Crossroads 5: Show Me What Love Is (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)
Page 1
Crossroads 5: Show Me What Love Is
Bethany Rigallo only knows pain. The first man she thought she loved and who claimed to love her back, did so with fists and cruel words instead of kisses and care. She's fought hard to get through those times, and knows she's all alone in this world when it comes down to it. She doesn't trust easily. It's easier to face life alone than to feel the pain of heartache and disappointment.
Despite all the tragedy in her life, she still has a big heart and somehow has made some friends while establishing a career. But once she meets the Cummings men she starts to wonder if they can show her what love is, or if they'll hurt her just as badly as her ex.
As the lovers' pasts cross, it soon becomes a race against time to save her from death once again. Can she dig deep enough to find that last bit of fight in her to survive?
Genre: Contemporary, Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Romantic Suspense
Length: 57,053 words
CROSSROADS 5:
SHOW ME WHAT LOVE IS
Dixie Lynn Dwyer
MENAGE EVERLASTING
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting
CROSSROADS 5: SHOW ME WHAT LOVE IS
Copyright © 2016 by Dixie Lynn Dwyer
E-book ISBN: 978-1-68295-005-0
First E-book Publication: January 2016
Cover design by Les Byerley
All art and logo copyright © 2016 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
If you have purchased this copy of Crossroads 5: Show Me What Love Is by Dixie Lynn Dwyer from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.
Regarding E-book Piracy
This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.
The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.
This is Dixie Lynn Dwyer’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Dixie Lynn Dwyer’s right to earn a living from her work.
Amanda Hilton, Publisher
www.SirenPublishing.com
www.BookStrand.com
DEDICATION
Dear readers, Thank you for purchasing this legal copy of Crossroads 5: Show Me What Love Is.
May you enjoy Bethany’s story as she learns to trust again after feeling so much heartache and pain. After she promised herself she would never let down her guard because of her belief that love doesn’t really exist, and she continues to live with a wall around her heart and a fear of trusting men. Despite her fears, and her need to protect herself as well as her heart, she finds out firsthand how powerful true love is.
Happy reading.
Hugs!
~Dixie~
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Epilogue
About the Author
CROSSROADS 5:
SHOW ME WHAT LOVE IS
DIXIE LYNN DWYER
Copyright © 2016
Prologue
“Holy crap, we did it. We fucking did it,” Miguel said to Angelo Rigallo as they headed out of town with the duffel bag of cash. Angelo was wiping his brow after pulling off the knitted facemask he’d used as a disguise.
“I wasn’t sure we would get out of there alive. We were lucky that skullhead Loot was high,” Angelo told him.
“Well, that was what I was counting on when I thought of this plan. Holy fucking shit. We’ve got fifty thousand dollars in cash. Loot’s got no loot now.”
Miguel started laughing, but Angelo felt sick to his stomach. This was over the edge for him. Petty larceny and putting some small beatings on people who owed loan sharks money was one thing. Tonight they’d ripped off a fucking well-known drug dealer, Ferdinand Figaro, and it was a different story, but Miguel had ensured that no one would ever find out.
“So, we should split up and head in different directions. I’m going south. Gonna visit my cousins in Key West. How about you? Maybe head north to see your sister you’re always so worried about?” Miguel asked.
Angelo took a deep breath and released it. He leaned his head back against the headrest.
“Maybe. If she’ll talk to me.”
“Oh, she’ll talk to you, when you tell her you’re well-off, that you have twenty-five thousand in cash to invest in some kind of business. You can probably invest in something there.”
“Oh yeah? Like what?” Angelo asked.
“Well, the cold weather is here, and it’s nearly the end of November. Maybe some fucking snowmobiling shit or something. A little ski lodge, maybe, and you can hook me up with some sexy hotties when I come visit in the summer. ’Cause you ain’t gonna catch my ass freezing in Upstate New York this time of year.”
Angelo chuckled.
He hadn’t spoken to Bethany in a year. The last time they’d talked, he’d needed money for bail, and they wound up in a fight again about him growing up and going legit. She didn’t get it. She’d gone to college, paid her whole way herself, and had even gotten a job and made friends. He wasn’t so lucky. He and school didn’t mix well, and hard-labor work for shit pay was for fucking grunts. He was a big guy, too. A lot of loan sharks called him up for jobs, and it was a decent living, but it wasn’t consistent, and hanging with all the big shots all the time and watching them order what they wanted and throw down hundred-do
llar bills like singles was hard to not be influenced by. He wanted that life.
