job of finding out who shot them, searching all cameras in the area and finding clues but once again, Martin fucked up. We know that he personally shot both of them.” I nod my head to David in thanks, the man is a fucking monster these days, he’s on the hunt, primed for killing and he doesn’t give a shit who he kills. He’s after blood.
“Tina was shot first, she has lost a lot of blood and we’re not sure about her condition.” My men straighten their backs as they stand taller. As much of a bitch Tina is, she’s my father’s wife and that means she’s family. “The other person to be shot, was my ma. She was found instantly and the ambulance was called. She, too, is in surgery, again, we’re waiting to find out her condition.”
“What can we do, Boss?” Rory steps forward, offering himself up.
“Martin is underground, I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure out how the fucker has stayed hidden so well, and then I realized something. How many of you remember that fed that was on our case?”
“Johnson?” Jagger asks and I nod. “What about him? He’s gone.”
“My point exactly, that fucker was on me like he had a fucking hard on for me. Then all of a sudden he’s gone, bit of a fucking coincidence that it happened just as this shit happened.”
“No such thing,” David growls, his arms crossing over his chest.
“My point precisely,” I remark, “so I want to know where that fucker is, I want to know what he’s doing. I have a hunch that he’s working for Martin.”
The anger in the room is palpable, the air is sizzling. “Why would he work for him?” Jagger questions.
“I’m not sure, but I have a few ideas. He could have offered me up, giving him everything about my organization along with every crime I committed. Or he could have paid him off. Either way, that shit needs to be stopped.”
“What’s the plan?” David asks, he’s wanting in on the action.
I smile. “There’s only one thing to do, we need answers and there’s only one way to do that. David, Jagger, Alex and Liam. You are going to find Johnson and bring him to me. I want to know why he backed off and why he’s working with Martin.”
The four men collectively take a step forward, they’re all ready for this. “Take him to the old bar?”
I nod. “Yes, try not to kill anyone while you’re getting him.”
Each of the men smirk. “We’ll try our best,” David quips as he walks out of the club.
“I’ll call you when we’ve got him. Let me know if there’s any news on your mom or Tina,” Jagger says walking past me.
I nod and turn back to the other men in the room. “Have any of you found anything out about Martin or where he may be hiding?”
My question is met with silence.
“Anyone have anything to tell me?” I bite out, what the fuck am I paying them for?
Rory steps forward. “Boss, I did find out something.”
“Tell me,” I instruct him.
“Boss, well, Martin told us that his mom died recently.”
I narrow my eyes. “Yes.” I’m wondering where he’s going with this.
“Boss, I did some searching and the man and woman who raised Martin are both still alive so I dug up the grave, I took a sample of DNA and had a friend of mine run it. The woman he claimed to be his mom, wasn’t. In fact, the woman was young. She was in her teens.”
“What the fuck?” I growl. “Who was she and what the fuck happened?”
“Boss, her name was Marline Harrow, she was seventeen and I spoke to her parents. She’s been missing for three years, her parents reported her as missing, they say she ran off with her boyfriend.”
“Don’t tell me, Martin was her boyfriend?” He nods. “Fucking hell, he’s the lowest of lows.”
“Boss, as I said, his parents are still alive, in fact, I’ve had my brother keep an eye on them.” Rory tells me and I’m surprised he has his brother working for him. He shrugs. “It keeps him out of trouble, so my ma’s happy.”
I laugh. “You and your brother can accompany my dad there this evening. If your brother wants work, send him my way. I’ll have Dad call you once we’re finished in the hospital.” Just as those words leave me, my cell rings. “I’ll talk to you later, use your brains, Martin is hiding from us, we need him found. I don’t care how you do it, just do it.”
I walk out of the club and answer my cell. “Dad, what’s the news?”
“Your ma’s out of surgery, they say she’s going to be sore but she’s going to make a full recovery. She got shot in her chest, but honestly son, she’s going to be okay.” He reassures me, his voice full of relief.
“Good, what about Tina?”
