Black Mark Series Book 3: Black Mark's Heart

by Ebony Olson

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Black Mark’s Heart

  Black Mark Series Book 3

  Ebony Olson

  Copyright © 2017 by Ebony Olson.

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  This book is published by Inkitt – Join now to read and discover free upcoming bestsellers!

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Prologue

  Darius

  I felt like someone had pulled the floor out from under me as Marshall Blake had just told me that the woman I loved was his daughter. Now, with them side by side, the genetic similarity was unmistakable. How could I not have seen it that day in the office?

  For a moment, I considered Marshall had set this up and sent his daughter into my life so he could take over my business without any resistance, but Marshall truly looked pained. I wasn't giving up my business. I supported my father and sister's business. I had mentored and helped so many others in the years since I'd built Lynwood. There was too much at stake, and that left only one choice.

  I couldn't bring myself to look at her. She looked beautiful in her wedding dress. Her long dark hair half pulled up into a soft, feminine fifties style. The black of her mascara made her blue eyes more spectacular than usual. Eyes that I knew were filling with tears as her father discussed the annulment.

  I could hear the panic in Mora's singsong voice when I asked Warren to wrap up our relationship, but it was her fingers that broke me. I'd loved how strong her fingers were wrapped around my cock, gripping my hair as I licked between her pale thighs, or holding tightly to my shoulders as I buried myself into her until she cried out my name.

  Those wonderful fingers dug into my arm, nails stabbing into me viciously as Mora pleaded with me to look at her. I needed to protect myself, my interests, and my family. In order to do that, I had to hurt her.

  "You should have told me who your father was, Mora. This is your fault. I would never have touched you had I known. Now get the hell out of my life!"

  Mora stepped back at my viciousness, her hand going to her mouth and eyes wide like I'd just murdered someone in front of her, and maybe I did. I had just brutally murdered us.

  I thought I was hurting as bad as I could already, but then a pain so deep and raw flashed through Mora's eyes that I felt my heart stutter. Mora turned and ran out of the building, out into the freezing cold.

  "Son of a bitch!"

  I'd been so focused on Mora's pain, I didn't see Alex's fist flying at my face until it impacted. I stumbled back a few steps, shocked, my focus coming to those around me. Alex threw another punch, and I took that one on the chin and then threw one back. I needed this, a way to express my anger and hurt.

  Alex and I laid into one another with everything we had. It lasted only a few minutes and then we were being pulled apart. Zander was between us, Warren holding me back, Marshall restraining his fierce son. They were so alike; I could see it so clearly now. How could I not have seen it before?

  "Where's Mora?" Zander asked, his voice full of concern.

  I followed his line of sight to see Sophie and Rebecca coming back in the front door. Sophie walked over to us, her face beautiful in her rage. "She's gone. She doesn't have anything on her, not her phone or her ID," Sophie informed us as she walked up to me. Without breaking her stride, Sophie stepped into me and lifted her knee hard.

  I crumpled at the excruciating pain in my groin. Warren let me go, allowing me to fall to the ground with a curse.

  "Come on, Sophie," Alex Hark took her hand. "Let's find Mora, she's going to need us."

  "I am sorry, Dare," Marshall apologized again.

  I didn't look up to watch them leave. I waited until the door shut to find the strength to sit back on my heels. Rebecca was there watching me with worry. She looked to Warren. "Mora left in the limousine. Maybe if you call Clark, you can tell her family where to find her?"

  Warren nodded and pulled out his phone, walking away.

  "Zander, could you take the kids back to Dare's place and help get our stuff ready to leave please?" Rebecca requested.

  "Sure." Zander gave me a dark look. "You need to fix this, Dare. I don't know why you just did what you did, but you need to fix it."

  "I cannot do that, Zander. We cannot be together," I murmured sadly.

  "I hope you are wrong, Dare. I made Mora a promise, and I keep mine."

  The insinuation that I did not keep my promises was not lost on me. Zander walked over, collecting the kids and leaving. Rebecca held out a hand. I shook my head and started to cry. Rebecca squatted and put her hand on my shoulder. "Not here, Dare. You can break, but not yet."

  "Why?" I scowled.

  "Do you know why you just broke your own heart?" Rebecca asked.

  "Yes."

  "Does Mora know why you broke hers?"

  I shook my head.

  "That's why, Dare." Rebecca stood and held out her hand. "Right now, the woman you love is somewhere scared and hurting. She has nothing on her to tell anyone where she is or where she has gone. Until we know she is safe, you don't get to break."

  I took her hand and stood up. "She'll go to her father's house. It's where she always goes."

  Rebecca lifted a brow. "Really? If I heard correctly, her father caused this. Do you really think she will run to him now?"

  I took a deep breath, running my hand through my hair. "I should have asked her father's name when she told me her father did not approve of me. I should not have asked why, I should have asked who."

