It’s something I’m not accustomed to, not anymore. Not since my father took me from the slums and brought me to his billionaire mansion. He told me it was all mine and that I needed to buck up and be the son I was destined to be.
He might have lost a son, but he didn’t gain one back.
The car slows as I approach Woodview Estate. It gives me the fucking shivers. I’m not afraid; it’s more of an old memory, like a fire burning in my mind. One I extinguish as I park my new BMW along the curb. The grass is dead, the orange earth is dry, and the pitiful shrubbery is wilted. This place is devoid of life. Like nothing is worth growing here. This is Ireland, so it rains all the time, but this place is forsaken. Even the rain doesn’t bother to piss on the landscape. As I stare around me and study a little closer, I start to notice signs of life.
In front of me is a large row of houses, and at the corner of the end house, shadows of movement catch my eye. Behind drawn curtains, light seeps through the small cracks. I’m sure some watch me from the windows. My presence here has not gone unnoticed. get out of the car and lock the doors. Shadows creep closer. Most of the men have their faces camouflaged inside hoodies. Three houses are in front of me, and I wander toward number six. I’m apprehensive of the guys at my back, circling closer to my car. The moment I push open the gate to number six, they murmur.
Their whispers reach my ears. “He’s with Chester. We’d better scram.”
Like rats, they scurry. Chester must be the man I’m seeking. Warren only gave me an address, no name. I knock on the door three times before someone answers. The guy who opens it isn’t looking at me, so I’m faced with his profile. Tribal tats rise from the collar of his jersey and wrap around his neck.
He draws a drag of a cigarette, side-eyeing me. His hands are coated in tattoos too.
“What do you want?”
“I’m looking for Chester.”
This fucker is a wolf, but I’m no lamb. He faces me, flings the cigarette past my shoulder, and grins. “What for?”
“Can I come in?” I ask, and I take a step closer to him.
His grin transforms into a sneer, but he steps back. “Sure.”
I don’t like that he’s at my back, but I continue to keep a relaxed posture as I walk into the dingy entrance. The smell of smoke and something stronger clings to everything.
“I didn’t pick up what you wanted.” He passes me while lighting up another cigarette. He shoulders a door to our left open, and we step into a sitting room that’s full of guys who are sporting tats just like his. I unquestionably have the right house. He plops down between two other men on the couch. All eyes are on me.
“I didn’t say what I wanted.” I point at the empty armchair to my left. The guy, who I assume is Chester, nods, and I sit down, opening my jacket.
R&B music plays in the background. A fog of smoke floats close to the ceiling.
A guy close to me offers me a rolled-up cigarette. It doesn’t smell like smoke, and I decline before facing Chester. “Could we talk somewhere private?”
He glances at the other men, who laugh, before he faces me. “No. If you have something to say, say it.”
I‘m not telling him shit in front of everyone. They all move when I reach into my pocket. I raise one hand as I slowly withdraw the envelope of cash with the other. “Three grand for a word in private, Chester.”
He jerks his chin, and I toss the envelope to him. He catches the cash, shreds it open, and starts counting. Once he’s satisfied, he passes the stash of cash to the guy beside him before standing.
“You’ve bought yourself five minutes.”
My five minutes are in the entrance hall. I assumed it would be someplace more private, but I take the time I’m offered.
“I need a gun.”
“What makes you think I can get you one?”
“Warren O’Reagan gave me your address,” I explain. Something shifts in Chester’s stance. “You don’t look like a friend of Warren’s.”
I smirk. “Neither do you.”
Chester jerks his chin again. “It will cost you.”
“Name your price.”
He thinks about it. “Ten grand.”
For a fucking gun? “I want it wiped.”
“It will be untraceable. But it will take time.”
“How long?”
He takes a drag of his cigarette before stepping to the front door. Opening it, he flicks the cigarette outside. He pauses before looking back at me. “Is that your car?”
“Yeah.” I stride toward him.
He lets out a whistle. “Touch it and you die.” He issues the warning to the group outside and closes the door. “I should have asked for more money since you’re driving a car like that.” He grins.
I don’t smile. “I’ll give you five grand tomorrow and the other five grand when I have the gun.”
He nods, and I hold out my hand. Chester hesitates before he grips my fingers. “We have a deal.”
I’m ready to go when he asks a question he shouldn’t. “What do you want it for?”
I glare at him. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Just asking, brother. You know it won’t end all your problems.” He holds up his thumb and forefinger, mimicking a gun. “It might end one,” I say before I take off. My car is still unscathed. Driving out of the estate doesn’t make the memories evaporate; instead, I’m yanked right back to my childhood. The very reason I want a gun.
Everything comes full circle. My father once said, “What’s meant for you won’t go by you. Justice will be served in this life or another.”
I say, fuck that. If Justice isn’t served the way it should be, then I’ll take matters into my own hands and deliver my kind of justice.
Once I do this, my life will be my own again. I’ll finally be able to live.
When Vi Carter isn’t writing dark romance books, that feature the mafia, are filled with suspense, and take you on a fast paced ride, you can find her reading her favorite authors, baking, taking photos or watching Netflix.
Married with three children, Vi divides her time between motherhood and all the other hats she wears as an Author.
She has declared herself a coffee & chocolate addict! Do not judge.
Can Luke make it to Winter before the enemy finds her or is it already too late?
Winter Cloud is a paramedic by day and a horse rescuer by night. Her past is a secret that may come back to haunt her. Even though she is quiet and stays to herself, her friends notice when she disappears along with her beloved horses. Also, to their surprise, they find a threat written in blood. The race is on to find her.