He silent for a beat. “Still no news, Son she wasn’t found for a long time. She’s been in surgery for three hours now, maybe more.”
Shit, that’s not good. “Okay, I’m going home, I’m going to get Mia and we’ll be by soon.”
“Okay, I’ll call if there’s any change.”
Getting into my car, I call Aaron. “Boss, any news?” I start the engine and put the car into drive.
“Ma’s out of surgery, we’re waiting on news about Tina. How’s Mia?”
“She’s okay boss, she’s just out of the shower, she called out to me and said she’ll be out in a few moments.”
Shit, she’s not had anything to eat yet. She didn’t finish her dinner last night. “Aaron, will you make breakfast, I want her to eat something before we go to the hospital.” I slow down as I approach the traffic. Typical San Fran traffic, it’s why I hate driving during rush hour.
“Of course boss, anything in particular?”
I don’t even have to think, Mia has the same breakfast every day. “Jelly on toast, she loves that.”
“Okay, nice and easy. I’ll have it ready for her when she comes out, does she drink coffee?”
“No, but have one ready for me. I’ll be home in fifteen minutes.” If I can get the hell out of this damn traffic.
Thirty minutes later, I’m walking into the house. Mia’s sitting at the island in the kitchen eating her breakfast. Aaron’s sitting opposite her, eating pancakes. “Coffee?” I ask, as I enter the kitchen fully.
Mia turns to look at me, her face a little pale and the smile she gives me doesn’t reach her eyes. “Are you okay?” I ask her as Aaron gets me coffee.
“Yeah, of course, why?” She responds quickly, a little too quickly.
I study her a little harder, her eyes are puffy and red like she’s been crying. “Mia, what’s wrong?” I ask a little harder this time but she doesn’t say anything, she takes a bite of her toast. I leave her be, knowing that she’s about to receive some news that’s going to upset her, but I’ll come back to this in a while.
Aaron hands me the coffee. “Here boss.”
“Thanks.” I take a sip, “Mia, we need to go to the hospital.”
She nods, not saying a word, her eyes on the plate in front of her.
Aaron’s eyes widen, I on the other hand am just pissed off. “Mia, did you hear what I said?”
Again, she doesn’t look at me. “Yes, we have to go to the hospital.”
“Mia, your mom and mine are in the hospital. They’ve both been shot.” I bite out, but she’s keeping something from me, she’s upset, in a world of her own and she’s not talking to me.
/> She gasps, and finally she looks at me. “Are they okay?”
“Your mom is still in surgery, mine is out but should be okay.” I tell her, again, not exactly as soft as it should be. “Once you’ve finished eating, we’ll go. Dad’s there now, he’s going to call if there’s any news.”
She gets to her feet. “We need to go now,” she tells me her voice rising, she’s panicking.
I stand with her, my hands reach out, my fingers framing her face. “Princess listen to me, right now, she’s in surgery. There’s nothing we can do while she’s there.”
Tears form in her eyes. “But, she’s the only family I have left,” she whispers and I pull her into my arms. “I told her to go away yesterday.” Her body shaking as she sobs against my shoulder.
“She knows you love her,” I tell her quietly. I glance to Aaron and nod my head, he quickly finishes his breakfast and leaves.
“But, I told her that she didn’t give a shit about me.”
“She knows you didn’t mean it.”
She pulls back slightly, her eyes wet and puffy. “How long has she been in surgery?”
“Dad said she was brought in before Mom, he thinks she’s been in for three hours. Mia, your mom wasn’t found right away, she lost a lot of blood before the paramedics got to her.”
She pushes away from me and runs toward the bathroom, I blanch at the sound of her throwing up. “Princess?”
“Go away!” she yells as she throws up again.
God, it sounds painful. I walk to the kitchen and get her a glass of water. Waiting outside until she’s finished.
A few moments later, she exits out of the bathroom, her face grey and clammy. “Have a sip,” I tell her pushing the glass toward her lips.
Forever Love (Kingpin Book 3) Page 1