The Dirty Dozen: Damsel Edition

by Kay Maree

  Searching for Jennifer, the first tentacles of fear take hold of me when I can’t immediately find her. I open the walk-in-robe and check the ensuite bathroom. Nothing. The tinkling of glass from the sitting room invades my senses and I make it there in time to see her being dragged through the broken bay window.

  It’s eerily quiet compared to the alarms wailing in the rest of the house.

  Because I had to one up my Nonno and disarm his alarm, they were on the cusp of sneaking out of here with Jennifer.

  Her disappearance will be on my head if I don’t stop this now.

  The two masked men dressed in all black detect my presence. Turning, they point their weapons at me. I don’t care. I’m too busy looking at Jennifer.

  One of her eyes in swollen shut. Blood runs down the side of her face from her hairline. Her blouse is ripped off one shoulder, exposing her lace bra and the bruises covering her upper arms.

  “Angelo,” she pleads. “Help me.”

  The man holding her lets his rifle hang at his side and pulls out a handgun. He presses the barrel against the side of Jennifer’s head and smirks.

  “Make one move and she’ll die.”

  My heart jumps into my throat. The kind of fear that makes me want to piss my pants chokes me. I drop the semi-automatic I’m holding and raise my hands in the air. His smirk grows impossibly wider and he aims the gun at me.

  While he inches backward, I move forward. The second guy trips over a pile of freshly cut roses and it steals both of their attention from me long enough for me to launch myself forward and fell the one holding Jennifer with a right hook to the face. Pain radiates through my broken arm; however, he drops like the sack of shit he is, taking Jennifer to the ground with him.

  Squaring off with the second intruder, I roundhouse kick his semi-automatic out of his hands. Like the others, it’s held by a strap that crosses his body, but the impact buys me enough time to lay a follow-up kick to his face. I straighten, ready to fight for mine and Jennifer’s lives when a gunshot rings out.

  My body jerks to the right.

  Another bang erupts.

  I’m knocked to the left.

  The entire world stops.

  Blackness takes hold.

  I fall to my knees then land on my face on the damp grass in the middle of the rose garden.

  Caught in the silent darkness, I wait for a sound or pain or something to break the unnatural stillness.

  Nothing comes because the black has claimed me.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Jennifer

  Two weeks later

  “Angelo,” I whisper softly in the dark. Sweat drenched with the bedsheet twisted around my body, an urgent panic takes hold. “Wake up. Please. Wake up.”

  The alarm that has me in its grip immediately lessens when a strong arm is thrown over me and I’m pulled into his warm body. Careful to avoid knocking his broken arm, I pull him tighter around me and breathe in his unique sent.

  As always, it both calms and arouses me.

  “Seriously, Jen,” Angelo grumbles. He snuggles into my back. “Go back to sleep. It’s still dark out.”

  “It’s not dark, silly. The shutters you insisted don’t only keep out intruders, they block out all the sun.” When an ache breaks over my heart at my untimely reminder of what happened mere metres from where we lay, I distract myself by announcing, “It’s almost lunchtime. We have less than half an hour before everyone’s here.”

  After kissing the end of his nose, I wriggle out of his embrace. Smiling in anticipation of the sight that’s going to greet me, I tug the sheet off him and wrap it around myself. I flick the switch on the bedside table and look him over.

  This is my favourite part of the morning because Angelo Carlucci in all his glory is a sight to behold.

  Tall, dark-haired and dark-eyed, muscular, and handsome beyond belief. I swear he was made for me. He might laugh when I say it, but I firmly believe he is my reward for finally standing up and taking what I want for my life.

  When he rolls over, I begin my perusal in earnest. The only outward signs of the horror we survived two weeks ago comes in the form of the cast on his arm and the two bandages that cover either side of his broad back. Thankfully, the two shots the mercenary sent by the McMahon’s got off only hit the soft tissue under Angelo’s ribs before the Don ended his life.

