by Sarah Bailey
“We weren’t going to make this public quite yet, but we couldn’t wait. We’ve known each other since childhood and now we feel it is time to move forward with our lives. I’m so overjoyed. Last night, this one here got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. And well… I said yes.”
The room went deathly silent before applause erupted. John looked over at me.
“Guess the cat is out of the bag.”
I nodded, eying the two of them before turning towards where Chuck was standing. His mouth was hanging open. She hadn’t told him anything about this.
Next, my eyes fell on Frazier who looked like he’d won the lottery. Stupid idiot had no idea. He thought he’d won, but we were going to have the last laugh. Avery had put up with a lot of shit over the past weeks from the Shaws, but this was the only way.
Chuck turned around and spied me with John. He stormed over and ran his hand through his hair.
“What the actual fuck is she playing at?”
“What do you mean?”
“Getting married to Tristan? Is she insane? I told her not to do this. For fuck’s sake, she really is a nightmare.”
I shook my head, shrugging, but before I had a chance to speak, he continued.
“And you, what the fuck are you about taking girls from Robert? And not only that, he told me you threatened to go after your father. What the fuck is going on, Aiden? Why is Rick involved in this shit?”
John gave me a significant look before he walked away, leaving me alone with Chuck. I’d known this was going to be a messy evening.
“I don’t think you need to worry about Rick or the girls.”
“And why the fuck not?”
“Your niece isn’t going to marry Tristan.”
“What?”
“Technically if she did, she’d be committing bigamy.”
Chuck stared at me, his expression showing his complete bewilderment.
“Bigamy? What the fuck are you talking about?”
I gave him my brightest smile.
“Well, you see, Chuck. Avery is married to me.”
Acknowledgements
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this book. Writing Avery and Aiden’s second book has been quite the challenge. Having left Betrayal on a huge cliff hanger, I wanted to dive straight back in and reveal what exactly it was that Aiden asked Avery to do. What caused her to walk out on him. And the big question. Would they find their way back to each other?
These two gave me a hell of a lot of curve balls and feels when I was writing Sacrifice. Watching them navigate their relationship to the point where they decided they were it for each other was a joy.
I’m really looking forward to seeing what everyone thinks about the next part of their journey. They might not have quite got their happy ever after yet, but there’s still a lot more to come. These two are near and dear to my heart. I’m so excited that the trilogy is almost complete. Revenge is coming and it’s a guaranteed crazy ride!
Firstly I’d like to say a HUGE thank you to all my ARC readers for reading and reviewing Betrayal. Having your early feedback spurred me on and I’m so pleased so many of you loved the book. I’m hoping Sacrifice was worth the wait!
Thank you to my Twitter gang – #TTAF – and all of my Twitter family. You guys are amazing. Your support means the world. You all have the best banter. I loved every moment I’ve been in the writing community. It has given me a new lease of life and the determination to succeed.
Thank you to my family and friends. Especially my mum, who lovingly proofreads all my books. Even if she does like to make jokes about the content of them. Apparently, she only wants to visit me provided there are no butt plugs and restraints involved. And yes, this was a genuine conversation between us!
Thank you to my bestie – Sabrina. Your support is invaluable. From telling me that I can do this to listening to me rant about how much of a pain it is to write demanding characters. Slytherin Sisters for life! If anyone is going to be my soulmate, it’s you. Never forget how wonderful you are and how much you mean to me.
Last but not least, thank you to my husband. You’re my best friend, my partner in crime, the one who never fails to make me laugh… and creep me out on a regular basis. I love you to the moon and back.
Revenge
Corrupt Empire
Book Three
Sarah Bailey
Revenge Copyright © 2019 by Sarah Bailey
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Please note the spelling throughout is British English.
Cover Art by V Designs
Published by Twisted Tree Publications
www.twistedtreepublications.com
[email protected]
This book is dedicated to Avery & Aiden
You’re two imperfect souls who found each other in the dark in the midst of tragedy & sorrow
Thank you for telling me your story
Prologue
Avery
Blood.
There was so much blood everywhere.
It soaked through my clothes. I felt it on my face, in my hair, on my skin. The metallic smell made my stomach roil in protest.
What the fuck had I done?
How had it come to this?
In all my darkest moments, I never imagined I’d have to fight this hard to survive. Just to see the next day. To have a future where monsters didn’t walk the halls and taunt me with their awful deeds.
My heart thumped against my chest. It didn’t negate what I’d done. I had to. I was fighting for something so much bigger than this.
The door beyond opened. I clutched the knife in my hand tighter.
Who the hell was this?
