Pushed

by Leah Holt

  PUSHED

  A DARK BAD BOY ROMANCE

  Leah Holt

  Copyright © 2017 Leah Holt

  All rights reserved. PUSHED: A DARK ROMANCE is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Table of Contents

  Copyright Page

  Pushed: A Dark Romance

  Connect with Leah!

  Also from Leah Holt:

  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

  Epilogue

  About Leah Holt

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  Also from Leah Holt:

  CHAINED: A Bad Boy Romance

  HIS PRICE: A Billionaire Romance

  THIRD DATE: A Romantic Comedy

  MY SOLDIER: A Military Romance

  BARE SKIN: A Billionaire Romance

  BODY LOCK: A Bad Boy MMA Romance

  BAD BEHAVIOR: A Dark Mafia Romance

  DIRTY BEHAVIOR: A Dark Mafia Romance

  SWEET VIRGIN

  BEG ME ANGEL: A Dark Romance

  Prologue

  Machi

  “You realize what you're asking me to do right now, right?” His fingers splayed open, jabbing towards my chest.

  Tapping my thumb on the steering wheel, I nodded. “Yeah, Dickhead, I'm fully aware of what I just asked.”

  Sitting back against the seat, Bentley ran his hand across his forehead. “This isn't going to go smooth for you man, it's not. I know we go way back, but I can only do so much to help you.”

  “Trust me, I understand that. But it's not me I'm worried about.”

  Ben dug his elbows into his knees, cradling his skull. “Fuck, Machi, I know you've been through fucking hell, and I'm sorry about that, but this is fucking crazy. I'm not sure this is the way, if we could just. . .” Pausing, he rubbed the sides of his head. “Let me make a few calls, let me see what I can drum up for this.”

  “No, just you, no one else.” Tightening my hands around the steering wheel, I thinned my lips. “It's the only way, it needs to be clean, it needs to go down without a problem. You'll get what you want and so will I.”

  “But what if it doesn't?”

  “It will.”

  “And the money? Where the hell do I get that kind of cash?” Slapping the top of his thigh, he stared at me in wonder. “What if I end up not having enough?”

  “I'll get you what you need, that's not an issue. I just need you to be there—just you. I don't trust anyone else.” Staring him down, I watched him nod with understanding.

  Holding out his arms, his hands bounced around in the air, drawing out thoughts and words, creating a visual for me to follow. “How can you be sure this will work? Fuck, we've been after these guys for years and you show up telling me you can hand them to us on a silver platter? It's never that easy. They haven't made a mistake, they haven't left a goddamn line of piss for us to follow. No one's talking, and no one, I mean no one—” Slicing the air in half, he waved his hand over his lap. “No one will ever say shit about him, we can't find a single fucking person who will even say he exists.”

  “Oh he exists, I promise you that. And you're right, you haven't found them. . . They found you, I found you.” Turning to face him, my brows arched high. “I'm coming to you, I'm going to be the key you need. Two years, it took me two fucking years to get this far, to find them, to get in, to get this close. . .” Pausing, I let my eyes drift back to the windshield. “I know the entire operation like the back of my hand, but I need your help first.”

  “How'd you do it? I mean, all this time and no one suspected anything?”

  “I'm not going to tell you I haven't done things, because I have. I'm not innocent and I'm willing to pay the price for what I've done, but I won't lie, every last second of it was worth it just to end it all.”

  I watched his chest rise and fall as he let my words settle. He knew what I was talking about, I didn't have to spell it out for him.

  What I had to do, it tortured me every fucking night, it ate at my mind like the plague. I wasn't proud of the blood I spilled, but I didn't have a choice.

  When you want something as bad as I did, you do whatever you need to.

  Her life was worth every drop.

  What Ben didn't know was what I still had planned. I wasn't going to have to pay for the girls I smuggled in or the lives I took to rise above the scumbags. My past wasn't going to hang me, only my future would.

  But I couldn't do anything unless I knew she'd be taken care of. For all the revenge that filled my veins and turned my heart to stone, she deserved what I had promised to give her.

  I wouldn't be able to live with myself if she got hurt, if she fell into the wrong hands and was taken away from me.

  “Does anyone else know about this? Does she know?” Shaking my head no, he asked, “What about your mom?”

  Looking down at the small picture resting on my dash, I touched it softly with the tips of my fingers. “Nobody knows, it's too risky. And my mom. . .” Letting out a heavy exhale, I shut my eyes. “She's been gone for over three years now.”

  “Sorry to hear that man, I didn't know.”

  “I don't think I could have even told her if she was still here. I'm so close—too close, to finally ending it all. I'm going to get her justice, she deserves that for what happened, for what he put my family through.” Twisting a small strand of leather on the wheel, I plucked it free and rolled it between my fingertips.

