Ruin and Rise Read online

  Ruin and Rise

  Sam Crescent and Jenika Snow

  RUIN AND RISE (The Soldiers of Wrath, 4.5)

  Sam Crescent and Jenika Snow

  Published by Crescent Snow Publishing

  Copyright © July 2015 by Sam Crescent and Jenika Snow

  Smashwords Edition

  First E-book Publication: July 2015

  Edited by Editing by Rebecca

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: The unauthorized reproduction, transmission, or distribution of any part of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  This literary work is fiction. Any name, places, characters, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental.

  Please respect the author and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials that would violate the author’s rights.

  Other titles by Crescent Snow Publishing

  The Soldiers of Wrath MC

  Owned by the Bastard

  Bent, Not Broken

  Hard As Steel

  The Soldiers Bonus Story (free story available on CSP website)

  Dead Bastard

  Boxed set (books 1-3+ bonus story)

  Ruin and Rise

  Club Corruption

  Corruption

  Coming soon

  Zeke’s Rule (Beautiful Torment, 1): Fall 2015

  Bound (Club Corruption, 2): 2015

  Sometimes falling into the ruin doesn’t mean you can’t rise from the ashes.

  Shakes and Daniella went through hell to find their happiness, but it didn’t come without a price. To keep Daniella, Shakes had to lose a part of himself.

  Can they really rise from the ashes and not get burned?

  But then Daniella and Shakes’ life gets turned upside down again when an unexpected pregnancy strains the already volatile relationship Shakes has with Daniella’s father, Zeke.

  And where does Shakes’ fate lie with the only family he’s ever had…The Soldiers of Wrath?

  Sam: I want to say a big thank you to all of our readers who love the Soldiers. I always want to say a big thank you to my friend, Jenika; without you, honey, this series wouldn’t be here. Thank you for taking a chance on a friendship with me. <3

  Jenika: Thank you to all the readers that show their support with our stories. We took a chance writing The Soldiers of Wrath, and your continued support and cheering is incredible. To the Crescent Snow Reader Group, you guys are so amazing! Thank you to Rebecca for editing our Solider books. You’re an awesome woman and we are lucky to have your talent. And last, but never least, I want to say thank you to Sam for being my partner in crime ;) She’s an incredible author and friend, and I’m glad we are on this journey together.

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Other titles by Crescent Snow Publishing

  Blurb

  Dedication

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Epilouge

  Sneak Peek of Zeke’s Rule

  Connect with the Authors

  Shakes had chosen to give up what he loved, what he’d bled for, killed for…would have died for. The Soldiers of Wrath had been his family; filled with men he called brothers. He would have given his life, his very last breath for each of those members, but that was before Daniella had entered his life.

  To be with Daniella, losing his patch and cut, getting his Soldiers’ tattoos blacked out, had been worth it. He was proud to have done what he did: staking his claim on Daniella by running, trying to take her from her motherfucking, sadistic, and psychotic father, Zeke. That bastard owned him now, and the fact Shakes had to work for the fucker, watch him try and bond with Daniella, start a fatherly relationship with her knowing damn well he was a pimp, drug dealer, and ultimately a killer, had Shakes on edge constantly.

  But Daniella was the reason that he wasn’t dead right now. If she hadn’t been there, shown Zeke that she loved him, Shakes would have been nothing but blood and brains on the porch of that house. Nevertheless, Shakes would have laid his life down for her.

  No matter what.

  On the run with her for such a short time all those months ago, Shakes would have willingly offered his life to Zeke. Yeah, he’d been wrong to just take her and not give a shit if Zeke threatened Demon’s old lady, Deanna, and their unborn baby. All Shakes had thought about was being with the woman he loved, trying to start fresh with her, and giving her the life she deserved…away from Zeke.

  Shakes would have walked through hell to keep her in his life. Even though he had been ready to lay his life down for her, ready to give up watching her grow big with his babies, and not grow old at her side during all the fucked up times in between, he wouldn’t have changed the outcome of what had gone down.

  He stared at himself in the mirror. He was naked aside from the towel wrapped around his waist. Water dripped down his body, and he lifted a hand and ran his palm over the foggy mirror. As he stared at himself, even all these months later, he saw a man that had never thought he’d be one of those men that would do whatever it took to be with his woman. But Daniella was his, would always be his, and he’d proven that he’d never let her go.

  He stared at the blacked out tattoos on his body, the ones that used to be his Soldiers of Wrath markings. They were no more, not after he was kicked out of the club for betraying his brothers. But that was how it had to be. No matter who an asshole was in the club, if they went against the rules, betrayed that brethren, and put lives in danger, that was it.

  It fucking sucked; that wasn’t a lie. When he was booted out, he’d lost a part of himself, a part he’d never get back.

  Turning away from the mirror, he stood in the doorway of the bathroom, stared at the woman that meant more to him than even his own life, and knew she was worth it. She’d always been worth and always would be.