I couldn’t let anyone see me covered in blood. They’d know what I’d done.
I looked up, catching sight of their face. The knife clattered on the floor as it dropped from my hand. And a gut wrenching sob emitted from my lips.
I fell to my knees.
“Avery?”
Chapter One
Avery
The past six weeks had been the best and worst of my life. There was never a point where I considered turning back. Where I decided it wasn’t worth sacrificing everything for. It could spectacularly blow up in our faces after tonight, but I’d never look back and regret the actions I took to secure the downfall of my own family, the business and everyone connected to it.
I felt like the whole room was staring at us with shock and confusion. No one had been expecting me to get up here and announce to the world I was marrying Tristan Shaw. It was the one thing I hadn’t really wanted to do, make this announcement, but I had to.
Did I care I’d just lied to everyone?
Not particularly.
I’d spent the past six weeks lying to Frazier Shaw. Convincing him I was willing to marry his son. So this wasn’t really any different. Aiden told me I’d become quite the actress. The only time I’d been myself was when we were alone or amongst friends. Those friends had been instrumental in making sure we achieved our goals.
This would all be over soon. And I’d finally be free to call myself by my new name.
Miss Daniels didn’t exist any longer.
Mrs Lockhart had taken her place.
~~~
Six weeks prior
“And how exactly are we going to go about doing that?” I asked, staring up at Aiden with wide eyes.
He shifted on his feet, handing me ba
ck the document.
“You might not like my idea.”
“Aiden…”
“Frazier wants your money, that much is clear.”
I couldn’t believe my father had agreed to this clause. It completely negated everything he’d said to me in the past. About how I would go on to take over the world by myself. And yet, as it stated in black and white, if I was to marry before my twenty fifth birthday, full control of my trust fund would revert to my husband. Essentially, they’d have the power to take my inheritance from me if they wanted. The wording made it very clear.
“And he can have it if I marry Tristan.”
As if I didn’t hate my father enough, this was the fucking icing on the cake. I wanted to tear up the paperwork. I threw it into the pile and looked at my feet. Outrage bubbled up inside me. The fact that he’d ever even think this was an acceptable thing to do to me made me sick. Fuck him.
Aiden nudged the paperwork away with his foot before kneeling in front of me and taking my hand.
“You’re never marrying that cunt. You’re mine.”
He was right. I wouldn’t marry Tristan. We’d been over this before. Nothing had changed. The only person I wanted was right in front of me. And he was already mine.
“I don’t even want the money.”
He stroked his thumb over my palm.
“Princess…”
“I thought this couldn’t get any worse, but it has. I knew deep down it was about the money. If that’s what they want, I’ll give it to them. They can have it all as long as they leave me alone.”
“Do you mean that?”
I shook my head. I didn’t want Frazier getting his hands on my trust fund. The plans I had for it were important. If we were going to save all the girls my family had abused, then I’d need that money. There was no if about it. We were going to save those girls if it was the last fucking thing we did.
“I want to punish him. No… I want to punish both of them.”
“I know.”
I looked up at him. His grey eyes were full of compassion. Something I never thought I’d ever see when I first met him. I didn’t know he was capable of it. Aiden had changed so much in the time we’d known each other. Changed in ways I never expected.
“What’s your plan?”
He let go of my hand, rubbing the back of his neck.
“We can’t let them get hold of your money. Four years is too long to wait until you have full control.”
“Well yeah, Frazier isn’t likely to drop this subject any time soon.”
If I knew anything about the man, it was that he was like a fucking dog with a bone when he wanted something.
“Then we just need to make sure someone you trust has control of it.”
His words made my skin prickle. What did he mean by that? That I should just get married?
“If you’re suggesting I have a fake marriage to someone just so we can keep Frazier from getting it, then you can just stop right there.”
“Not a fake marriage, no.”
I raised my eyebrows. Maybe I was being completely dense, but this didn’t seem like something Aiden would ever suggest in a million years. I mean, he did want me to get fake engaged to Tristan at one point, but that was in the past.
“Aiden, please don’t be cryptic. I’m not in the mood for guessing games.”
He reached up, cupping my face and stroking my cheek with his thumb.
“Marry me, Avery.”
Did I mishear him? What the fuck did he just say to me?
“W…What?”
“Marry me.”
I jerked away from him, falling back onto my hands. Marriage? Was he really asking me to marry him just so Frazier wouldn’t get access to my trust fund?
“Are you fucking nuts?”
He smiled, shaking his head.
“No.”
“Please be serious.”
“I am.”
He reached for me again, but I scrambled back out of his grasp. He was fucking crazy. Absolutely batshit crazy.