  I hated thinking about my mother and what was taken from her. All the long nights of looking and searching for something that was never going to be found. All the tears she shed and heartbreak she felt, trying to learn the truth.

  She poured her entire heart and soul into getting answers, getting justice. I watched her climb out of the depths of depression and finally come back to life. Letting this go, allowing what happened to fade into the past and be forgotten was something I could never do.

  I promised her I'd finish what she started, and I was going to get her the only answer she ever truly looked for. . .

  'It's over now.'

  Swiping his hand over his mouth, he let his head fall back, lips drawing taut. “I can't believe you did this on your own. I wish you had come to me first.”

  “I couldn't, it wouldn't have worked. That right there would have gotten me killed, they would have found out, and I'd be dead already. Ta
king in one man was risky enough for them, if any word got back to them that we knew each other, that would have been it. You of all people should understand that.”

  “Do you have any idea how easily you could have been killed regardless? If they found out that—”

  Cutting him off, I snapped. “They didn't, they don't have a fucking clue.”

  I lied. They knew, a little birdie had already chirped in their ear.

  But that bird couldn't say a damn thing anymore.

  Nodding, Bentley raked his fingers through his hair. “Alright, so tell me about the girl, tell me everything you can so we can do this right.”

  “So you're in?” Holding my breath, I cocked my head in his direction, surprised he had agreed so easily. I expected more backlash, I thought he was going to rip me a new one for being so stupid and jumping in feet first.

  Bowing his head, a smile perched on his lips. “I've been waiting a long time for this too. I'll probably catch hell for doing it this way, but fuck it.” Rolling his hand, he edged me forward. “Talk, tell me everything.”

  “Her name. . .” Taking in a deep breath, my eyes stayed on the old, faded picture of my sister. “Her name's Imperial.”

  Chapter One

  Imperial

  The street was dark, the air thick and heavy, filled with summer humidity that dampened my skin. Flicking my shirt away from my back, I shook it gently, trying to force a slight breeze inside to cool me down.

  It's fucking hot for being this late.

  Glancing up at the sky, I could see heat lightening in the distance as it flashed against the skyline, silhouetting the mountains in black shadows.

  My sneakers tapped gently across the ground, the sound traveling out through the air like waves riding the wind. Each step reverberated back into my chest, forcing my lungs to shake as I walked.

  I had this feeling settle over me I couldn't explain and didn't understand. My stomach rolled in knots that coiled tightly around my gut making me breathe harder, my hair prickled up off my neck, forcing a chill down my spine; it came in hard and fast, forcing every sense I had to another elevation.

  I could taste the pizza in the air from the restaurant two streets over, I could smell the charcoal of a backyard barbecue and the lingering aroma of burgers. The road was quiet—too quiet, making the chirp of crickets echo and the barking of a solo dog seem to multiply into a ravenous pack of wolves.

  Twisting my head over both shoulders, I looked behind me, gripping the strap of my purse tighter and tugging it up on my arm. I felt like I was being watched, but no one was there.

  There was no sign of life on the road or in the houses and buildings surrounding me. Silence entombed the paved corridor I was walking, while an eerie halo pushed off the streetlights, causing my heart to pound nervously.

  Staring down at the ground, I followed the straight line of the crosswalk, walking it like it was tightrope. Heel to toe, I kept my body rigid, unwilling to step outside the white beam.

  There's nothing to worry about, just get home.

  Without warning, a set of headlights popped on, causing me to stop in my tracks. The car started forward and I just stood in the center of the road as it slowly pulled towards me. I felt frozen, mesmerized by the glowing lights.

  Have you ever been so lost inside your own head you didn't know up from down, left from right; your ass from your forehead?

  That was me, fading out into the yellow and leaning into the white aura holding me steadily in place.

  The lights grew brighter as the car moved closer, the engine roared and died down as the tires crackled with every rotation. Snapping myself free of the trance, I held my hand up, waving in apology and jogging to the sidewalk.

  Shit, Perri, you need more sleep.

  Glancing back at the car, it sat at the stop sign just idling in place. It didn't inch forward to turn, none of the blinkers had started flashing, signaling a direction.

  No one's coming, why don't they just go?

  After a long moment of static motion, it finally moved, turning right. But it didn't pick up speed or cruise past me with a destination in mind.

  What are they doing? Are they. . . No, no they're not.

  Inching along, the engine barely made a sound as it crept silently behind me. Tucking my head down, I picked up my pace.

  Why aren't they leaving? Are they seriously following me?

  Oh my God, I think they are.

  My nerves struck a cord, forcing my heart to beat anxiously inside my chest as a cold sweat started to dampen my forehead.

  Fuck. What do I do? What the hell do I do?