  This morning, it’s not the injuries that grab my attention. It’s Angelo. Clad only in his boxer-briefs, the tanned skin that covers his long, lean muscles is all I can see. He’s perfection—in body, mind, and his beyond beautiful soul.

  And all mine forever if I have any say in it.

  When he sits up and stretches, the sparse dark hair on his chest guides my eyes down to the sharp V of his six-pack which then leads to the morning wood I can see the outline of as it strains against the cotton of his boxers.

  “Like what you see?” he asks with a grin.

  Without answering, I try to blink away the blush that begins to rise up my face, then look away. It doesn’t last long. Like a magnet, my eyes are drawn straight back to his chest and down to his erection. Angelo stretches again, groaning a little when his still-healing bullet wounds niggle at him.

  “Stop that,” I command. “You’ll hurt yourself.”

  “Make me,” he jokes.

  I drop to my knees in front of him and slide my arms around his neck. He holds me tight and lowers his head to mine. After kissing him with every ounce of emotion I feel, I lean my cheek on his shoulder and draw circles along his collar bone.

  “How do you think today will go?”

  Angelo yawns before he answers. “I think my Nonna’s plan is solid.”

  Someone knocks on our door.

  “What?” Angelo yells.

  “It’s almost time,” Maria’s lilting voice calls back. “Figured you’d need an early warning before you’re caught together… again.”

  Together, we scramble to dress in our clothes. After exchanging one last kiss, I sneak back to my bedroom. Shutting the door behind me, I press my back against the wood and marvel at the changes in my life since I moved in here.

  Apart from being forbidden to spend time with Angelo without a chaperone, I have complete freedom. My enrolment in psychology at the University of Sydney is complete and I’m waiting for my second semester start date to roll around. I have reached a tentative truce with my parents—one that will hopefully be cemented after the Carlucci’s and the Imbruglia’s sit down today and hash out a peace plan.

  For the first time in four decades, the two mafia families of Sydney are going to agree to coexist without bloodshed and bad blood raining down on everyone who gets in their way.

  I’m proud to say that Angelo and I will become pivotal to the long-term success of that plan.

  “So, Juliet,” Maria drawls from her perch on my bed. “How’s Romeo this morning?”

  I refrain my rolling my eyes, but I can’t keep the sarcasm that leaches into my tone when I quip, “He’s fine… in all the ways that count.”

  Retaking her feet, Maria strides over to me. The tiny pixie gets right in my face. She hits me with her most ferocious look and I do my best to bite back the smile that wants to lift my lips at the contradictory image she presents.

  Tiny but fierce. Loving and loyal. Delicate yet stronger than all of us put together.

  She waggles her finger at me. “I hope you know what you’re doing today?”

  “I do,” I vow, easily.

  “You’re going to keep your word, aren’t you?”

  Stepping around her, I perch on the edge of my bed and pat the mattress beside me. Once she’s sat down, I hug her to me with one arm.

  “Maria, I’m not doing this because of some promise I made you.” I try to keep my voice steady. “I’m doing this because I’m in love with both the black hearted devil he tries to make himself believe he is as well as the honourable man I know he is under all the bu
llshit. I’m doing this because it’s the right thing to do—for both of us.”

  “Okay,” she replies. Pulling away from me, she stands and resumes the arrogant pose she affected moments ago. Finger in my face and a snarl in her voice, she threatens me, “Just remember, if you hurt him, I’ll hurt you. He might think he has a black heart, but I know better. His black heart bleeds easily, and I’ll kill anyone who makes it bleeds for nothing.”

  I hold my hand out to Maria. She drops her finger and takes my hand in hers.

  “Deal?” I ask.

  She nods. “Deal.”

  Tugging me to my feet, she fits herself into my side and slings her arm around my waist. We walk to the door together, pulling it shut behind us and heading back toward Angelo’s room.

  We stop outside his door and Maria hugs tightly.

  “All right, then,” she says with a satisfied, almost smug smile on her face. “You go and get your fiancé-to-be and I’ll get my grandparents butts to the garage. It’s time to meet on mutual ground and cement this alliance, once and for all.”