“No. No, we’re not doing this.”
I got up off the floor, putting my hands up. It’s not like I didn’t want to marry Aiden. Hell, I knew I wanted this man for life, but this isn’t how I wanted things to be. I wanted us to be free from all the shit with my family so we could have a future together. I wanted him to propose to me because he really wanted to marry me, not just to get me out of this shitty situation with my trust fund money.
“Princess…”
“Take it back. Please, don’t do this now. Not like this. I don’t want it to be for this reason.”
He put his hand out to me.
“Come here.”
“No.”
I shook my head, taking a further step back.
“Avery, come here.”
“No. Not like this, Aiden. No.”
He got to his feet, his grey eyes turning dark. I tried to back away further, but he caught my arm and dragged me closer. He held me in place, staring down at me intently.
“Let go of me,” I whispered.
I wanted to be away from him at that moment. There were too many thoughts rushing around in my head. How could Aiden think this is how I wanted our relationship to move forward? It felt so fucking wrong. All I wanted was for us to be free. Free from all our burdens so we could be together openly.
“No, we’re going to talk about this and I’m not letting you run away. Not like last time.”
My stomach dropped out from under me. Last time we’d talked about engagements and marriage, I’d left him. But that hadn’t been about us getting married.
“That’s not fair.”
“When has there ever been anything fair about us? There’s no fucking fair in our relationship. There’s just you and me.”
I couldn’t exactly deny that. Our relationship had been messy from the start, but we’d worked it out somehow.
“Aiden—”
“Do you think I’m just saying this to make sure Frazier doesn’t get hold of your trust fund?”
I nodded. What was the point in denying it?
“I wasn’t going to give this to you until your birthday.”
He let go of my arms and dug something out of his pocket, turning my palm up and placing it in my hand. I was rendered incapable of all speech. I couldn’t even move. After a long moment of silence between us, he reached over and opened the little box for me. Tears welled in my eyes at the sight of what was nestled inside.
“When did you get this?” I whispered.
“The day after Josh was born.”
“And you’ve been carrying it around in your pocket this whole time?”
He nodded before he rubbed the back of his neck.
“I’ve never pretended to be anything else other than what I am. Before I met you, I never wanted any of this. I’d have gone the rest of my life alone and closed off from the world. Then I met a girl with a fiery temper and doe eyes I can never resist. You’re the light of my life.”
Nestled inside the box was a pair of silver angel wing earrings. He took the box from me. Brushing my hair back, he secured the earrings in my ears, smiling when he stepped back.
“I want to marry you because I love you, princess. So fucking what if we have to speed up the process to keep you safe. You must know I’d do anything for you by now.”
He slipped the empty box back in his pocket before taking my hand. I didn’t know what to say. What to think. Even if we did go through with this, we’d still have a world of trouble to deal with.
I needed a minute. Looking down at my hand in his, I took a breath. All my feelings were conflicted. I wanted to be Aiden’s wife. Take his name as my own. I’d known that for weeks. It started before Rick took me. Despite everything, my heart was irrevocably his.
Could we really do this?
Wasn’t it completely insane?
When had anything between Aiden
and I been sane?
“I… I can’t give you an answer right now.”
That was the honest truth. Too much to process all at once. I rubbed my forehead with my free hand, trying to numb the pain starting to radiate from my temple.
Aiden dropped my hand and captured me up in his arms, cradling me close. He leant his cheek on top of my head.
“Why is everything in our lives always so complicated?”
He didn’t answer me. I wasn’t expecting him to. It was complicated because I was a Daniels and he was the man I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with. Wasn’t supposed to know intimately. Hell, he wasn’t meant to tell me the truth about my family and set me on this path.
What if I wasn’t there that night? I might well have ended up never knowing how awful they were. I shuddered at the thought. Never knowing Aiden. Never truly knowing myself. Those were not outcomes I wanted to consider.
“Can I just say this proposal is worse than Ben’s?”
He laughed, pulling away slightly to look down at me.
“Should I try again?”
“No…”
He kissed my forehead.
“That means yes.”
I was about to protest, but he was right. If he was serious, then he’d do it properly. I stepped away, folding my arms over my chest.
“Even if you do, that doesn’t guarantee I’ll answer.”
He shrugged before he grabbed me by the waist and hoisted me over his shoulder like I was a ragdoll.
“What the hell are you doing?”
He walked out of the room, leaving me dangling precariously over him.
“Taking you to bed so I can fuck you.”
I felt my cheeks burn and heat flooded my veins. Was it really necessary for him to carry me like this? He could’ve just told me he wanted to fuck me. I would’ve come willingly.