  Thinking quickly, I rummaged around in my purse and pulled out my phone. Holding it up, I pretended I was talking to someone on the other end.

  I should have called the cops, but I didn't; hindsight was a bitch. It mocked me as I clung to the idea that a pretend phone call was enough to keep me safe.

  From the corner of my eye, I watched as the car closed in. Keeping my lips moving, my voice was soft but audible. “Hi, what's up? Yeah, yeah, I'm almost home, just around the corner.” I heard the engine rev slightly as the car lingered beside me, keeping a pace that seemed to match mine. “Mm, hm,” I mumbled to no one, nodding my head in agreement.

  Turning my face to the passenger side window, I tried to look inside, but I couldn't make out anyone behind the glass. The windows were tinted jet black, reflecting just my figure, warping it like a fun house mirror.

  Holding my purse against my chest, sweat started to trickle down my spine as I continued to talk to the imaginary person on my phone. “Yeah, work was good.”

  Are they looking at me? Why are they going so slow?

  What the hell are they doing?

  The engine suddenly sprung to life as the car jerked forward in one spastic pounce. They were gone, speeding ahead and taking a sharp right turn, disappearing as quickly as they had appeared.

  That was fucking creepy.

  Exhaling a sigh of relief, I dropped my phone back into my purse, keeping my head straight and pressing on. Pounding my feet into the pavement, I forced the nerves away, trying to shake off the entire thing.

  It was nothing, probably someone who was lost and then figured it out.

  It's just so quiet, where is everyone?

  Shaking my head to myself, I remembered how late it was. It was almost eleven on a Sunday night, of course the street was deserted. People were probably at home getting ready for bed and preparing for the week ahead.

  I never usually walked home from work or walked alone this late at night to begin with. Most of the time my roommate Cassie would give me a ride if I needed one, but her car was in the shop, so I didn't really have much of an option.

  Hopefully, it wouldn't be too much longer that I had to rely on her as my set of wheels.

  You'll have your own car soon, just a few more extra shifts and you're set.

  Two jobs wasn't exactly how I wanted to spend my summer, but hitching a ride with Cassie was starting to become more of a hassle than anything. She said she didn't mind, except I knew her better than she would ever admit.

  'I don't mind,' in Cassie terms, actually means—'Fine, but don't think I'm doing this forever.' Her subtle demeanor and flat tone was all I needed to see what she really meant.

  Stepping over the cracked and broken sidewalk, I turned up Arnold Ave, only a mile or so from my apartment. Kicking a small rock, I watched it bump and bobble over the heaves in the pavement, rolling to a stop a few feet ahead.

  My apartment wasn't in a bad neighborhood, but it wasn't in the best either. Shit went down around where I lived, most of it minor or domestic between a husband and wife, sometimes a car theft, nothing too crazy.

  But that didn't mean I wasn't careful. Reaching into my purse, I felt the small bottle of mace I had stashed inside.

  Good, still there.

  A deep, muffled grunt echoed out of the alley beside me, catching my attention.

  What the hell was that?


  Stopping short, I stood quiet and listened, staring into the darkness. There was a shuffling sound, followed by yelling that swept between two people. I couldn't make out what was being said, but the voices were angry, teased with hollow rage.

  What's going on? Leaning closer to the sounds, I started forward, then halted to a stop.

  It's none of your business, just keep moving.

  Except my feet kept going, moving closer and closer to the sounds. It was as if I hadn't heard what my head was saying and just absently ignored it.

  Trying to reason with myself wasn't enough to stop me from wondering or make me heed my own words and take my own advice.

  Whatever was going on sounded heated and I was being tugged in the direction of the sounds. Like a moth to a flame, I was drawn in, wanting to see, wanting to know what was happening behind closed doors.

  There were loud crashes, deep groans and heavy grunts. Then it all stopped, a moment of silence embraced the alley. It wasn't a long silence, only a breath or two before someone started speaking again, but that was it, one voice.

  The two voices had stifled, leaving a single growl. One sound, one set of words, just one.

  I have to see what's happening.

  Taking soft steps into the alley, I quietly inched my way over to a window that was lit up bright, where the sounds seemed to be emanating from.

  The words grew in volume as the sole voice dropped an octave, slicing through the thick night air. “You did this! I'm not going to tell you I'm sorry, I'm not going to wish that you had chosen different. It's done. You just said all I needed to hear.”

  Pressing myself against the brick building, I felt the cold stone on the back of my neck as I shut my eyes. It's none of your business, Perri. . .

  A heavy thud ricocheted off the hard floor inside, forcing my eyes to snap open.

  One look, that's it, just one.

  Peeking my head into the window, my breathing stopped completely. If I could rewind time, take back my steps and just continue on my path home. . . I would have.