Somebody's Angel (#5 in a Military Romance / BDSM Romance series) (Rescue Me)
Page 1
Praise for Somebody’s Angel
“OH MY LORD AND HOLY GUACAMOLE! This was an emotion-filled, gigantic cathartic story!!! You need to sell boxes of Kleenex with this book!!! This is an emotional roller coaster that doesn’t even end at the end of the book because you are on such a beautiful high you never want to have the ride end and then have to get off!!!”
~ Khriste C., a reader
~ ~ ~
An exciting journey/roller coaster ride that has romance, kink, past secrets revealed, action, emotional catharsis, and a happy ‘ending’… Of course, with Kallypso Masters’ saga, it never really ends because we can look forward to reading more about our Masters lives in her next book! This book is completely different than the first four—keeping the series more interesting, yet still giving the reader important snippets of the other Masters lives. Somebody’s Angel is fulfilling yet makes you hungry for more!
~ Eva M., a reader
Somebody’s Angel
Fifth in the Rescue Me Series
by
Kallypso Masters
Somebody’s Angel
Copyright © 2013, Kallypso Masters
First Digital Version, December 22, 2013
Kindle Edition
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Edited by Meredith Bowery, Fiona Cox, Jacy Mackin, Rosie Moewe, and Ekatarina Sayanova
Cover design by Linda Lynn
Formatted by BB eBooks
Cover image licensed through RomanceNovelCovers.com;
Image graphically altered by Linda Lynn
This book contains content that is NOT suitable for readers 17 and under.
Thank you for downloading this e-book. Please be aware that this e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be reproduced, uploaded to share on Web sites, e-mailed, or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written permission from the author, Kallypso Masters, at kallypsomasters@gmail.com or PO Box 206122, Louisville, KY 40250, or within the sharing guidelines at a legitimate library or bookseller.
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction, sharing, or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. (See http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/ for more information about intellectual property rights.)
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons—living or dead—or places, events, or locales is purely accidental. The characters are reproductions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
To discover more about the books in this series, see the Rescue Me Series at the end of this book. For more about Kallypso Masters, please go to the About the Author section.
Rescue Me Series
Reading Order
Not stand-alone novels
(These love stories and characters can’t be contained within one book!)
Masters at Arms
Nobody’s Angel
Nobody’s Hero
Nobody’s Perfect
Somebody’s Angel
Trade paperback versions are available for the first four titles (in three print volumes). Books will be made available in print within a few months of their release as e-books (at which time the e-books will be revised to match).
Next expected title in series:
Nobody’s Dream
(writing begins on Luke & Cassie’s story in 2014)
Table of Contents
Praise for Somebody’s Angel
Title Page
Copyright Page
Rescue Me Series Reading Order
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Author’s Note
Cast of Characters
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
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Glossary of Terms
About the Author
Excerpt From Captured Innocence
The Rescue Me Series
Dedication
To one of my earliest readers (way back in 2011), Linda Thurmond DeCristofaro, who helped me discover what Marc had been hiding from me in the first three books in this series (even if she forgot what she told me later on).
To Lisa SK, who helped me see some serious problems with both Marc and Angelina and fix them before it was too late—and to Ekatarina Sayanova, for helping me teach them both discipline and the power of the submissive and the Dominant.
And to author Siobhan Muir, my roommate at Authors After Dark 2012 in New Orleans, who realized I needed to give Marc and Angelina another book, even if it did mess with the promised line-up of books. I know there are people picking up this book expecting it to be about Luke and Cassie, but I couldn’t stand to leave Marc in so much pain now that he was on the threshold of finally deciding to change.
Acknowledgements
It takes at least a continent to put out one of my books, one of my editors said. Among those who contributed this time (on two continents) are:
Caterina L. who seemed to channel Marc and Luke while I was working on this book. She’s also begun to help me understand how Luke’s work with his horses will eventually translate into helping Cassie heal.
Mountain_Jewel and Teckla Satterlee for providing invaluable help on the ice-climbing scene.
My awesome beta readers, Khriste Close, Margie Dees, Kelly Mueller, and Lisa SK who read through the entire book (several times!) and helped me fix some major problems. Also to Kellie Hunter who beta read some of the early versions before life intruded.
My proofreaders who found many typos and errors, I extend my gratitude and thanks to Sandy Davis, Eva Meyers, Christine Sullivan Mulcair, and Annie Van Camp.
Eric Pride, a “master” at the BDSM interrogation scene, for that wild cab-ride conversation where we discussed mindfucks, torture, kidnapping, and more. I wonder what the cabbie was thinking. Thanks also for taking time to check over my scene and offer suggestions for improvements.