  Warren came back over. "Clark is not answering his phone. I have called a taxi so we can get home," Warren advised me. I nodded. "Why did you do it?"

  I shook my head. "She's Marshall Blake's daughter."

  "I got that much. Why does it matter? He is your mentor, he likes you. Shouldn't that be a good thing?" Warren asked angrily.

  "It is not permitted to be involved with the family members of your mentors, Warren. That is the rule," I explained as best I could.

  Warren studied me. "This has to do with the swingers club you are in?"

  Rebecca gasped. I glared at Warren, not believing he just said that in front of my sister. I shook my head when he returned that glare right back. "Let's go."

  "Steffen left with Zander," Warren informed me as we walked towards the door. "He grabbed
Mora's stuff from the powder room."

  "Good, he should have it all packed up by the time we get back. It is not like Mora owns much," I muttered as we slid into the back of the taxi.

  ***

  I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, replaying yesterday over and over. I'd gone home and packed up Mora's stuff after Steffen pointedly refused to do it.

  'I have watched that girl struggle with her feelings for you for months, and when she finally gives in, you break her. If you want her out of your life, you do the dirty work.' Steffen confronted me when I asked him to pack her bag when I got home. So I'd packed her clothes in the bag, but mostly, I'd just opened the bag and thrown everything in there, then squished it shut.

  Warren finally got hold of Clark nearly two hours after we got home yesterday. He'd returned the limousine, picked up my car, and arrived in time to take me to the airport.

  'Where is she?' I asked, spotting her wedding dress in the boot.

  'Who, boss?' Clark responded innocently until I glared at him, then he shrugged. 'I drove her around London for two hours, then I stopped the car and she got out and walked away.'

  'Naked?'

  'I gave her my jacket,' Clark responded, slamming the boot shut.

  'And you just let her go?' I asked, frustrated at not knowing Mora was safe.

  'Didn't you?' Clark asked pointedly. He climbed behind the driver’s wheel and ignored me for the drive to the airport.

  Rebecca and the kids were equally subdued on the flight home. My father was surprised to see me. Rebecca quickly took him aside and explained what happened, and my father let it go.

  Now I was tapping out a dirge on my chest in lieu of playing a piano. With a sigh, I looked at the clock and decided sleep was not going to happen. Getting dressed, I went out into the early dawn and ran as hard as I could into the cold and snow.

  When I got back, I checked my phone for any missed calls before having a long, hot shower. I sat in my father's kitchen watching the snow fall outside. All I could envision was Mora's hair in the darkness of the tree trunks, her skin in the white of the snow-covered ground, her tears in the snow that was falling. My phone ringing brought me back to the present, and I looked at the caller ID before answering.

  "Warren?"

  "I cancelled the honeymoon. You lost the deposit, obviously," Warren informed me straight off.

  "Obviously. Any news?" I asked, anxious to know Mora was safe.

  "Nothing," Warren replied gloomily. "Zander drove to Jasper Jones's house last night with Alex to see if Jasper knew where she was. He drove back with them to check a few places he knew she liked to go. So far, nothing."

  "Let me know when you hear something," I hung up the phone.

  Rebecca stood in the doorway. "Did you sleep at all?" I shook my head. "Is she still missing?" I nodded. "Are you worried she may have gotten herself into trouble somewhere?"

  "Mora is not that sort of girl," I muttered. That's when I remembered listening to her and Jasper have sex. God, that had been hot, and infuriating, and worrying all at the same time. I stood up. "If she hasn't come home by tonight, I will make a few calls."

  "Do you want to talk about what happened?" Rebecca asked.

  "There is nothing that can be done, Bex," I mourned. "I cannot be with her. The best thing I can do is get completely out of her life now."

  "Dare, this is ridiculous! You love her, she loves you. Find a way to make it work," Rebecca implored.

  "I can't," I yelled. "Everything I have, everything I have done to support you, Dad, and many others. They will take it all away if I cross this line. They could still ruin me for what I have already done."

  "Who are they?" Rebecca demanded. I sobered and scrubbed my face. "Oh, Darius, what did you do?"

  I shook my head. "It is not what you think, Bex. They are good people who do good things for kids who come from nothing. There are a few strict rules, and Mora is the worst one I could break." I stalked out of the kitchen and back to my room.

  Rebecca knocked on the door an hour later. "Dare, I'm heading home. The kids want to say goodbye." Dragging myself from my sleepless stupor, I bid my sister and her children farewell, and then I pulled on my coat and went for a long walk.

  After dinner, I called Warren again. "Any news?"

  "I have emailed you a summary of today. We need to discuss a replacement personal assistant. I am drowning in work here having to deal with Simon and A.K. We have no less than twenty-three events booked for next month alone. I want to have job interviews in the next two weeks," Warren marched through what he wanted to say.

  "I meant about Mora. Has she turned up?"