Especially after the shit he and Bethany grew up with. Hell, she wasn’t going to talk to him, not after he’d left her to fend for herself and get knocked around by that dick, Curran. He’d gotten his, the dumb fuck. Angelo might not have been able to kick his ass and send him to his grave after he put Bethany in the hospital, but eventually, with Angelo knowing the right people and spreading the right bullshit, that had gotten the son of a bitch fucked up good.
Angelo wondered if Curran ever got out of jail or out of debt from his cousin Cristano. If not, then Curran would owe him for life. No one got away with double-crossing Cristano Chicatiro, even though they were blood. Business came first.
“Hey, she’ll talk to you, and things will work out. And, listen, I’m going to meet up with that guy I told you about. The one who can do cash investments and double, even triple, returns on the cash. If you want in, let me know and we’ll work out a way for you to get the money to me.”
“We’ll see. I think I’m going to try and straighten my shit out and see how far twenty-five grand can take me.”
“Don’t spend it all in one place, brother. Be smart and lay low.”
“You got it.”
A few miles up the highway, Miguel pulled over to a bus station.
“Good luck,” he said to him, and they shook hands and gave one another a slap on the back.
“Be careful,” Angelo replied.
“Always, brother. Always.”
Angelo grabbed his share of the money, placing some into the bag he had and some in his pocket. He gave Miguel one more smile, knowing there was a possibility that they would never see one another again. They had been friends for years, and Angelo would do anything for him, just like Miguel would do for him.
He headed inside to the bus station, looking for the next bus heading north. He could get a ride into Portland Place and then get things set up before he called his sister Bethany in Wellington. He was pulling himself out of the city and hitting the country. God help him, but he had no choice. If he stayed in Boston after ripping off Ferdinand, then he was as good as dead. Maybe Ferdinand would never figure it out.
* * * *
Bethany Rigallo was looking through the clothing racks along with Suzette and Lacey. She was trying to find something sexy and classy to wear to Friday night’s corporate event in the city. She really didn’t want to go, but she had no choice. Her boss, Ross Harris, insisted that she attend in case questions came up pertaining to the new advertising campaign for Montgomery Shaw Financial Group that she’d come up with and developed, even though he had taken credit for all her hard work and her creative ideas.
She was getting tired of it and really wished she had the finances to run her own advertising firm, but she didn’t have the finances or the guts to do it. Besides, did she really want to deal with all the bullshit? Her ideal job would be working for someone who actually gave a shit and was thankful for her hard work and creativity, but it was getting hard to be creative when no one was even saying “thank you,” or “job well done,” or even “hey, here’s a bonus.” The only reason why she was going was because Ross hinted that it was going to be a great night for them, and that a few new potential clients would be there and he wanted her on the top of her game.
She exhaled as she looked at a long, navy-blue dress that didn’t do a thing for her.
“Bethany, if you’re so adamant about going and dealing with your boss, then go,” Suzette told her as Bethany stood there and stared at her.
Suzette knew her well. Bethany never backed down from anything, or anyone, for that matter. She’d fought to get out of the projects in the city for ages and then worked her way through high school and college. If she’d survived Curran Duveoux, then she could survive anything. She felt the chill run over her spine. A lot had transpired in seven years. She could handle one spoiled, rich scumbag like Ross Harris.
“It’s not that I’m adamant about going because of Ross. It’s just that I’m getting tired of being used. I’ve dedicated the last three years to this business and his firm. I have no social life, I’ve worked so hard, and I’m not even getting any credit for it, whether in a thank-you or a financial bonus.”
“Well, you should confront him on it. Tell him exactly that. You want a bonus if he’s not going to give you official credit for your ideas and success. Play a little hardball, Bethany. Otherwise, if it bothers you so much, you should consider looking for a different job,” Lacey told her.
“She says that because she would love to have you work with her at the store. You can handle advertising and meeting with potential clients, and she could sit back and design away, and go shopping out of state, or even out of the country,” Suzette teased Lacey.
