Stolen Hearts: A Dark Billionaire Collection

by Elizabeth Knox

  “You did such an excellent job,” Brooklyn tells me.

  “It’s unique, that’s for sure.” Madigan says, showing her obvious dismay.

  “That’s the weirdest looking diamond I’ve ever seen.” Selena states, clear as day.

  We all give her a ridiculous look, but she busts into laughter. “Why in the world would y’all fall for that? Do you really think I’m that stupid?”

  “I didn’t until you just said that.” I admit, teasing her.

  The elevator doors open and I’m quick to put the ring back in the box and return it into my pocket. I didn’t realize it until now, but the entire ballroom must be situated on this floor. We venture into another lobby with floor to ceiling windows and the most of modern touches. Silver accents cover the space and I can already tell my family has put their touch on this joint.

  The sparkles of Lacey’s dress cause me to spot her from a distance. I start to walk up to her but am called by Christian from behind, “Jordan, Lacey. Everyone get your asses over here! We only have twenty minutes!”

  What? What in the hell does that mean?

  Furrowing my brows, I march over to where Christian is, demanding an answer. “Want to clarify what that means?”

  “So, the hotel might’ve been booked tonight for weddings. The next ceremony takes place in about forty minutes so we have to hurry the hell up so their people can get in here.”

  “Is this a joke?” I ask, then see Logan come out of a doorway. I ask him the same question, “Is this a fucking joke?!”

  “Afraid not, but it was now or never. Don’t get dickish with me. You’re the one who decided to become a spontaneous bastard and have a wedding tonight.”

  Well played, brother. I shut my mouth and follow him into the ballroom. The ladies come in from behind me and we all pour into a smaller, quaint ballroom. There’s an arch in front of the skyline that says ‘Mr. and Mrs. Lachey’ and I can’t help but narrow my eyes on my brothers.

  “What, it was this or Mrs. and Mrs. Morris. I don’t think you’d wanna pretend to be a lesbian.” Christian cackles, getting a good laugh from Lacey.

  “I’m glad you find this amusing.” I tell her.

  “We either find it amusing or we let it stress us out. I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to let small details ruin our big day, even if it was a little last minute.” Lacey walks up to me and takes my hands in hers.

  “Would you please get on with this rodeo? I have a woman to marry.” I bark out at Christian, smirking devilishly at Lacey.

  The double doors to the ballroom open and I see some sort of waitress wearing an apron. She rushes up to us, looking terrified, “I hate to interrupt, but we might’ve gotten the times wrong. The wedding party is coming up the elevator now, so please hurry and scram as soon as possible!”

  Fuck.

  This couldn’t have gone smoothly even if we tried but it doesn’t matter, because in about thirty seconds I’m going to be married to the woman of my fucking dreams.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  In the midst of winter, I found there was within me an invincible summer

  ~ Albert Camus

  Jordan

  Our wedding was the quickest one known to man, that I’m sure of. We ended up running out of there hand-in-hand, passing the next couple who was heading into the ballroom. If I’m being honest it was a bit of fun.

  Esme cursed up a storm as we went down the elevator, telling me it wasn’t the proper wedding that Lacey deserved and I can’t disagree with her. Lacey deserved so much more but I didn’t want to wait any longer. Fuck, I couldn’t keep waiting.

  We had a late dinner with my brothers, their wives, and Madigan. Esme wanted to get home so she could get to bed so I called a town car to take her home. I hate that Reggie had to stay back and watch all the kids, but damn I’m glad he took one for the team so our wedding could’ve been somewhat normal. We all celebrated with saki and hibachi at one of the best Japanese restaurants in Atlanta before we made our separate ways.

  Lacey and I exited the joint and went to my sportscar. I know she thought we were on the way to my penthouse, where Logan used to live when he was dating Brooklyn . . . but she shared a secret she has and now its my turn to share mine.

  It’s located a block away from my penthouse tucked away in a basement of a corporate office. It’s only accessible by keycard and identity verification through one of my employees. “Where are you taking us?” Lacey asks as I pull into a reserved parking space in front of the club I own.

  She peers out the window, “Oh my god. You’re taking us here? Do you even know what this club is?”

  “I own Dirty Little Secrets, Lacey. Tonight you shared something with me, and now I’m sharing something with you. This is something no one else in my family knows about except for you.”

  Lacey is quiet, not saying a word for a few moments as she processes what I’ve just said. “You own a sex club, Jordan.”

  “Actually, I own an elite club for the most prestigious of individuals, who just happen to partake in the sinful acts of pleasure.” I correct her, using the same loophole I use legally.

  “I want to cuss you out right now, but you’re so damn good at what you do. Is that how you get away with it?”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Is there anything else you want to tell me?”

  “There’s something I should probably tell you. I have an appointment to meet a group of women in a few days about possibly investing in their business. It’s called Crave, LLC and I’m sure you’ve heard of it.”

  “The Vegas women who developed that app?”

  “Yes, and also have a club there and one being built in New York now.”

  “Okay. I need to know something else. What did you talk about with Logan when you walked off with him at the restaurant?”

