Don't Let Go

by Willow Winters

  “Mr. Parker,” I greet him and put down the wrench and towel.

  “I told you to call me George,” he says.

  Catherine rolls her eyes and says, “And I told you to call him Dad.” I cock a brow at her. My little kitten is cute and sweet, but we’re both giving her a look to tell her she needs to get over that wish. It’s not happening.

  Her father walks around the bike and I square my shoulders. It’s exactly what he asked for, and then some. I’m confident in my work, and I’m damn good at what I do, but I still want him to like it.

  He nods his head and smiles. “She’s a beauty. Good work,” he says proudly.

  Catherine rocks on her heels with glee. “Told you.”

  I nod my head once and say simply, “Glad you like it.” But that’s an understatement.

  “Mikey’s in reception today; he can take that last payment there if you still insist on paying.” I wanted to do it for free. After all, he’s my girl’s father. And I’ve got enough business that I’m not at a loss. But he’s been persistent.

  “I know where it is,” he says with a smile.

  “I’m getting a Coke,” Catherine says, absentmindedly walking over to the vending machine. I swear she uses the machines more than the guys do.

  I watch her walk easily across the garage and my eyes wander to that ass of hers. I want her today just as much as I did when I first met her, maybe even more.

  “Walk with me, Ryker,” her father says as he heads up the stairs to the receptionist's area inside the shop attached to the garage. I nod my head and walk behind him.

  As soon as we’re inside the building, he stops and turns to face me.

  “It’s been two years, hasn’t it?” George asks me.

  “Two years?”

  “Since you and Catherine started,” he waves his hand in front of him and purses his lips trying to think up the right word.

  “Dating?” I offer. Although what we have is so much more than that. She’s my everything, and I’m the same to her.

  “Sure,” he says as he turns to face me with his brow furrowed. “What I’m getting at is the fact her finger doesn’t have a ring on it.” My fingers itch to reach into my pocket. I just got one last week. He doesn’t know, but I’m proposing tonight. My heart swells, and pride runs through me.

  “Is that your blessing, George?” I ask him.

  “It’s the best you’re gonna get, son.” I nod my head and start to tell him my intention, but Catherine opens the door. I look over my shoulder and see her narrow her eyes as she says, “You two having a pow wow?” she asks.

  Her father chuckles and says, “Just headed in now, sweetie.”

  He walks off down the hall and I turn to face Catherine. I’m gonna marry this woman. I’m a lucky man.

  “What were you two talking about?” she asks suspiciously.

  “None of your business.” I hold her gaze as she clucks her tongue. She’s deciding if she wants to push, but I know she won’t.

  She sighs and crosses her arms. “Are you gonna get dressed now at least?”

  “Yeah, I’m heading back now.”

  We’re going as school girl and professor tonight. Catherine’s choice.

  I kiss the tip of her nose. “I love you, kitten.” She's showed me over the years what those words really mean, and I really do love her.

  “I love you too,” she begins in a peppy voice, “but I’m gonna kick your ass if you don’t get dressed.”

  I smirk down at her and make sure her father’s out of sight so I can pinch her ass. She squeals and jumps.

  “Watch that mouth of yours,” I warn her like I always do. “It's gonna get you into trouble.”

  She winks at me and saunters off, trying to be sexy, which she is. “I’m counting on it.”

  Thank you for reading these sexy novellas, intense shorts, and some of my favorite stories I’ve written. I usually don’t write quickies, but I have to admit I love these stories and the road they paved to lead me where I am today in this writing career. Thank you for making it all possible.

  Happy reading and best wishes,

  Willow xx

  I have some sneak peeks for you!

  The first one is Merciless. I really think you’re going to love this dark, sexy and incredibly masterful series!

  Oooh! And if you loved this collection, I have another one for you in Deepen The Kiss!

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  Sneak Peek at Merciless

  From USA Today bestselling author W Winters comes a heart-wrenching, edge-of-your-seat gripping, romantic suspense.

  I should’ve known she would ruin me the moment I saw her.

  Women like her are made to destroy men like me.

  I couldn’t resist her though.

  Given to me to start a war; I was too eager to accept.

  But I didn’t know what she’d do to me. That she would change everything.

  She sees through me in a way no one else ever has.

  Her innocence and vulnerability make me weak for her and I hate it.

  I know better than to give in to temptation.

  A ruthless man doesn’t let a soul close to him.

