More Than Forever (Providence Series Book 2) (42 page)

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EXCERPT

Deidre ~ 18
^th
birthday

                
 
As soon as
the clock struck midnight, Deidre was gone. Creeping out the old windows of her boarding school was easy as pie. Climbing the barbed wire fence, not so much. Aside from the cuts all over her legs and arms, she managed to do it.

                  Not looking back, she ran into the street trying to get as far away from the horrible school as she could before they did the nighttime bed check in an hour. Legally, she was free to do as she wished now that she was eighteen; however, her father and the nuns didn’t see it that way.

                  She’d been rebelling against any authority for as long as she could remember. The only people to ever give a damn about her had already left, so what was the point of trying to be accepted? She couldn’t live life for anyone else anymore. It was time for her to take control and do what was best for herself.

                  Since arriving in Lugano, Switzerland a little less than seven years ago, she’d not had a single moment for herself. Every day was planned. Every minute was scrutinized. Maintaining a strict diet and exercise regimen had been expected from the moment she got there. Feeling more like she was being trained for something than receiving an education.

                  What little she had been able to see of Switzerland from behind the confines of the school was stunning. The small city they were in was surrounded by gorgeous mountains and covered in a variety of full green trees. She couldn’t begin to name them other than to know they were beautiful.

                  Lake Lugano bordered the breathtaking city, sharing its eastern shore with northern Italy. That was what she was banking on to be able to exit the country. She’d heard from other girls that had been allowed to leave the school that there were boat taxi’s waiting to take her right into Italy and from there, she could rent a car.

                  The only reason she had any money was because her mam had been sending her some as often as she could, and she had saved every euro since she arrived. By her estimation, she had roughly fifty thousand Swiss Francs. Hopefully enough to get her to Ireland and her ma.

                  She had to wait on going home, though, because she knew her dad would search for her there. The waiting would be the hard part. Her mam didn’t know she was coming, so she might be worried if he showed up there looking for her, but she couldn’t risk him finding her. Something was going on with him; he’d been checking in more and more of late. It was suspicious.

*****

Four months later

                 
Italy was stunning
. The ocean. The sunsets. The villas. It was almost magical, but Deidre’s time was coming to an end. She had stayed longer than anticipated. At one point she even feared her da had found her, but it was her imagination.

                  When she first arrived in Italy, Dee had no idea what she was doing or where she was going. She’d rented a car in Milan under a fake identity her mam had sent her two years ago. This had always been the plan, and without her ma’s help, she never would have been able to execute it the way she had.

                  Since arriving, she’d been more isolated than ever before, unwilling to risk making friends or being seen very often in town just in case her father’s cronies were out looking for her. She stuck close to the isolated beach she was living on, only leaving if it were necessary.

                  When she’d been at the local market one Saturday, she witnessed one of the most heart-breaking scenes of her life:  A young woman having a panic attack or a flashback. She still wasn’t sure which. What she did know was that the person, who’s name turned out to be Kennedy, was one of the most broken women she’d ever met. She felt for her. Knew the loneliness that ate away at them both was slowly killing them.

                  It hadn’t taken long before they realized they lived right next to each other. The need for isolation had them wary at first, but it wasn’t long before they met up on the beach for early morning walks, watching the sun set, and that soon progressed into having lunch together. They talked about frivolous things or nothing at all. Neither wanting to delve too deeply into who or what they were running from.

                  Ken was lucky, though. She had family who cared. Two gorgeous men who came to her rescue at a time when she was ready to give up. Deidre was lonely. So lonely, she had almost risked going home too soon. But first, she had to make sure she was out of her father’s clutches. She was almost home free, too. She’d spoken to her mam that morning and finally got the confirmation that the coast was clear so to speak. That her da’s men had left the area about a week ago, and she could start slowly making her way home. Which was good because she was nearly out of funds.

                  Excitement filled Dee at the thought of finally moving back to her native Dublin. She missed the bustle of the city, the congestion that was too many people and not enough homes. The smoky air. The rolling green fields and mountains. She was ready to go home.

                  A knock on her door pulled her out of her reverie. Figuring it was Ken coming to check on her, she didn’t bother to see who was there.

                  Big mistake.

*****

                 
He’d been watching
Deedee for a little over two weeks now. She was isolated, kept to herself except for her one neighbor, a cute little redhead around her age. He still couldn’t believe the connection they all had. He’d been kidding in London when he saw the Black twins. He hadn’t actually thought they were all so close together in Italy, let alone for nearly the same reason—to collect a woman.