  After turning off the light, shucking the towel in the corner, he slipped into bed with her. Covering them up, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. She’d taken a shower earlier; he could smell the soap on her.

  His dick hardened instantly, his balls drawing up. He wanted her, wanted to fuck her, shove his dick so far, so deep and hard into her he didn’t know where she began and he ended. Yeah, fucking cliché and shit, but it was the truth.

  He’d just gotten off work as security detail for her father, Zeke, and the idea that he had to work for the bastard had Shakes always on the brink. Yeah, the asshole was trying to mend things with Daniella, have an actual relationship with her, but the fact was that he was still a dark and twisted individual. However, Shakes loved Daniella, he had to put up with all the bullshit that came along with it. But again, it was worth it. He just wished he didn’t have to see her father every single fucking day.

  He smoothed his hand over her side, loved when she moaned in her sleep, and couldn’t contain his own groan. He didn’t want to wake her, but he needed her, needed her softness, her sweetness, to wash away the shit he’d seen while with Zeke. The asshole’s strip clubs were BDSM clubs that catered to wealthy, high profile men. There were also beatings of men that had fucked with Zeke, ones that Shakes had to stand guard, watch, and witness. He wasn’t a stranger to violence, and he sure as fuck had dealt with plenty of it h
imself, but that didn’t mean he wanted to be Zeke’s bitch lap dog and watch him beat a man while wearing a pair of brass knuckles.

  Pushing everything else away, he focused on the sound of Daniella’s breathing change, felt her body tense before relaxing, and knew she was awake.

  “I missed you, baby,” he said against her ear, whispering in the darkness.

  “I missed you, too,” she said and rolled over so that she faced him. The shirt she wore was his, oversized, sagging in the front, and giving him a prime shot of her big, glorious tits.

  Shakes started kissing her, stroking her mouth, lips, with his tongue, loving that she moaned, gasped, begged for more. He moved his mouth down her chin, over her neck, and started working on the top of her breast. He loved the taste of her skin, all sweet and addicting.

  “I want to fuck you, baby. I want my dick in your pussy, getting you off, making you cum all over me, soaking the bed, baby.” He started kissing her again, and when he was about to push her onto her back, she moved an inch away from him. “What’s wrong?”

  She didn’t answer right away, and then she sat up. “I’m going to be sick.” And she was off the bed, in the bathroom, and heaving over the toilet.

  She wiped her mouth after brushing her teeth, and turned around to see Shakes standing in the doorway, a worried expression on his face. He’d come in and held her hair for her while Daniella had thrown up. She was tired, her head hurt, and she was still nauseous.

  “What’s wrong? You coming down with something?” He asked and came back into the bathroom, pulled her into his arms, and just held her. Yeah, she was coming down with something, just not the flu.

  After letting him hold her for a few minutes, because honestly she needed it, she pulled back and stared into his face. He lifted a piece of hair away from her forehead, smiled down at her, and she knew this would be something that would either have them moving forward with their lives, or have things spiraling downward.

  “What wrong?

  She swallowed, looked down at her bare feet, and knew she needed to just say it. But she couldn’t form the words, instead she turned and opened the bathroom drawer under the sink, grabbed the little white and blue stick, and showed it to him.

  “I’m pregnant.”

  Daniella glanced over at her man, her husband, as he took a seat on the toilet. She was so damn nervous. It had been several months since they’d gotten back from being on the run, and things were starting to settle down, but life still wasn’t perfect for them, not by a long shot. The tension between Shakes and her father, and that of the Soldiers had been near the breaking point. It still was with her father.

  There were times she watched her father, and she was sure, he was planning to kill Shakes. It’s why she visited him regularly, to remind him that he’d lose her if he hurt the man she loved—the father of her baby. Pressing a hand to her stomach, she took a seat on the edge of the bathtub. Biting her lip, she tucked some hair behind her ear as Shakes pressed his hands together, looking at the floor. Even from where she sat, she saw the black ink where he’d had his Soldiers tattoos taken off. Every time she saw it, she was consumed with guilt.

  “Have you told your father?”

  “No.” It was one thing allowing a man to live with his daughter. Zeke knew she was having sex, but he didn’t have to confront that truth. Once he found out she was pregnant, Daniella didn’t know how he was going to handle it.

  “It needs to come from me.”

  “No, it should come from both of us,” Shakes said with determination.

  “If he flies off the deep end, I don’t want you there,” she said.

  Tears filled her eyes. This was why she didn’t want to have to deal with her father. Daniella would have been happier running away and never coming back. Although they had done that once, they had been found. They’d risked hell just because they wanted to be together, and this is where they’d ended up to make that happen. Not many women have to go through these kinds of things.

  Whatever Zeke was making Shakes do, it was changing him, making him darker, scarier at times. She saw the truth burning in his eyes, but she couldn’t reach him.