  The one thing I should’ve asked him years ago. “I proposed that I handle the darker elements of what we do, while he keeps his primary focus on Steele Enterprises.”

  “You mean the gunrunning?” She calls it like it is, and its one of the reasons I love her so damn much.

  “Yes, that’s exactly what I mean.”

  “Alright. So, why am I here Jordan? Why did you bring me here now?”

  “I was hoping I could fuck my wife inside my room of mischief.”

  “Room of mischief?”

  “Yes, where I keep all the dark toys, studded belts, butt plugs, and so much more. 50 Shades of Grey never even touched this shit, sweetheart. I’m only wondering if you’re ready for it.”

  Lacey grabs ahold of my arm and looks at me with more desire than I’ve ever seen from her before, “Jordan Steele, I’ve been ready for everything you’ve had to offer for years.”

  My phone rings in my pocket and I decide to break our moment and pull it out. Much to my surprise its coming from an unknown number so I answer it. In our business unknown or private callers are quite usual.

  “Hello?” I answer.

  “Hey Jordan, it’s Daisy. Just wanted to let you know we dealt with your mommy dearest. She’s a real bitch but I channeled my inner Harley Quinn and fucked her up pretty good. Logan gave us a call and let us know about the threat he made against your girl. Us Skulls don’t take too kindly to that, so I doubt she’ll be a problem. I almost killed her, but Fiona is lucky Jenna pulled me off. God, what a fuckin’ cunt.”

  “Thank you for taking care of it.” I say to Daisy before I hang up.

  “Who was that?” Lacey asks me.

  “A friend of the family. I don’t think you need to be worried about my mother’s pathetic threats. We handled it.”

  “Handled it. You didn’t . . .” Lacey insinuates we might’ve ordered a hit on our mother.

  I laugh, “No, we’d never do that.” Although as my response spills from my lips I realize we just might. If she crossed the line in a bigger way we could’ve ordered it.

  “Keep telling yourself that, honey.” Lacey tells me with a smug smirk. She kn
ows what I’m capable of and accepts me for all of it. Thank God for that.

  Epilogue

  I am built from every mistake I have ever made.

  ~ Unknown

  Jordan

  A Week Later . . .

  I decided I would pay a visit to my newfound uncle in Boston, but my brothers didn’t need to come since this part of the business is mine now. I did however ask my wife if she would attend with me. After much debating and deliberation, I spoke with her to see if she’d want to do this alongside me instead of back in the shadows like most wives would, anticipating she’d want to steer clear of anything illegal. But, as always she blew me away when she said she wanted to learn the business. Although she didn’t just want to stop there. She wanted to learn how to defend herself as well.

  Since I no longer have much of a stake in Steele Enterprises unless we’re thinking of legality terms, I use my office there as a satellite location for my own individual investments. Personally, it seems I love to invest in pussy, beer and ammunitions.

  Meeting my uncle was unlike anything I ever thought it would be. I expected a bitter old man with a power complex, but what I saw instead was a calculating snake. He may be as dangerous as my brothers and I put together which is a bit alarming. Colin O’Dea is something, but I won’t know what until I do more business with him.

  We left our meeting on good terms. Even if you are blood things can tend to go awry every now and again. Considering Colin and I had never met before I expected things to go far worse.

  I learned a lot by visiting Boston and meeting him. He has a brood of children, eight in total. Five boys and three girls. He mentioned a bit about Desmond Mackenzie, who is our cousin in charge of the Irish mafia.

  He’s older and has three children, and rumor on the street is his son Liam is going to take the mafia over soon. Eventually I think I might pay a visit to our family on the other side of the ocean to see if I can get a good feel on whether they’ll be beneficial to communicate with or end up hurting our business. My hope is that associating with them more often will be lucrative.

  You never can tell anything in life but one thing I can say is that everything in it can’t be predicted. No matter what you’re trying to prepare for it’ll never happen, so its best to expect the unexpected.

  When our dad killed himself and left everything to Logan I was pissed, but at the end of the day I knew he’d find a way to make it right. Logan did, fulfilling our father’s wishes for a short bit of time. The old crow was so pissed at Christian and I that he made sure to punish us from the grave. Logan on the other hand made us part of the company in some way, ensuring we’d have some purpose.

  Now, here we are, years later and everyone is doing what they should’ve in the first place. Prince Charming has his enterprise while the dark twin has the power and mischief of gunrunning. Meanwhile Christian has . . . well, fuck. I don’t know what he has, but it has to be something.

  At the end of the day I couldn’t be happier. I have the job of my dreams, the best wife a man could ask for, an amazing penthouse and a pretty unique family. In other words, I have it all. Now, I’m curious what life will bring us next. Whatever it is, I can fully say we’re all prepared for it.

  Sneak Peak

  Keep reading for the Prologue of Forbidden Love, featured in the Black Rose Collection!

  Are you in the mood for something . . . darker? Perhaps an anthology containing eleven dark romances with guaranteed happily-ever-afters? My story, Forbidden Love is going to be epic! You really don’t want to miss this! Pick up your copy of Leave Me Breathless: http://bit.ly/LMBbooksBlackRose

  Prologue

  My heart is so tired.

