Other Books by Carla Coxwell:
Obsessed Bounty Hunter Romance Series
Jacqui Schneider couldn't help it. Every time the memories of her family's brutal murder haunted her, she had to escape. The only thing that could replace her sorrow was sex...and lots of it. Depressed and with no goal in sight, Jacqui continued on with her self-deprecating lifestyle until it all changed one day. Uncle Max, an old family friend, appeared unannounced. Jacqui was astonished when Uncle Max revealed a secret to her about her father. From those few words, Jacqui's world turned completely upside down. She really didn't know her own father. In fact, she didn't even know much about Uncle Max, except that he visited them for a few days at a time over the years.
Fifty Recipes For Disaster New Adult Romance Series
Trying to win a competition for best chef is cut-throat business. Kiara Sands has just won the opportunity of a lifetime. When she arrives at Fission, she has no idea just how much her life is going to change. She’s immediately introduced to Jenny Foster and Robbs Martin, her competitors in the cut throat competition. The only thing Kiara finds more distracting than Robbs’ hateful attitude is the handsome executive chef, Paul Weston. It doesn’t help matters that Paul is quite taken by Kiara, and showers her with more attention than he gives her competitors.
This book is Part Four of the “Devil's Advocate BBW MC New Adult Romance Series”
Book 1
When Kristie comes home from college, the last thing she is expecting is her world to be turned upside down by the appearance of her new step-father’s nephew, Gray. Gray is rash, impulsive and breaks the law. Kristie’s mom asks if she can try to befriend Gray, in hopes to get him on the straight and narrow. The plan backfires, however, as Kristie finds herself falling for Gray. Is it possible he feels the same way? The connection between them threatens to tear down everything Kristie has ever held dear.
Book 2
Kristie has finally graduated from college. With a new boyfriend in tow, Gray’s rival, Armand, and moving back into her mother’s house, it feels as if life might finally fall back into place. But Gray, the love of her life and her cousin by marriage, happens to return after hiding out of town. As Kristie and Gray are drawn closer together, both must choose the life they want – with each other, or alone. No matter what they end up picking, the risks in their lives can end up costing the two of them everything.
Book 3
It’s been six months since Kristie was taken down in a gun fight related to her husband’s gang activity. Despite Gray’s promise to leave the gang behind, he finds himself searching for Armand and a way to take out the Infernos. The cycle of violence continues but this time the stakes might be too high and the price to pay might only be one of blood.
Book 4
When Kristie discovers she is pregnant after thinking she cannot conceive, her world is flipped even more upside down. Her best friend had just been gunned down in a gang related shooting and her husband, Gray, is in a battle for his life with a rival gang. Gray has a plan to get their happily-ever-after life but it is risky. He puts everything at stake to get rid of Armand. But Armand won’t go quietly. As the fighting continues, Kristie and Gray realize that everything is at stake.
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Devil’s Advocate
A BBW MC New Adult
Romance Series
Book 4
© Revelry Publishing 2015
By Carla Coxwell
Table of Contents
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
Epilogue
Chapter One
KRISTIE MISSED her own bed. It felt like ages since she slept in it. In reality, it had only been three days. She tried telling herself that as she stared up at the hospital ceiling. She ran her fingers over her baby bump. Not long now, she thought to herself as she waited for the doctor. But it would be a dangerous final two months until the baby was born.
Severe morning sickness. What was the fancy name the doctor had for it all those months ago? Hyperemesis Gravidarum. Kristie could never remember the exact name. All it meant to her was that the violent vomiting she experienced early on wasn’t the typical morning sickness. It increased as she got farther along in her pregnancy. She had a particular nasty bout of it this week. Gray begged her to go to the hospital, for the baby’s sake so Kristie finally relented.
It was a good thing she did. She was extremely dehydrated. Now she was waiting to hear if she could be released today. Gray said he would be by soon with Megan. He had been to see her this morning but had to go to work.
Kristie closed her eyes, suddenly missing Megan, who was growing so rapidly. It felt like just yesterday that they had taken her in after Kass and Rick were murdered. At the thought of her best friend, Kristie felt a pang in her chest. Her best friend, gunned down by the Infernos, leaving only Megan alive.
Taking in Megan was unexpected. Both Kristie and Gray struggled when they became parents. They had barely taken in Megan when Kristie found out the impossible had happened – she was pregnant. She had given up hope of having a child of her own and had decided that she would focus fully on Megan. The next thing she knew, she was pregnant, vomiting over a toilet bowl while Gray tried to take care of Megan.
Gray handled the news perfectly. For some reason, Kristie was completely terrified that he would be enraged at her pregnancy. They had just taken Megan in and Gray had lost his best friend. But he was overjoyed at the news and slowly, over the course of her pregnancy, he began to change.
