For the Taking Read online

  He saw the tear tracks down her face, and anger flooded every single pore of his being at the fact she was hurting. There was a bruise on her face, a fresh one. All of the others had been close to fading.

  This was new.

  Anger, rage, and above all else, the need to hurt, to torture, washed over him.

  “Now this reminds me of another time and place.”

  “Riley, kill him,” she said.

  “Now I seem to recall a certain wife of yours. You really can’t keep them in line.”

  “I didn’t talk or leave the apartment, Riley. He came for me,” she said.

  “Shut up.” David gripped her around the neck, silencing her.

  Seeing her struggle for breath, Riley brought his weapon up, ready to take out David, but he lost his shot and his chance as he hid behind Meghan. The cowardly bastard was using her as a shield.

  He couldn’t get to David unless he shot Meghan.

  “Ah, this is so touching. He can’t do it.”

  “Kill him, Riley,” Meghan said.

  She was crying and trying to put a brave face on it.

  He still held the gun, ready to take out David.

  “Riley,” Stephen said. “Don’t do it.”

  “You want to kill him. You want your revenge for killing his wife. Please, do this. Please. I promised you I could handle this. Please. Kill him.”

  There was always a risk with shooting someone of killing them. If he missed, if he did something stupid, and shot her in the wrong place, he could kill her.

  “You won’t kill me, Riley. Shoot him.”

  And if he missed, and shot her in a place that killed her? She had faith in him, but he knew shit went wrong. To not be able to have her in his life anymore, to hold her, to smell her scent on his pillow, or in his arms—no, he couldn’t do it. There were a lot of things he could live without, but Meghan, she wasn’t one of them.

  Slowly, he lowered the gun.

  “Now, isn’t this touching? I have to say I should have known. He has a thing for weak women, and he made the wrong mistake.”

  Suddenly, Meghan had a knife in her hand. It was the small pocketknife that he’d given her, and told her to use it to protect herself. It was an old thing, the first one he’d ever used. Clearly, in their race to get her to him, they didn’t check her body, just took her. She slammed the blade behind her, embedding it in David’s flesh, then ducking and giving him the perfect shot.

  Riley took it. He didn’t wait around.

  Two bullets.

  One in his chest, the other in his stomach. He drew his gun and pointed it at the guards before stepping up to David, who was on the floor, dying. The guards didn’t do anything, simply stood there, watching, guns raised. He finished the two guards off without them getting a chance to shoot him.

  Staring into his face, Riley looked the man who had taken everything for him, but in a twist of fate, he’d found so much more.

  He held his gun, steady, firm, and shot a single bullet between the eyes, killing him.

  Dropping the gun to the floor, he rushed toward Meghan, cupping her face. “What the fuck happened?”

  “He charged into the motel room. I didn’t know he was there until it was too late. I couldn’t stop him. I’m so sorry.”

  “I love you,” he said. “I fucking love you, and there’s no way I would ever let anything happen to you.”

  “You love me?”

  “There’s no way I will ever kill you, Meghan. I don’t know what you did, but I don’t want to die. I want to spend my life with you.”

  “This is all very touching, but could you please let free the guy who has been tortured for a long time?” Stephen said, groaning. “It’s really starting to hurt.”

  Meghan laughed, and together they helped him up.

  “There, that’s not so bad,” Riley said. “How did they get you?”

  “Fuckers ambushed me outside of my practice. Thankfully, they didn’t go near my family. They’ll be okay. I’ve got to get to them.”

  “You’ll be fine,” Riley said, looking at the cut on his neck.

  “Yeah, I remember the good old flesh wound. My wife is going to love the new scars.” Stephen shook his head. “I’m going to need a ride. I’ll give you two a couple of minutes.”

  Stephen limped toward the exit but didn’t leave. He gave them enough distance to be alone.

  Riley cupped her face. “No one will ever hit you, or take you like that again.” He stroked his thumbs across her face.

  “There’s something I need to tell you.” She took his hand and placed it over her stomach.

  “You’re pregnant?”

  She nodded.

  “Why the fuck would you let me shoot you?” he asked.

  “Because I knew you wouldn’t hurt me, not really. I wasn’t thinking. I found out about the baby, woke up in the trunk of the car, and the next thing, I’m being used against you. I only wanted you to get what you wanted. To finally kill the man who caused you so much pain.” She gripped the back of his neck, pressing her head against his. “I would never do anything to harm our child. I love you so much, Riley. I’m trying to hold it together now and not freak out. I’ve never done anything like this. I think I’m going crazy.”

  He smiled. “You can’t be willing to get yourself shot on my account. That stops, today.”

  “Already done,” she said.

  “Good. I’ve got to call Buckle. He’ll come and clean up the mess.”

  “Riley, does this mean you have to take his place?” she asked.

  “Someone has to,” Stephen said. “What? You know it as well as I do. There will always be someone willing to take his place. It’s why he has been around so long. It’s up to you, what you decide. I bet Buckle will be more than happy to help you.”