Top Griz for once again helping me channel my inner master sergeant (Master Adam). Thanks for your help with the intense interrogation scene that probably reminded you too much of SERE School! And thanks, once again, for expanding my Marine vocabulary to include the awesome word “unfuck.”
Kayla Proctor for her help with my Navy questions. Your Navy Corpsman cracked me up with the “they’re just psycho” comment, but I played it safe and went with the psychO usage that matches up with other “officer” nicknames in the Navy. Oh, and thanks for helping me get Marc dressed properly for the big day!
; Psychologists Jennifer P. and Ruth Reid for helping me understand the psychological aspects of Marc’s inner pain and for advice on how to help him overcome that cycle of coping that just wasn’t working for him or giving him any peace and happiness. Also to Ekatarina Sayanova, whose knowledge of psychology helped me understand Marc (and intense interrogation scenes) much better, as well.
Cynthia Gonzales for giving me the details necessary to get a certain couple hitched in this book! Your knowledge and attention to detail made that chapter so much more meaningful. (I hope my Catholic readers will understand that this is still fiction and I took a few liberties with the traditional ceremony, but I tried to stay as close as possible to reality.)
Irene Eneri, one of my Italian experts, who lives in Italy and provided so many of the translations to Italian in the words and phrases sprinkled throughout Lombardy native Marc’s book. And to Maria Cristina Robb, also in Italy, who gave me some “quickie” translations when I was on a deadline crunch for a blog and this book.
My Facebook friends and fans who chimed in over the last year at least on countless questions I asked on my Facebook group Rescue Me Series Open Discussion or on my Facebook timeline. You always are there to help me out when I just don’t have one more brain cell left! With thousands of Facebook friends, there are way too many to name here without leaving too many out (or adding 100 pages to this book), but I thank you for joining me on this amazing journey and for helping me whenever I got stuck on something. I like to imagine your “squeeeee!” when you see something in here that you suggested, too!
My editorial “dream” team (in alphabetical order because each is a vital part of the team and brings her own expertise to content and line edits)—Meredith Bowery, Fiona Cox, Jacy Mackin, Rosie Moewe, and Ekatarina Sayanova. Each has helped bring out the best book I had in me this time (and all have helped in the past on various books, as well). I continue to improve and grow as a writer because of all that you awesome professionals teach me. Of course, it’s those things I change after my editorial team and subject experts sign off on the book that usually lead to the need for later corrected versions. As always, all typos and errors are solely my responsibility. But this is truly the cleanest version I’ve ever published on a first upload. I don’t plan to make any revisions until the print version comes out!
Rosie Moewe for keeping track of my series timeline and series bible, which was extremely helpful to me in writing this story because there were so many important parallels with events in Nobody’s Perfect (Rescue Me #4) to keep straight. But her hard work also helps me to move forward in the series without losing track of all those important details (and even the minutiae).
The Kallypso’s Street Brats who always entertain me with their pimping exploits. And to my Masters Brats (fans) the world around. Without you all telling all your friends about my books, I never would have reached so many readers. Here’s hoping this one makes the New York Times bestseller list, as well as getting me on the USA Today list again!
My awesome new personal assistant, Charlotte Oliver, who helped keep me sane since August of this year. I had quickly come to see I couldn’t keep up with business and marketing and still have anything left to write, so she freed up so much of my time to allow me to focus on writing.
Thanks also to my virtual assistant, Leagh Christensen, owner of Romance Novel Promotions, who has helped me with marketing; online things like newsletters, blog tours, web site; and my street team for almost two years now.
Author’s Note
Nobody’s Angel (Rescue Me #2) was a struggle to write because Marc D’Alessio was the most emotionally closed off character I’d ever encountered. I knew there was some inner pain that made him that way, but just couldn’t put my finger on it. When Adam and Karla decided enough was enough and hijacked that book to continue their own journey I just decided I would have to come back to Marc later in this saga. That book did find some growth and development for Angelina on her journey of discovery.
In Somebody’s Angel (Rescue Me #5), you will discover what makes Marc who he is. I originally thought I’d be able to crack him in a subplot in Nobody’s Perfect (Rescue Me #4). Unfortunately, a bombshell was dropped over that New Year’s weekend in Aspen that made it difficult for me to resolve Marc’s own inner pain without bouncing back and forth too much between the two couples. Eventually, I realized Marc and Angelina needed a separate book to sort out their issues and move forward. This is that book.
If you haven’t read the prior books in the series, I urge you to do so, now more than ever. This is a series where each book builds on those that came before it. I can’t contain my characters to one book, although I love it when I am able to get a couple to Happily Ever After.
Let me warn readers that Marc is a risktaker and will engage in activities in this book that go beyond the Safe, Sane, and Consensual (SSC). There is an interrogation scene that goes into Risk Aware Consensual Kink (RACK) that is way beyond SSC.