  A cold-hearted man doesn’t risk anything for anyone.

  A powerful man with a beautiful woman at his mercy … he doesn’t fall for her.

  Chapter 1

  Carter

  War is coming.

  It’s something I’ve known for over two years.

  Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

  My jaw ticks in time with the skin over my knuckles turning white as my fist clenches tighter. The tension in my stiff shoulders rises and I have to remind myself to breathe in deep and let the strain of it all go away.

  Tick. Tock. It’s the only sound echoing off the walls of my office and with each passing of the pendulum the anger grows.

  It’s always like this before I go to a meet. This one in particular sends a thrill through my blood, the adrenaline pumping harder with each passing minute.

  My gaze moves from the grandfather clock in my office to the shelves next to it and then beneath them to the box made of mahogany and steel. It’s only three feet deep and tall and six feet long. It blends into the right wall of my office, surrounded by polished bookshelves that carry an aroma of old books.

  I paid more than I should have simply to put on display. All any of this is a façade. People’s perceptions are their reality. And so I paint the picture they need to see so I can use them as I see fit. The expensive books and paintings, polished furniture made of rare wood… All of it is bullshit.

  Except for the box. The story that came with it will stay with me forever. In all of the years, it’s the one of the few memories that I can pin point as a defining moment. The box never leaves me.

  The words from the man who gave it to me are still as clear as is the memory of his pale green eyes, glassed over as he told me his story.

  About how it kept him safe when he was a child. He told me how his mother had shoved him in it to protect him.

  I swallow thickly, feeling my throat tighten and the cord in my neck strain with the memory. He painted the picture so well.

  He told me how he clung to his mother seeing how panicked she was. But he did as he was told, he stayed quiet in the safe box and could only listen while the men murdered his mother.

  It was the story he gave me with the box he offered to barter for his life. And it reminded me of my own mother telling me goodbye before she passed.

  Yes, his story was touching, but the defining moment is when I put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger re
gardless.

  He tried to steal from me and then pay me with a box as if the money he laundered was a debt or a loan. William was good at stealing, at telling stories, but the fucker was a dumb prick.

  I didn’t get to where I am by playing nicely and being weak. That day I took the box that saved him as a reminder of who I was. Who I needed to be.

  I made sure that box has been within my sight for every meeting I’ve had in this office. It’s a reminder for me so I can stare at it in this god forsaken room as I make deal after deal with criminal after criminal and collect wealth and power like the dusty old books on these shelves.

  It cost me a fortune to get this office exactly how I wanted. But if it were to burn down, I could buy it all over again.

  Everything except for that box.

  “You really think they’re going through with it?” I hear Daniel, my brother, before I see him. The memories fade in an instant and my heart beat races faster than the tick tock of that fucking clock.

  It takes a second for me to be conscious of my facial expression, to relax it and let go of the anger before I can raise my gaze to his.

  “With the war and the deal? You think he’ll go through with it?” he clarifies.

  A small huff leaves me, accompanied by a smirk, “He wants this more than anything else,” I answer him.

  Daniel stalks into the room slowly, the heavy door to my office closing with a soft kick of his heel before he comes to stand across from me.

  “And you’re sure you want to be right in the middle of it?”

  I lick my lower lip and stand from my desk, stretching as I do and turning my gaze to the window in my office. I can hear Daniel walking around the desk as I lean against it and cross my arms.

  “We won’t be in the middle of it. It’ll be the two of them, our territory is close, but we can stay back.”

  “Bullshit. He wants you to fight with him and he’s going to start this war tonight and you know it.”

  I nod slowly, the smell of Romano’s cigars filling my lungs at the memory of him.

  “There’s still time to call it off,” Daniel says and it makes my brow pinch and place a crease on my forehead. He can’t be that naïve.

  It’s the first time I’ve really looked at him since he’s been back. He spent years away. And every fucking day I fought for what we have. He’s gone soft. Or maybe it’s Addison that’s turned him into the man standing in front of me.

  “This war has to happen.” My words are final and the tone is one not to be questioned. I may have grown this business on fear and anger. Each step forward followed by the hollow sound of a body dropping behind me, but that’s not how it started. Y can’t build an empire with blood stained hands and not expect death to follow you.

  His dark eyes narrow as he pushes off the desk and moves closer to the window, his gaze flickering between me and the meticulously maintained garden stories below us.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” his voice is low and I barely hear it. He doesn’t look back at me and a chill flows down my arms and the back of my neck as I take in his stern expression.