  Riley couldn’t think right now. All he wanted to do was take his woman, make love to her, and above all else, take care of her.

  He made the call to Buckle, and the other man promised him they would meet to discuss what happened next.

  “The only thing that is happening next is I’m going home. I’m taking my woman with me, and I’m going to marry her,” Riley said, hanging up.

  “Marry me?”

  “Yes.”

  “You haven’t even asked me,” she said. “You can’t assume I’ll want to marry you.”

  He raised his brow.

  She rolled her eyes. “I don’t know if I want to get married.”

  “You love me, and I love you more than anything. Marriage is the next best thing.” He winked at her. “You and I both know it.” He put his hand on her stomach. “And for our baby.”

  “You’re not mad?”

  “About what?” he asked.

  “The baby?”

  “No, I’m not mad. I should have known. I’ve never worn a condom with you. I just wanted to feel you, nothing else.”

  She smiled.

  “Guys, I’m still here. You can do your whole love stuff when I’m not around. I really want to go and hold my wife. Also, if you get married, I will totally be your best man,” Stephen said.

  Riley chuckled. “Come on, let’s go and get him home. He won’t stop moaning until he gets what he wants.”

  He walked out of the warehouse as the cleaning crew arrived.

  Holding his woman, he helped his best friend into the passenger seat of his car, followed by his woman beside him. He let her go long enough to climb behind the wheel, taking her hand once again when he was inside.

  He was never letting her go again.

  After ten years, he’d finally found love, and he wasn’t going to let anything happen to her. She would only know love and pleasure, and he would do everything he could to take care of her.

  Epilogue

  Five years later

  “I don’t need you at all, but from the looks of these pictures, you need me. Especially if you think of running for office any time soon, which I’ve heard you have. Do not make threats to me b
ecause I can make sure your life is ruined,” Riley said, standing up to let the pompous asshole in front of him know he was done here.

  There was no reason to linger, and he watched as the man dressed in his overly priced suit stormed out. The leverage he had gotten over the man who threatened to shut down the club had bought his silence, and also made him step away from removing the strip club he’d just recently acquired.

  He didn’t like hypocrites.

  “Sir, your wife is here,” Amanda said, coming to the office door. Unlike his predecessor, Riley chose to spend most of his time at his office in the city where he dealt with his legal businesses. Buckle wasn’t wrong in someone needing to take David’s place when he was gone.

  Riley had stepped into the role with ease.

  He’d terminated all of David’s previous business ventures he didn’t agree with. Some of them had sickened him, and he’d made sure a couple of cops he knew weren’t on the payroll got the information on the kidnapping and selling of children. He’d changed a lot of things from the pimps on the streets, his drug trades, and of course, the clubs.

  All of it, he’d turned around.

  Some of them legal, others not so much.

  He knew he had to make sure all the darkness was contained and didn’t spill out into the streets. It’s why he kept a tight grip on everything, not allowing a single person to step out of line, or to even question him.

  Buckle was part of his team, and together, they had been able to clean up the mess David caused.

  “Daddy!”

  Riley smiled as his little angel ran into the room. He picked her up and smiled at his wife. Meghan looked radiant as ever, and tired.

  He pulled her into his arms, holding both of his precious girls.

  “Hey, baby,” he said, kissing her cheek.

  Meghan rested her head on his shoulder. “Hey, she wanted to come and see her daddy before we headed home.”

  “You know that is more than okay. My two favorite girls here for me.” He blew a raspberry on his daughter’s face and gripped his wife a little tighter. She was five months pregnant with their second child.

  They had been married for four and a half years. He’d married her heavily pregnant with Bethany. Meghan wanted to name their first daughter after the wife he lost. He had promised her, he was no longer in love with Bethany. She had a piece, a tiny piece of his heart, but his love was for Meghan and always would be.

  “Come on, let’s go home.” He had to take care of his wife. The doctor had said this pregnancy was proving to be a little difficult and she needed to rest.

  “Riley, you don’t need to worry about that. I’m fine.”

  “Excellent. I’m cooking tonight, and we’re having a family game night.” He put Bethany down, and she let out a squeal. “There’s a bar of chocolate with your name all over it. Go and get it.”

  Bethany ran off toward his desk, and he held his woman.

  “Look at you, being the bossy businessman,” Meghan said.

  “I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for you.”

  “You’re stronger than you realize, Riley.”

  “No, you make me the better man. You’ve given me a chance at a second life, and it’s one I’m taking, because of you.” He cupped her face, kissing her lips.

  Bethany did a yuck sound, and he laughed.

  “I love you more than anything. All of this, it could disappear, and I wouldn’t care. All I want is you, Bethany, and our baby. Our family. It’s all I need to be happy.”

  “Now I’m going to cry.” She wrapped her arms around him, and he held her as best he could with her heavy stomach in the way. He loved it, loved feeling her.

  This was his life.

  His love.

  His family.

  And he wouldn’t change it for the world.