                  Yet here he was ready to call on an old debt. As far as Dominic was concerned, once he brought Dee home to her father in London, she was free to go as she pleased. He wasn’t even certain why Bradshaw wanted to see her, so he’d have to be on his guard while they were there.

                  Bradshaw had his hands dipped in more illegal shit now than he had eight years ago. His day was coming. Whether by Dominic’s hand or someone else’s was what remained to be seen. He’d lived too long and seen too much to let the man go, though.

                  So much had changed since he’d last seen Dee that fateful night so long ago. It took him a long time to realize just how big a part of his life she had played in such a short amount of time. She brought him light and happiness when he was shrouded in a world of gray.

                  After losing her, he’d tracked her down needing to know she was, in fact, still alive, so he didn’t have to unleash the depths of hell on her father for no reason. When he did find Dee in the all-girls school, she’d looked miserable, but they treated her all right, so he’d left her alone. Not wanting to disrupt her life until necessary, he took as many jobs as he could until Brooke...He’d fallen in lust with her so quickly, he still had whiplash.

Brooke had been the sister to one of his new “bosses”, innocent, sweet, and young. Or so he’d thought. Turns out
he
was a job to someone else, and she was sent to dupe him. Get him to flip on whatever faction he was working for at the time. What no one seemed to realize was that he never knew exactly who he was working for at any time. Only the job, the pay, and a contact. It was all he needed to know.

                  He could admit he’d fucked up. Brooke seduced him. Failed her mission and disappeared.

                  Now, here he was four years later with more baggage than he ever thought he’d have at his age.

                  He was ready to go home. Retire. Live out the rest of his days before he was marked.

                  When the door opened, he knew his plans just flew out the fucking window.

                 
When did Deedee grow the fuck up?
He took in her stunning form.

                  “Dominic?” she whispered huskily, throwing herself into his arms in surprise.
Shit.
He should not be having these feelings for her. When the hell did she become so gorgeous? Or grow into a woman?

                  If she kept squeezing him, she was gonna feel something completely inappropriate to their relationship. “Dee, when the fuck you grow up?”

                  A blush covered her chest and slowly went up to her cheeks as she pulled away shyly. Tucking some strands of hair behind her ear, she ducked her head and shuffled her feet. “Why are you here?”

                  A deep sigh left him, knowing that what he was about to tell her, she wasn’t going to like. “Can I come in and talk?”

                  “Oh. Sure.” She stepped back and turned to walk into her small kitchen. He got a good look at her now womanly body and nearly groaned in appreciation. Hourglass figure, tight, toned body only a girl of eighteen could have.
Fuuuckkk!
Eight-fucking-teen. His brain and heart got the message, his dick not so much.
Down you horny fucker.
Clearly, three years of abstinence was a bad idea.

                  Insecurity and worry were written across her face. Knowing he was the cause didn’t sit well with him and realizing he was about to make it worse, didn’t make him feel any better. “How you been, Dee?”

                  “Huh?” She seemed lost. More so than he’d ever seen her before. Granted he hadn’t seen her in over seven years, but a zebra doesn’t change his stripes, and she’d always had a strong personality. “Fine, I guess. Glad to be away from everything.”

                  “Princess…?”

                  Finally looking at him, she seemed to really see him for the first time. “Where did you go?” Her whispered words nearly broke his heart. “Why did you let him take me away?”

                  “Fuck, Princess. There are things you don’t know. Things you might not understand. I didn’t let him take you away; you better fucking believe that.” He needed her to know he didn’t abandon her. He would never have deserted her.

                  “Then why? Do you know what they did to me that night?” The pain and horror on her face, the stark fear that lingered so many years later had him questioning if he’d done the right thing.

                  “Tell me.”

                  She looked at him like he was straight up nuts. As if he had no right to know why she held so much fear in her.

                  “Screw you, Dominic! You lost the right to know anything about me a long fucking time ago!”

                  She was pissing him off now. Did she not know she was his now? He was gonna let her go and do with her life as she had pleased, but now? Now, he had this need to own her. To show her just what he could and would do for her. Starting with destroying her father and any other cocksucker who’d ever hurt her.

                  “Don’t push me, Princess,” he growled, stepping towards her. She shrunk into herself for a second before remembering just how much she used to love pushing his buttons and fighting back. He was glad to see she still had it in her.