  It takes me back years ago. Back to when we had a choice and chose wrong.

  When whether or not we wanted to go through with it meant something.

  “There are men to the left of us,” I tell him as I step forward and close the distance between us. “There are men to the right. There is no possible outcome where we don’t pick a side.”

  He nods once and slides his thumb across the stubble on his chin before looking back at me. “And the girl?” he asks me, his eyes piercing into mine and reminding me that both of us survived, both of us fought, and each of us has a tragic path that led us to where we are today.

  “Aria?” I dare to speak her name and the sound of my smooth voice seems to linger in the space between us. I don’t wait for him to acknowledge me, or her rather.

  “She has no choice.” My voice tightens as I say the words.

  Clearing my throat, I lean my palms against the window, feeling the frigid fall beneath my hands and leaning forward to see Addison beneath us, Daniel’s Addison. “What do you think they would have done to Addison if they’d succeeded in taking her?”

  His jaw hardens but he doesn’t answer my question. Instead he replies, “We don’t know who it was who tried to take her from me.”

  I shrug as if it’s semantics and not at all relevant. “Still. Women aren’t meant to be touched, but they went for Addison first.”

  “That doesn’t make it right,” Daniel says with indignation in his tone.

  “Isn’t it better she come to us?” My head tilts as I question him and this time he takes a moment to respond.

  “She’s not one of us. Not like Addison and you know what Romano expects you to do with her.”

  “Yes, the daughter of the enemy…” My heart beats hard in my chest, and the steady rhythm reminds me of the ticking of the clock. “I know exactly what he wants me to do with her.”

  Click here to keep reading Merciless!

  Deepen The Kiss

  From USA Today best selling author, Willow Winters, comes three heart-wrenching, seductive romances all available in this must-read collection.

  Promise Me:

  "Promise me you'll love me after this?" Those were the words I asked my first love on a high school date.

  "Always, Vi," he told me before crushing his lips against mine.

  I gave him a part of me I can never get back that night. Even worse, I gave him my heart.

  That was four years ago. Back when I was young and naive. Back when I thought we’d always be together.

  He dumped me right after graduation and left me to join the military. He said I shouldn’t wait for him; it didn’t matter that I wanted to. I would have waited for him forever, but he threw me away and left me here in this small town.

  Now he’s home and says he wants me back. Second chances don’t work in love. No matter how much I wish I could erase what’s happened since he’s been gone... no matter how much I think of falling back into his arms…

  Knocking Boots:

  We were never meant to be together.

  He’s a bartender with noncommittal tendencies.

  I’m looking for … the opposite. Commitment. Period.

  But drinks and a bet led to something it shouldn’t have: a fake relationship. Worse, a first date, a first kiss… and then more.

  He’s addictive and I can’t bring myself to accept the reality.

  That it’s all a lie and I’m fooling myself by thinking he could want more. That I could change him.

  He’s mine for as long as I keep on pretending like this is just for fun.

  As if I don’t want more…

  Like when he whispers my name, I pretend it doesn’t make my heart flip.

  Like when he holds me at night, I pretend I don’t want to lay in his bed every night.

  It's just a bet; just a lie... until it isn't.

  Burned Promises:

  He made me a promise.

  And then he broke it.

  That’s what happens with your first love.

  I didn’t expect for Derek to fall back into my life and for me to fall back into his bed.

  Time changes a lot of things, but it doesn’t change everything.

  It doesn’t change the way he makes my heart skip or the way my lungs stop when he stares deep into my eyes.

  It didn’t change his bad boy ways either and I should be smart enough to tell him no this time around.

  I should be, I know what it’s like to be burned by him.

  But it’s so hard to walk away when his touch begs me to stay and the pain in his eyes cuts me deeper than anything else in this world.

  Click here to read Deepen The Kiss!

  About Willow Winters

  Thank you so much for reading my romances. I’m just a stay at home mom and avid reader turned author and I couldn’t be happier.

  I hope you love my books as
much as I do!

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  Also by Willow Winters

  The Merciless World:

  It’s Our Secret

  Possessive

  A Kiss to Tell

  Start Carter & Aria’s saga with Merciless, today for 99c!

  Merciless

  Heartless

  Breathless

  Endless

  Jase’s story is coming February

  A Single Glance

  Standalone Novels:

  Broken

  Forget Me Not