  The End

  www.samcrescent.com

  Other Books by Sam Crescent:

  www.evernightpublishing.com/sam-crescent

  If you enjoyed this book, you may also like:

  Dominic’s Touch by Jenika Snow

  Blaze by April Zyon

  Witness Protection by Stacey Espino

  EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING ®

  www.evernightpublishing.com

  BONUS SAMPLE CHAPTER

  TAKING HER INNOCENCE

  Killer of Kings, 1

  Sam Crescent & Stacey Espino

  Copyright © 2017

  Chapter One

  “You think you can handle it?” Boss asked.

  Viper stared out across the parking lot. A lot of shoppers were milling around today, going about their own pathetic lives, believing they were the most important thing in the world.

  None of them had any idea that one of the world’s deadliest killers was amongst them. He was part of an elite group of mercenaries. He killed for the money. Whoever offered the highest bounty, he took it. He never asked questions, and he never cared about the people he killed. This was a job to him, something he was good at.

  “Why can’t I handle it? Send me a picture of the girl. I’ll do the rest.”

  “She has to die of natural causes.”

  Viper snorted. “No problem.”

  He had one month to find a woman, and to end her life. Piece of cake. He had lots of ways of killing a woman, and this would be no different.

  “Deposit the money, and I’ll call you if I need more.” Viper whistled as he made his way toward the car. He put the groceries in the trunk, got behind the wheel, and waited.

  Her picture came through his cell phone, and he stared at the girl in question. She couldn’t have been older than fifteen, but from what Boss had told him, she was nearly twenty-one years old, and had been on the run for nearly six months. Curious.

  The picture showed her cuddled up next to her mother, and she looked happy. Pepper was chubby, her cheeks looking like the kind you could pinch, and grandmothers cooed over. Boss had given him all the details over the phone. Viper didn’t do paperwork, reading, or worrying about something being tracked.

  He memorized everything. All the little details were up in his head, and that was where they would stay until the job was gone.

  Viper didn’t know why the woman in question, Pepper, was running, and he really didn’t care. The moment Boss called him and gave him an assignment, he did it. Now he just needed to figure out where she was staying.

  Good news for him, he had a special guy who owned equipment that could find him this woman. Leaving the grocery store, Viper made his way across the city toward the guy who he knew would hook him up.

  Whenever he was in between jobs, he would always stick around where his people were so that he didn’t have to worry about endless traveling. Working for Killer of Kings was rather lucrative. They were a company known for getting the job done. Nothing was too much, no job too hard. He had traveled all over the world to do what needed to be done, from killing people, to fucking women, to even rescuing people. If the price was right, he would do anything.

  From a young age, younger than any child should ever have to deal, he had been taught to hunt, to kill, and to do it without feeling a damn thing. There were scars on his back that all bled together that reminded him a past he wished he could forget. When he saw children with their parents, for a split second he felt envious, jealous that they could be having a wonderful life, a better one than he ever had. Of course they were having a better life than he had. None of them had ever gone through the hours of pain or the training that had made him one of the deadliest men on earth.

  Parking his car outside of one of the shittiest apartments in the city, he made his way toward his contact, Maurice. The guy was thirty years old, a slob, but damn good when it came to computers. He was the only one who gave Viper the facts without giving him files thick with writing and shit. Viper didn’t want to be studying. Cold, hard facts were what he was after, and he didn’t need paperwork that could be traced.

  Maurice lived on the top floor. He was a tall, skin
ny man who wore big, thick glasses. Banging on the door, Viper waited, and when Maurice opened the door his shirt was covered in ketchup and mustard stains.

  “I’ve told you to change,” Viper said, entering the room.

  “Yeah, well, I didn’t think I’d see you for a couple more weeks. You usually take time off. Why are you back after just a week?” Maurice asked.

  The apartment was littered with debris. Only the sitting room, the place where all the computers and equipment were set up was spotless.

  “You need to get a cleaning lady,” Viper said. He hated mess.

  Mess equaled mistakes.

  He was clean, efficient, and he didn’t have anything to leave behind. Even his apartment where he stayed during his vacations didn’t hold any personal mementos. Not that he would ever have those. Mementos would mean caring, and that wasn’t what he did. He didn’t have a family, a past, nor would he have a future.

  “Cleaning ladies touch stuff, and I know where everything is.”

  Viper looked around the apartment. “It stinks.”

  “So? It keeps everyone out, okay? This is my mess. My problem. Not yours. What do you want?” Maurice asked, shoving his glasses up his nose.

  “Fine.” Viper handed over his cell phone. “Get me everything on her.”

  “Do you have a name?” Maurice asked.

  “Pepper. I want everything on the face though. You’ve got your computers that can track CCTV. I want to know where she was last seen.”

  “This could take a while.”

  “Don’t care. I can pay.” Viper moved into the sitting room and took a seat. It was the only place he was willing to park his ass while he waited, and there wasn’t a chance in hell he was leaving until he got what he wanted.

  Something was bugging him about this assignment, which was strange because he usually didn’t care. Swift, efficient, done. That’s what he’d always been about.