  She sashays off down the hallway, and Angelo’s door opens seconds later. He holds his arms open and I step into them. We hold each other, then I ask, “How much of that did you hear?”

  “All of it.”

  “You’re still on board with your Nonna’s plan?”

  Angelo hugs me tighter. He kisses the top of my head, then murmurs in his rich, shiver-inducing voice, “Now, I know you’re not my cousin, I’m more than ready to bring the Carlucci’s and the Imbruglia’s together for an over-the-top Italian mafia wedding.”

  Laughing, we let each other go. As we walk down the hallway toward the Escalade that’s going to take us to this make or break meeting, I realise that I feel truly content with the man by my side and his crazy, pixie-like sister. It doesn’t matter whether the mob bosses give us their blessing or not, us three have already created a family of our own.

  I link our fingers together and pull Angelo to a stop before we reach the others. Standing on my tip toes, I whisper, “Plus now I know your secret, I have the best motive possible for making sure they agree to this wedding and set a date not too far in the future.”

  Angelo grabs my hips and presses me against the wall. He nips at my bottom lip, then drawls, “And what motive would that be, my beautiful Principessa?”

  Jokingly slapping at his chest, I retort with as much of a straight face as I can manage, “I’ll show you just how princess-y I can be on our wedding night.”

  When he lowers his mouth to mine, I surge to my tip toes to meet him halfway. We devour each other, the words of love that still remain unspoken being swallowed by the other, until someone behind us coughs.

  “It’s time to leave,” my great-aunt reminds us. “Let’s go, sweethearts.”

  She tries to chastise us with her eyes; however, her approval is clear to see.

  After all, the reason for this meeting is to see her plan to fruition.

  In silence, we follow her to the garage where Maria and Don Carlucci wait. Angelo’s little sister proudly holds her Nonno’s hand and he greets his grandson with a beaming smile. The happiness that shines on his face almost hides the signs of his sickness from us, but to those who know him the stakes are clear.

  On the surface, it seems that Angelo and I are trying to unite two families that have been fighting for far too long. The truth is much harsher than that.

  Don Carlucci is dying, and his dying wish is to see his beloved wife reunited with her family before he goes. His wish would be impossible if it wasn’t for the brilliant mind of his second wife, and only love. She has a contingency plan for everything—my parents and their baggage, Angelo’s parents and their greed, the Imbruglia’s enmity and the truce she desires for her husband.

  Grace Romano-Carlucci’s plan is simple.

  Even the most hardened mob bosses find it hard to stand in the way of true, star crossed lovers when their grandchildren’s happiness is at stake…

  …and once they’re on board, everyone else has to fall in line.

  To be continued…

  I hope you enjoyed this prequel novella to my brand-new series, Black Hearts Bleed. To find out when the first full-length novel, Black Hearted Devil will be releasing, sign up as an Ultimate Insider.

  Available Now by Kylie HIllman

  WRITTEN AS KYLIE HILLMAN

  BLACK SHAMROCKS MC

  (MC Romantic Suspense)

  Seizing Control

  Making Choices

  Seeking Redemption

  Tempting Fate

  Finding Nirvana

  BLACK SHAMROCKS MC: FIRST GENERATION

  (New Adult/MC Romance)

  Conan

  Viking

  Butch

  WRITTEN AS K.A. HILLMAN

  BLACK HEARTS BLEED

  (Women’s Fiction/Coming of Age Romance)

  Black Hearts Bleed (novella)

  WRITTEN AS K. HILLMAN

  (Erotic Thriller/Dark Romance)

  Amnesia

  About the Author

  Kylie Hillman is an Australian author of bloodstained love stories (as Kylie Hillman), gritty contemporary women's fiction/NA & YA romance (as K.A. Hillman), and dark and erotic psychological thrillers (as K. Hillman). She intertwines grit, sarcasm, and romance in all her tall tales.