Lacey’s mouth gaped open, and she gave Suzette a little slap to her arm.
“I am not. Besides, I have Stone as a partner in the business.”
“Yeah, no thank you. I wouldn’t want to walk in on you guys doing it in the back room or in the storage closet,” Bethany replied sarcastically, and Suzette chuckled.
“Hey, we don’t have sex all the time at the shop,” Lacey replied. Suzette laughed.
“That’s what happens when you’re dating multiple men. They want sex all the time, and you have to improvise on locations. Right, Lacey?” Suzette said and winked. Lacey chuckled.
“I wouldn’t know anything about that, or even about sex with one man. I’ve been working since before high school,” Bethany replied.
“But you’re not a virgin. You know what you want in a man, and you just haven’t found him yet, but you will,” Suzette said to her.
“Listen, I’m not interested in meeting any man or getting romantically involved with anyone. I’m trying to survive and keep fighting, but you know, the fighting is getting old. The getting knocked down and having that will, the determination, to stand back up and fight some more is really growing old. I don’t know what I’m going to do. I hope this isn’t just another stupid function. Like, maybe something positive could come out of it.” Bethany shuffled through the rack of designer dresses.
“Hey,” Lacey said, and she gave Bethany a smile. “You know what I think?”
Suzette looked at Bethany and gave her a smirk. Bethany hid her chuckle. Lacey was going to give one of her pep talks. At this point, Bethany wasn’t sure anything could get her motivated to go to the dinner party.
“Come here,” she said to her, and Bethany slowly walked toward Lacey. She turned her around to face the mirror.
“Look at yourself. I think you’ve been hiding for so long behind your work, your stresses, your responsibilities, and the need to not fail so long that you don’t even know how perfect and special you are.”
“Lacey.” Bethany lowered her eyes, feeling uncomfortable. She didn’t like to look at herself. Every time she did, she started to pick apart the things that were wrong with her, the things Curran had told her as he beat the crap out of her and put her in the hospital for weeks.
“No. Look.”
She insisted and Bethany did. “Look at your gorgeous green eyes. Women pay to get colored contacts to have eyes that you were born with and that only belong to you. And your skin? Perfect, soft, and clear of any blemishes or anything. I have to order skin products galore, and I still don’t have such perfect skin.”
“And your hair. It’s so long, soft, and naturally wavy, in a color almost jet black, yet there are highlights of red tones in it, too. My hair frizzes in a flash and looses its luster and shine when I over-process it,” Suzette added, smiling as she let some strands of Bethany’s hair slide through her fingers. Bethany stared at her reflection in the mirror.
Bethany felt the tears hit her eyes.
“You’re stunning, you’re smart, you have your master’s, and you have that creative ability that separates you from the rest. You have a perfect personality, are sweet, kind, and empathetic, yet also a hard worker and fighter whe
n you need to be.”
“Those are assets, just like this perfectly sexy body that completes the whole package,” Suzette added.
“So, you’re going to go to that function, you’re going to be confident and gain a bit of attitude, and you’re going to knock the socks off of Ross, get it out there that you’re the creative mastermind behind the advertising promotions and ads, and kick some corporate ass, all while those men drool over you wearing this.” Lacey brought a dress around between Bethany and the mirror.
“Ooohhh,” Suzette said.
Bethany widened her eyes, felt the excitement of their words, their encouragement, and the sight of the dress inspired her to be strong and to fight for herself. She absorbed the gorgeous, champagne-colored bodice, which was low-cut, designer, classy, and would accentuate her large breasts but also her thin waist. She was muscular from the hiking she enjoyed when she had the chance on Sunday mornings.
“It’s you,” Lacey whispered, and Bethany looked at her and Suzette through the reflection in the mirror as tears filled her eyes.
“I love you guys. You’re all I have in this world, and I don’t know what I would ever do without you.”
Lacey wiped the tears from her eyes, and Suzette started bawling as she pulled out tissues.
“Go try on the dress before we make a huge, embarrassing scene here.” Suzette blew her nose.
“Too late for that,” the female clerk chimed in from the nearby rack, smiling, appearing to have shed a tear as well.
“Hurry up. I have got to see what you look like in that dress. It was made for you,” the clerk said, and Bethany, Suzette, and Lacey laughed as Bethany hurried into the dressing room.