Luke Owens is a retired Navy seal. He took over the family ranch once his dad died. He did everything he could to change the hell the ranch once was to a haven. A haven for his team as they retire and a haven for abused horses. He never counted on a quiet woman bringing her horses to him and then getting stranded by a winter storm. Stuck in a house with this gorgeous woman, he can’t help but fall for her. He can sense Winter is in trouble, but he has to get her to trust him before it’s too late.
Can Winter let go and trust Luke before her past catches up to her or will she flee into the cold and dangerous night?
Joy Wild lives in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. She is a former paramedic in Louisiana has always been an avid reader. After an accident ended her paramedic career, she decided to pursue her lifelong dream of writing. She uses her past experiences to create exciting and romantic stories. Married with three children, Joy spends her days in accounting and her evenings writing stories she hopes will help readers escape from reality and get lost in the happy ever after.
Joy loves to connect with her readers, so be sure to follow her on Facebook and Instagram!
Opposites clash in this wild, unpredictable rom com, where two strangers team up to stop a wedding at all costs.
Nathaniel Barry is monochromatic, meticulous, and uptight. Izzy Harris is wild, unpredictable, and free-spirited. Nathaniel has a trendy apartment, a successful career, and a girlfriend he’s about to propose to. Izzy has no home, no career, and nobody special to hold her down.
They’re polar-opposites in every way.
So when they sit next to each other on the train to Romeo, New York they clash from the very start. Naturally, Nathaniel decides he wants nothing to do with Izzy. And Izzy…well, she has a different opinion.
No matter how much Nathaniel protests, Izzy knows it was fate that brought them together. Nathaniel’s girlfriend just ran off to marry another man, and Izzy swears she’ll help Nathaniel win her back. They have three days to stop the ill-advised wedding. It should be easy. It should be simple. But when two polar opposites team-up to stop a wedding, there’s only one guarantee – that nothing will go as planned.
The man next to me gives the snack cart vendor a distracted look and then a sharp nod. He holds up his finger to indicate he’d like one large coffee.
Well. He’s not very friendly, is he?
But he is getting coffee…
My stomach gives a tight hungry clench. I make my decision, because honestly, hunger is a great motivator. Plus, it’s fate.
“Devon, anything else?” I ask. I’ve decided that the man next to me is named Devon. He looks like a Devon.
Clearly, he doesn’t answer, because he’s on the phone, ignoring everyone but the crazy-in-love lady on the other end.
I turn back to the snack cart man and smile apologetically. “He’s on the phone with his sister, she’s causing him all sorts of trouble. You see, my husband and I are on our honeymoon and all we wanted was a little time to ourselves. But family…” I shrug. “You know how it is.”
“What does he want then?” asks the man impatiently. There are gobs of people waiting for snacks in the rows ahead of us.
I tilt my head and study the menu pasted to the side of the cart. I lick my lips. “He’ll have that coffee with cream and sugar. A ham and cheese croissant. A chocolate chip muffin. And, hmmm a bag of salt and vinegar chips.”
The snack vendor grunts and starts pulling out the food. I horde it, gathering it on my lap.
“Anything for you?”
I nod, my eyes going glassy from the food smells wafting up to me. “I’ll have a blueberry muffin. An apple. Another ham and cheese croissant. And a large coffee, no cream, but lots of sugar.”
My stomach twists again and I lick my lips.
I set the food in my lap, and then pull out the tray to put the coffee on. It’s steaming and smells so good that I almost start crying again.
The vendor uses an old blocky calculator to ring up the total.
“Twenty-six dollars,” he says.
I look at the vendor, then I look at Devon, then back at the vendor and shrug.
“Please. You can’t possibly get married Sunday. Fine. Bye. I’ll see you—” Devon sighs and clutches his head for a second then he turns to the vendor. It looks like his phone conversation is done. “How much?” he asks.
“Twenty-six dollars.”
Devon’s eyebrows scrunch down and he scowls at the vendor. “For a large? How much do you charge for a small?”
The large-nosed vendor rolls his eyes. “The coffees are four dollars. The croissants ten. The muffins, eight. The apple-”
“I don’t want all that, I just want coffee.”
“Your wife ordered for you,” the vendor says.
“What wife? I don’t have a wife.” Devon looks a little confused and a whole lot offended.
I give the vendor a sweet smile. “It’s a game we play. Being newlyweds. Devon thinks it’s funny.”
Devon gives me an appalled look, and I think he’s only just realized that I’m in the seat next to him. “Excuse me? We’re not married.”
I look back at the vendor. “See?” I open my eyes wide and flutter my lashes. “Come on Devon, don’t be that way.”
I didn’t think it was possible, but Devon becomes even more stiff-backed and starched looking. Want more? Continue reading here >>>>> https://bit.ly/3Ht3Fiq
Author Sarah Ready writes contemporary romance and romantic comedy. Her books have been described as “euphoric”, “heartwarming” and “laugh out loud”. Her debut novel The Fall in Love Checklist was hailed as “the unicorn read of 2020”. She loves to write fast-paced, emotionally compelling romances about quirky, smart women and the men who love them.
Before writing romance full-time Sarah had lots of fun teaching at an Ivy League. Then she realized she could have even more fun writing romance. Her favorite things after writing are adventuring and travel. You’ll frequently find her using her degree at a dino dig site, crawling into a cave, snorkeling, or on horseback riding through the jungle – all fodder for her next book. She’s lived in Scotland, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland and NYC. She currently lives in the Caribbean with her water-obsessed pup and her awesome family.