In fact, everything would be perfect if it weren’t for the Infernos. But wasn’t that always the case? Kristie had noticed a shift in Gray, as if he was finally backing away from the gang. But the tendrils of that life refused to fully release Gray. Sometimes Kristie would wake up, having to pee several times a night, and he would be in Megan’s room, watching her sleep, lost in thought.
Breaking through her thoughts, the doctor came in to tell her she was going to be released today. Relieved, Kristie called Gray.
***
“Thanks for watching her the past few days.”
“No problem,” Lionel replied, handing Megan over to Gray. “I’m glad we could help.”
“I’ll have Kristie call Pamela once she gets home.”
Lionel nodded and gave a small wave as Gray juggled Megan and all of her things toward the truck. She was fast asleep. She could sleep almost anywhere. Gray envied her as he put her in her car seat. She gave out a soft noise and settled back into her slumber.
Gray got into the driver’s seat and headed toward the hospital. He was glad Kristie was coming home. He knew she was going stir crazy in the hospital. He remembered his own time in the hospital and could relate. Being pregnant on top of that must make it even worse.
It was silly but Gray still hadn’t fully wrapped his mind around the fact that Kristie was pregnant. It seemed almost unreal to him. They tried for months but there was nothing. Now a baby boy was o
n the way in two months. Gray glanced back at Megan while stopped at a red light. She was sleeping soundly. She was the perfect mix of Kass and Rick.
His mood turned dark at the thought of his best friend. Gone from this world, struck down by the Infernos. Gray swore revenge for everything Armand had done – shooting Kristie, killing Rick and Kass and leaving Megan an orphan. But the urge for revenge began to fade. With Kristie pregnant and Megan under their care, it seemed selfish to drag out the violence any longer than he already had. If he died, what would happen to Kristie and their two children? Rick had realized he was growing up and was trying to leave the life as well. It seemed foolish not to go.
But leaving the gang was harder than it looked. Even if Gray pulled out of the group and stopped interacting with them, Armand and the Infernos wouldn’t let him leave. They would still track him down and hurt him. It was a personal grudge now. They would either kill him or make sure he went to jail for the rest of his life.
So Gray found himself stuck between trying to settle down as a family man and trying to detangle himself from gang life. Kristie had been stressing the importance of communication to him, as if Gray could simply invite Armand out for a cup of tea and settle everything that way.
He pulled into the hospital parking lot. The hospital held such terrible memories for him. He hoped Kristie’s pregnancy would offer him something good for a change. He put Megan into her carrier and headed up to get Kristie.
She sat upright in bed. The TV was on some daytime judge show, but her eyes were glazed over from boredom. Her skin was pale, as it had been since her violent morning sickness began. But when Kristie saw him, her eyes lit up.
“Hey,” he whispered, pointing to the sleeping Megan.
She nodded and gave a small wave. The discharge procedure took forever and by the time they wheeled Kristie out in her wheelchair, Megan had awakened and was fussing loudly.
“My mom called me right before you came into the room,” Kristie said as they headed home. “She wants to come over and help make dinner in the next couple of days. To see how I’m doing.”
Gray made a non-committal noise. Things had only mildly improved after they adopted Megan. Pamela, Kristie’s mother, wasn’t thrilled upon hearing Kristie was pregnant. It made things incredibly awkward for Gray. His uncle was still hung up over the fact Kristie and Gray were cousins. Pamela still blamed him for Kristie’s shooting. She was hoping her daughter would divorce him. Being pregnant wasn’t part of the plan.
“I think they want to spend more time with Megan,” Kristie was saying, not noticing Gray’s face. “I said it was fine. Of course I had to say it was fine.”
“I understand. They’re her grandparents. They’d want to see her.”
Kristie nodded, although her facial expression told Gray all he needed to know. She understood how awkward it was for everyone involved.
They arrived home. January snow fell gently. Gray made sure Megan was warm and snug before taking her out of the truck. They headed toward their apartment. Gray thought that even though Kristie had just gotten out of the hospital, she still looked beautiful.
They had moved again. This time to the complex where Rick and Kass used to live. Kass’s parents and Gray’s own uncle helped out with the rent each month. His uncle said that Pamela helped out as well, but Gray wasn’t so sure about that. In any case, with people pitching in to help pay for a bigger apartment, it meant they were able to live in an apartment complex with much better security. It had two bedrooms, unlike their last apartment where Megan’s room was non-existent. It was all enclosed which made Kristie feel safer, and was nicer than their last place.
They stepped inside and Kristie scooped up Megan, who badly needed a diaper change and a feeding. Gray offered to help but his words were lost on Kristie, who was giggling and cooing over Megan as usual.