  Suffering from Crohn's Disease and currently battling her second cancer diagnosis in two years, Kylie keeps busy by over-sharing memes and perfecting her use of snarky sarcasm and inappropriate innuendo. An introvert by nature, she prefers hiding out at home to partying up a storm. Despite her lack of social graces, she does love a good, down-home BBQ, torturing guests with heavy metal, and discussing impolite topics with anyone who'll bite.

  Wife to a Harley riding, quintessential Aussie bloke and mum to two teens, Kylie splits her non-writing time between raising awareness of autoimmune diseases and the lack of funding they receive, reading any book she can get her hands on that includes a good love story and decent dose of bloodshed, avoiding black jelly beans, and lamenting her inability to drink a cup of tea before it goes cold.

  She loves to chat with readers and can be contacted via her Facebook Reader Group (Kylie’s Kollective), her Facebook Like Page, or her website.

  FOLLOW KYLIE HILLMAN ONLINE: Instagram | Ultimate Insider | Book+Main Bites | BookBub | Spotify

  Also by Kylie HIllman

  WRITTEN AS KYLIE HILLMAN

  BLACK SHAMROCKS MC SERIES

  WARNING: This series contains graphic situations and is not suitable for all readers. While this series isn't dark-dark, basically everything that could need a trigger warning is included at some stage. Please consider yourself warned.

  SOOTHING SUFFERING

  Soothing Suffering is an introductory novella designed to give you a taste of the dark, raw, and gritty International Bestselling Black Shamrocks MC series.

  With the woman he loves—the woman he failed— fading away before his eyes, Mikhail “Mad Dog” Kennedy knows he needs to do something drastic to save her. To save himself. If she flinches away from his touch one more time, his guilt-ridden heart is going to shatter into a million pieces.

  Madelaine O’Brien knows she’s drowning. The aftereffects of what happened to her are slowly killing her will to live; yet, she can’t find the strength to stop it. Keeping everything a secret is the only option. Her internal battle to fight off her feelings of contamination and shame is hard enough without needing to explain to the Black Shamrocks MC what really happened with her crazy ex-boyfriend.

  When Mik comes home and tosses her motorcycle helmet into her hands, declaring that they’re going to ride for as long as it takes for Maddi to open up to him, she realizes this is make-or-break. The trip is either going to push their relationship past the point of no return or it’s going to be their chance to set about SOOTHING SUFFERING.

  **only available in the Truth & Treachery Boxed S
et.

  SEIZING CONTROL

  He's already failed her once. Will it happen a second time?

  Only daughter of the volatile President of the Black Shamrocks MC and long-suffering sister to four overprotective brothers, Madelaine O'Brien has survived circumstances that would have broken a lesser woman.

  Mikhail "Mad Dog" Kennedy is her salvation, her reward for continuing to fight, and the matching piece of her soul.

  With her life happy and on track, will the reappearance of the monster from her past be the event that finally breaks her? Or will he be the catalyst she needs to put it all behind her, once and for all?

  They say when life gives you lemons; make lemonade. What happens when life keeps sending you demons who refuse to stay buried? Do you lie down and accept defeat or rise to the seemingly unwinnable challenge, and start SEIZING CONTROL?

  MAKING CHOICES

  He wants her forever. She only wants him for one night.

  From the outside, it appears that Juliette Patrice has the perfect life. Her career is her number one priority, matched only by her desire to fulfil her parent’s enormous expectations.

  Lucas 'Timber' Blake is the Sergeant-At-Arms of the Black Shamrocks MC. A violent man who cares only for his Club and his family, he's wrong for Juliette in every logical way.

  Still dealing with the fallout from the explosive events earlier in the year, Lucas is tested further when Juliette is dragged into the middle of the war between the Black Shamrocks and the Mavericks of Mayhem. A war that's already had fatal consequences.

  Common sense tells her to run. Her emotions compel her to stay. The time has arrived for Juliette to begin MAKING CHOICES.