  "No," Warren answered defiantly. "Can I organize these interviews?"

  I groaned in annoyance. "Where the hell is she? It is not like she had that many friends."

  "You told her to get out of your life. She's given you everything else you have ever wanted from her. Maybe she gave you this too," Warren's voice was thick with anger. He took a breath. "No matter how it happened, it has been twenty-four hours. Mora is gone and you got what you asked for. I will organize the recruitment agency. Goodnight," Warren hung up.

  Yes, it hurt to even consider Mora might be hurt or worse. Warren pointing out that I asked for this was not what I needed to hear. Opening the address book on my phone, I dialed an unnamed number.

  "Nahum Management. How can I assist you?" The receptionist answered professionally.

  "Put Tracey on, Rhonda," I ordered.

  "Just a minute, Master," Rhonda responded before placing me on hold. She knew my voice, knew I was the boss and that if I said jump, she responded. Tracey had all my staff there well trained.

  "Dare? Aren't you on your honeymoon?" Tracey answered the phone, worried.

  "It didn't happen."

  "What? You called the wedding off?"

  "No, we got married, and then I found out who her father was and it was over before it started," I mourned. While Tracey was not aware of the brotherhood, she knew that I answered to a few more powerful people.

  "Are you okay?"

  "I am not phoning for me. Mora is missing."

  "Missing how?" I heard Tracey sit up straight.

  "I told her to get out of my life. She ran out of there with no coat, no phone, and no purse, and has not been heard from again," I explained, a stone sitting in my stomach.

  "You haven't heard from her, or no one has heard from her?" Tracey asked. Tracey was all about specifics. Part of her job required it.

  "No one. Not any of my people, and no one in her circle."

  Tracey blew out a breath. "Jesus, Dare. What did you do to her?"

  "Have any blood play requests come in?" I asked straight out.

  "Is that her thing?"

  "Mora had a contract with Jasper Jones."

  Tracey let out a low whistle. "If you are going to have a contract that includes blood play, that is who you want to have it with. He's a qualified M.D."

  "So I have been told," I growled. "Look, Tracey, Mora deals with intense emotions in specific ways. I had her cello, so that was not an option for her. If she needs an outlet and Jones is not an option, a call may come to you."

  "Dare, it won't. She has no idea about Nahum. I mentioned it in passing to her on the plane and she was clueless," Tracey revealed. I looked skyward, wondering what else Tracey told her on that plane ride. "Not to mention, you have her purse. That makes her penniless. She couldn't pay for the service even if she found a phone to call us with. I'm sorry, Dare. You are not going to find her here. Have you spoken to Jones?"

  "He's in a relationship and ended things with Mora last year."

  "Not anymore, he's not," Tracey responded. I felt my fist clench. "Jones has been visiting on occasion since New Year. He is flying solo again and coming here to get his kink fix."

  "I was not aware," I gritted out.

  Tracey went quiet. "Do you want me to come see you, Dare?"

  "I am home in Scotland."

  "Hidi
ng out?"

  "No. I just thought my leaving would make things easier on Mora."

  "Maybe she thought the same way," Tracey tried to reassure me.

  "She ran out into the dead of winter without anything necessary, Tracey. Mora was not thinking; she was hurting." I rested my head in the palm of my hand. "I could have handled it better. I yelled at her, blamed her. How could she have known?"

  I heard Tracey swallow through the phone. "I only met her once, Dare, but you know I'm good at reading people. Mora is strong. Yes, she was hurting when you banished her from your life, and she has probably gone to ground to lick her wounds, but she will pull through this. Give it a year, Dare, and Mora will have her life back on track and you will just be a lesson learned."

  "Well, at least you didn't say I was just a faded memory."

  "Not likely with that dick of yours. Even if she doesn't want to remember you, she will every time she climbs beneath the covers with whoever takes your place."

  Pain blossomed in my chest at the idea of another man with Mora. "Thanks, I think."

  "I am not going to sit here and blow smoke up your ass, Dare. You have hurt her bad, by the sounds of it. She will rebound just as hard. If she is anything like me when I was younger, she is going to rebound right off your front doorstep."

  "You think she will try and get me back?" I asked, surprised. Yes, part of me seriously wanted to keep Mora in my life some way. It just surprised me to think she would try and fix this.

  "God, no!" Tracey laughed. "I meant she is going to fuck someone in your circle to get over you, Dare."

  "They all know she is off limits."

  "She was off limits when you were working your way into her panties," Tracey sounded way too happy about this. "Now that you've trashed her, Dare, and as loyal as your circle is, they are going to wait a respectable time and then they are going to swoop on that hot little antipodean," Tracey sighed. "As much as I would love to be her rebound, my pick would be one of the Mann brothers. Then, I expect she will reconnect with Jasper Jones and marry his fine ass."

  "Do you have anything helpful to add or are you just trying to twist the knife?" I growled.