  “But I can’t do this without you, Shakes. If he flies off the deep end, and something happens to you, I don’t know if I could live with myself.”

  Shakes let out a harsh laugh. “Shit life we’ve gotten ourselves into, isn’t it.”

  Going to her knees, she cupped his face, and finally let the tears fall. This wasn’t the life she wanted for either of them. “Please, let me handle this.”

  “You’re my woman, Dani.”

  “I know. I’ll always be your woman, but I’m his daughter. He will not hurt me. I know he won’t.”

  “He’s a monster, Dani.”

  She took a shuddering breath in and continued to cry. Shakes caught her face and wiped the tears away.

  “I know he’s a monster. I don’t know what you’re going through with him. I love you, Shakes, completely, with my whole heart, and I’d do anything for you. In all the time I’ve been with Zeke, he has never hurt me. He has done everything to protect me, even if it’s been in his screwed up way.” She pressed a kiss to his lips. “Even after all the awful things you’ve witnessed, you’ve got to see that I am safe with my father.”

  “I don’t like it.”

  “I know, baby. I know.” She banded her arms around his neck and held on tight. No one should have to find excuses to stay alive. Their earlier arousal had vanished. Shakes picked her up in his arms and carried her to bed. Sex was out of the question now, not after the dark conversation they’d just had. They simply held each other tightly.

  Daniella bit her lip as she waited for her father to finish with his meeting. She was in one of the strip clubs that she wasn’t supposed to know about but did. She knew a lot of stuff about her father that neither Shakes or her father realized she knew. She was good at keeping secrets. This situation with her father and Shakes was tearing them all apart. A part of her still didn’t trust Zeke, but she couldn’t live without Shakes. That was the only reason she was here.

  Hearing a feminine moan come from inside her father’s office, she clenched her teeth. It was disgusting listening to her father having sex. No one knew she was here, and Shakes was working somewhere else today. She hated this, hated being here. Everywhere she turned, she saw naked men and women. Glancing at her watch, she saw it was a little after ten. Running her hands down her legs, she rolled her eyes at the sounds.

  “Yes, harder, Zeke, you’re so good, so good.” The last was said on a loud scream.

  She almost threw up when she heard Zeke groan. It had been so much better when she didn’t have a clue what all of those moans meant. She shuddered and held her breath as the door opened. A slender blonde wearing only glitzy underwear came out of the office. Zeke followed her out and froze when he saw Daniella.

  “Dani,” he said.

  “I can’t believe I just heard all of that.”

  “What are you doing here?” Zeke asked, his tone as hard as steel.

  “I wanted to talk to you.”

  “How do you even know about this fucking club? How the hell did you get up here without security stopping you or letting me know?” he asked, looking angrier.

  “I know a hell of a lot about you, and it’s not hard getting past the guys you have guarding this place. They seem more interested in the naked women walking around than someone like me.” She walked past him. “I need to talk to you.”

  “Does Shakes know you’re here?”

  He closed the door, and Daniella took a deep breath. “No, but he knows I was planning to talk to you.”

  “Does the pussy need his woman to stand up for him and fight his battles?” Zeke asked.

  She dropped her purse and glared at him. “Don’t ever say that kind of shit about Shakes. He’s not a pussy. He’s a man and the love of my life. A pussy wouldn’t have fought for me because he loved me more than anything else.”

>   “Dani—”

  “No, you don’t get to Dani me. Shakes is a good man, and you’re trying to turn him into a monster. Why are you trying to take him away from me?” Daniella couldn’t stand by anymore. “You’re not going to win this. I’m in love with that man. I love him with all my heart and soul.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I don’t want you to be sorry. I want you to think about what the hell is going on, and to stop punishing him for that,” she said.

  He went to embrace her, but Daniella pulled away. She wasn’t interested in hugging her father.

  “Dani,” he said.

  “I’m pregnant.” She spoke the two words loudly and only once; she didn’t want to repeat herself.

  “What?”

  “You heard what I said. I’m not going to say it again. You’re going to be a grandfather.”

  Zeke walked past her, heading toward his desk. She watched as he lowered himself into his chair. “You’re going to have a baby?”

  “Yes.”

  She remained standing as she looked at her father. He looked shocked.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  “I always knew this day would come; I really thought I was going to be ready for this shit.”

  “This isn’t your choice. This is my life, and I can’t wait to have this baby.”

  “Does Shakes know?”

  “Yes, he does. He wanted to tell you himself, but I thought it would be best if I come to you,” she said, finally starting to take a seat. She paused. “Did you screw her in this seat?”

  “No.”

  She lowered herself down and stared across at her father. Daniella saw why he had such a bad reputation. There was something so menacing about him, and at times, he did scare her. But he’d never once raised his hand at her.

  “I don’t want anything bad to happen to Shakes. I want this child to have its father, Dad.”