As he watched Kristie tend to Megan and looked around their new apartment, he thought everything had a shot at being perfect. He just had to get out of the Devil’s Advocates.
Chapter Two
When Pamela said she wanted to come over to help make dinner, Kristie should have known that meant her mom was going to do everything. She refused Kristie’s help, saying that she was too ill to help in the kitchen. While Kristie didn’t feel a hundred percent in the last few months, she wasn’t an invalid.
But Kristie let her mother take control over the kitchen. Why make an awkward dinner any more awkward? At least her mom and Lionel were here to see Megan. She wanted Megan to see Kass’s parents as often as possible, but it was important that Megan know her grandparents on this side as well. She wanted it to happen – she only wished her mother wasn’t so upset with how Kristie’s life had unfolded.
Kristie was in the living room with Lionel. She could hear halting and tense conversation from the room but avoided going in there. Lionel would never outright say anything against their marriage, but it was always an underlying theme in any topic of conversation. The stress of the dinner made her skin feel cold.
Megan fell fast asleep in her room. Kristie almost wished she would wake up, emitting her loud squalls for the entire apartment to hear. At least it would be something everyone could talk about. But she was silent, almost as if she knew Kristie wanted her to wake up.
Instead, Kristie was sitting at the dining room table, watching her mom cook. She would consider the dinner a success if her mom didn’t bring up the shootings again, of either herself or Rick and Kass. Kristie had resumed her therapy recently, although not as much as she would have liked due to her compromised condition. She was bedridden most of the day, taking care of Megan throughout it.
“Are you sure you don’t need any help?” Kristie asked, fiddling with a napkin.
“No, no, Kristie, you need to rest.”
Her mom was making chicken and pasta. Kristie couldn’t make out the sauce but the scent was making her faintly sick. Almost all food made her sick, making it hard to keep on weight during the pregnancy. I finally get pregnant, of course it wasn’t going to be an easy pregnancy. Kristie rested a hand on her belly.
“Won’t be long now until the baby.”
“Yeah. About two months.”
“I hope you’re prepared.”
Kristie frowned. “I think I know what I’m getting into.”
“True, I suppose. I just meant giving birth isn’t exactly a picnic.” Her mom’s back was to Kristie, and she couldn’t read her expression.
“Yeah. I’ve been reading birthing books but I don’t think I’m strong enough to do an all-natural pregnancy. Like no medication and in a pool of water sort of thing. I’d probably cry for meds at the first sign of pain.”
“Is Gray going to be allowed in the delivery room?”
“Seeing as he is the father, yes.”
“You shouldn’t have too many people in there.”
Kristie stiffened. “He’s the father of the baby, Mom. He’s going to be in the delivery room. End of discussion.”
Her mom dropped it but Kristie felt worked up. She was hoping her mother wasn’t going to bring up anything to do with Gray. She was even hoping, for Megan and her future son’s sake, that she would put that aside and start over. But it seemed as if that wasn’t going to happen. Her stomach rolled and she stood up suddenly, excusing herself.
Kristie managed to get to the bathroom before she threw up. Even though she had been vomiting what felt like non-stop lately, she hadn’t gotten used to it. It made her skin break out in a sweat and she always felt disgusting afterwards. She hoped Gray was having better luck than she was.
***
“I can give you more hours, if you want.”
Gray looked up in surprise. Working at his uncle’s mechanic shop offered a steady income the family needed. The income from the bar was nice but Gray had given up on opening a new one after Rick’s death. It seemed too dangerous and would cost too much to rebuild. The Infernos won that one. The gang had soured toward Gray for not rebuilding it, but he did
n’t care. They would only take it down again.
“Extra hours would be great. But I’d still need some time off after the baby is born. Kristie can’t do all of that alone.”
“Of course not, I understand. If you want the extra hours, I can give them to you. Talk to Kristie first. I know she’s ill.”
Gray nodded, amazed at how well the conversation was going. Pamela came out just then, telling everyone dinner was ready. Gray peeked in on Megan to see that she was still sleeping and then sat down at the dinner table. Kristie trailed out of the bathroom, big as a balloon, looking tense. Her gaze flicked toward her mother and Gray understood. While his conversation with his uncle was going well, the same could not be said for Kristie and her mother.
Gray thanked Pamela for making dinner.
“You’re welcome,” Pamela said tersely in reply as she put down a plate of pasta and chicken in front of him. It looked delicious but it took only one glance at Kristie to see it didn’t agree with her sensitive stomach.
Devil's Advocate: A BBW MC New Adult Romance Series - Book 4 (Devil's Advocate BBW MC New Adult Romance Series) Page 1