  ~ Markus Zuzak

  Caprice

  My father has done a lot of things to me, things that I can’t ever quite understand. There’s not a doubt in my mind that he doesn’t give a damn about me. I’m only one thing for him – a tool. The only value I have is in the fact that I’m a woman. There is nothing else for me besides whoever it is that he tries to pawn me off too. My father had no problem tossing me in the direction of his business associates before. I was their small treat after he closed a deal, or maybe I was part of the deal. Some days I think about it and then I realize I don’t think I’ll ever know.

  My brothers will have the privilege of inheriting the mafia after he dies. Although I do wonder if it’s a blessing or a curse. My bet is on the latter.

  It’s obvious that I’m not a fan of my famiglia. They may be my blood, but they don’t treat me like family. My brothers treat me the same as our father does. When it comes to my mother, she barely looks at me. I think that’s because she’s too ashamed of the fact she doesn’t stand up to my father. But who would dare to speak up to Signore DiGiovanni? Any person who does is immediately shot down, and no, that isn’t a metaphor or an exaggeration.

  I hate the way that I’m treated but I’ll take every minute of agony if it means that my little sister, Alessandra, doesn’t have to endure the same horrors. Sometimes when I lay awake in the middle of the night all I can occupy my time with is wondering about when my father will force her to make the same sacrifices I do.

  I’m in New York right now at my friend Angelina’s apartment on the Upper East Side. Her father owns a massive cybersecurity company, but also caters to the famiglia’s physical needs as well. She’s the apple of her father’s eye, his absolute pride and joy. Growing up I had always looked at their relationship with jealousy, or maybe it was a longing feeling. Either way, I craved the sort of affection that I had witnessed Angelina get when we were children. Even now, well into our mid-twenties, her father showers her with love. I’ve accepted that I’ll never have anything close to it with my own.

  All I want to do is get up and leave, to abandon my family and the things that tie me to it. The only thing that they bring me is misery, or more specifically my father does. My brothers are close behind him on that train, though. I’m only here to protect Alessandra, and that’s it. I want her to come with me, to leave this place, to go anywhere. The only way we could ever escape my father’s clutches is if we disappear to someplace that no one knows us. My only problem is that she doesn’t see him in the same light that I do. That’s only because she’s a naïve seventeen-year-old girl who hasn’t been thrown into the bloodied trenches.

  The only reason she’s escaped is that I’ve protected her, and she doesn’t even see it. She wants to believe that our father is a good man and while I want to allow her to keep that innocence— I can’t let her believe in a fairytale. Our father is not a good person. There was a time that I had been like her and believed it, but those years have gone and past. I see him for what he is now.

  He did something horrific to me that has made me view him in an entirely different light. Alessandra has no idea of the atrocities he is guilty of, and I’m not talking about the deaths or his bad dealings. I don’t care about any of that. The only thing I care about is what he’s done to me and will do to my dear sister, and what he’s already done to my daughter. I haven’t seen her in over five years. She was ripped from my hands the day she was born and given straight to her father— Rafael Ramirez. It wasn’t a tale of love for Rafael and I. No, I was a gift given to him after my father and he had struck a deal. It’s always the same. My father tosses me to his associates as a reward. He acts as if my body isn’t my own and it belongs to the famiglia. It doesn’t, and I won’t ever allow it to.

  “When are you and Alessandra leaving?” Angelina asks, eyes peering up in a concerned gaze.

  I sigh because I haven’t uttered a word of it to my sister. I’m simply taking her in a rush and hoping we get far enough away to where my father won’t find us. “Tomorrow.”

  “Is your plan solid?”

  I nod. “As solid as it can be. I have new passports for us with brand new names, had the photos altered so our hair colors are different. You know our deal,” I remind her, smiling. “I can’t tell you anything because we know h
e’ll ask you what I’m doing and where I am. He’ll try to use you as a way to get to me and it’s safer for everyone involved if I don’t say anything.”

  Angelina shrugs. “I know. I just wish things were different. I wish my best friend wasn’t carting herself and her sister off to God knows where. I just . . . wish I could know something.”

  I start to open my mouth but am cut off by Angelina. “But I can’t.”

  I nod, looking down at the floor. This breaks my heart into a million pieces, leaving the only person who has ever known me for who I am. The only person who really gives a damn on what happens to me. “I wish I didn’t have to leave.”

  “You have to leave. Your father made an arrangement with Sergei Kolosov. There is no choice in the matter. I will not allow you to stay here and marry this monster, who does nothing but hurt the women he is with. I told you what he did to his last wife.” Bella had told me a week ago, when my “engagement” to Sergei was announced, of the rumors. Apparently, he had forced an abortion on his last wife, a woman who he had been trying to have a child with for years.

  I will not be married to Sergei, and I’ll say that to him straight to his face if he ever meets me. I will not bear children for him. I already have a child, a daughter named Piper and as soon as I am in Ireland and settled, I plan on taking her from her father.