This book has been through more pre-publication editing rounds (with a five-person editorial team, plus subject experts and beta readers) than any book I’ve ever published. While I wish it could be perfect, I’m sure it’s not. In the past, I agonized over every typo and constantly uploaded new versions, but this took away from my being able to continue writing the series and working on new books. So, with this one, I’m asking anyone who does notice an error or typo to please notify my personal assistant, Charlotte Oliver at charlotte@kallypsomasters.com. She will keep track of them and I will go over them all just before preparing the book for the print version in February or March. (In the interim, I plan to focus totally on the next new book—Nobody’s Dream (Luke and Cassie’s story)!
But first, please enjoy Marc’s journey of self-discovery as you once again enter the world of the Rescue Me series (and the Masters at Arms Club). You’ll also revisit favorite characters from other books in the series, plus get some information about characters from future books.
Cast of Characters
Marisol Baker—Savi and Damián’s 8-year-old daughter
Savi Baker—formerly Savannah Gentry; with Damián
Carmella D’Alessio—Marc’s sister (youngest D’Alessio)
Gino D’Alessio—Marc’s older brother; killed in action in Afghanistan
Marc D’Alessio—Navy corpsman (“Doc”); co-owner of the Masters at Arms Club; has been dating Angelina since Nobody’s Angel
Natalia Zirilli D’Alessio—Mama D’Alessio, Marc’s mother
Papa D’Alessio—Marc’s father
Sandro (Alessandro) D’Alessio—Marc’s younger brother
Luke Denton—Marc’s search and rescue partner who adopts rescued, abused mustangs; he is an artisan who makes furniture, including pieces for the kink community
José Espinosa—Damián’s nephew
Rosa Espinosa—Damián’s sister
Teresa Espinosa—Damián’s niece
Patrick Gallagher—Adam’s half brother
Angelina Giardano—Marc’s girl; a chef by trade
Franco Giardano—Angelina’s brother; a fire fighter
Mama Giardano (Angela)—Angelina’s mother
Matteo (Matt) Giardano—Angelina’s brother; a fire fighter; likes to go skijoring
Rafe Giardano—Angelina’s oldest brother; a fire fighter
Tony (Antonio) Giardano—Angelina’s youngest brother; a fire fighter
Pamela Jeffrey—Marc’s most recent girlfriend before Angelina
Gunnar Larsen—a sadist whip master who trained Damián, Grant, and others; retired Army Delta Force
Allen Martin—Angelina’s former boyfriend who abused her in the club leading to Marc’s rescuing her (in Nobody’s Angel); also known as Sir Asshole
Mrs. Milanesi—Natalia’s friend from secondary school; babysat Gino and Marco as children in Brescia, Lombardia, Italy
Adam Montague (pronounced MON-tag)—Marc’s master sergeant; patriarch of the Masters at Arms Club “family”; surrogat
e father to Damián
Damián Orlando—served with Marc in Iraq; rides a Harley; Patriot Guard Rider; in love with Savi/Savannah
Melissa Russo—Marc’s old girlfriend; he found her in bed with his brother Gino (aka Queen Bitch of the Universe to Angelina)
Paolo Solari—husband of Emiliana and brother-in-law to Natalia
Prologue
As Marc D’Alessio followed his girl Angelina Giardano into the bedroom, he tried to shake the trapped feeling that had hounded him all day.
What the fuck was wrong with him? This had to be one of the best Christmases he could remember. He and Angelina had played Santa’s elves to his buddy Damián Orlando’s newfound daughter this morning. Well, that had been a high until the orphaned kitten they’d brought the little girl had triggered an emotional meltdown for her mama. Did witnessing that have something to do with his mood?
Angelina rested her head against his chest, and he wrapped his arms around her. He’d found the woman of his dreams a few months ago and couldn’t believe his luck that she was still with him despite a huge mistake on his part. They’d been together almost three months, closing in on his record with Pamela, his last girlfriend.
He crushed her closer to him, as if afraid she’d leave. Or perhaps his unsettled feeling had him worried he’d leave her; he’d certainly done that enough times. How could he even think of doing such a thing? They weren’t even having any issues worth fighting over. Why these unbidden thoughts about someone leaving? They weren’t even having any problems.
Marc decided to make sure she wasn’t sending some vibe he was picking up on. “You okay, cara?”
“Better than okay, Sir. You got me to a very good place, but I’m exhausted.” She pulled away and stared up at him, a bliss-filled smile on her face, before placing her hand behind his neck and dragging him toward her face. Her lips were warm, inviting, and promised this evening wasn’t going to end in them rolling over and going to sleep right away.