Kassern (Archangels Creed)
Read Kassern (Archangels Creed) Online
Authors: Azure Boone,Kenra Daniels
© 2012 by
Kenra
Daniels.
All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of Azure Boone and
Kenra
Daniels or their legal representative.
Author's Notes:
This book contains explicit scenes of sexual activity between two different couples, both committed to exclusive, monogamous relationships.
Dedications
From Azure:
Kenra
is my sister in Kentucky that I’ve never actually met. And yet
I
know her better than my real sisters. We have gone through it
all
together, hardly just the writing trials. All I can say is
,
we’re two hard headed bitches. LOL. And it’s a darn good thing too, or we
would not
be where we are this day,
nor
where we will be tomorrow. Thank you my lovely friend for all that you do. I love sharing this amazing endeavor with you.
I’ve been married to my husband for 22 years, and I am
pregnant
with my ninth child as we write this first book in an amazing series. To answer the question I’m sure you’re asking right at this point of “how in the world do you find time to write” well, thankfully, my husband insisted we train the kids to be helpful, and so, if it
weren’t
for all these amazing children, I would certainly never have time to write! On top of this, I have a husband who has developed the skill of dealing with his new driven writer wife. God bless him! Actually, it’s one of the reasons I set out to write, to help ease his financial burdens and give him a break, hopefully let him retire and enjoy life and his children, he deserves that after working so long for us and being dedicated.
From
Kenra
:
Azure and I are real life best friends
brought together by our love of writing. Similar backgrounds, religious and political views, and other situations bound us into a relationship beyond mere friendship
, and stronger than sisterhood
.
It's a good thing we're such hard-headed bitches, LOL.
Even if it is long distance, w
e hold each other's hand, cry on each other's shoulder, then hug and get back to work
, so we can celebrate together
.
Along with that amazing relationship
,
we
have worked together so closely and for so long, coauthoring was a natural progression.
Without her, none of my writing would be possible.
Hubby and I have been married almost 27 years at this writing.
We've weathered many storms in our relationship and
have
come out stronger than ever. Through it all, he has supported me in any professional undertaking I chose, including writing.
Now that we're raising ou
r
three very young grandsons, finding time to write is a challenge, and Hubby always helps
out to be sure I
can.
Without his patience and good nature, this book
and all my others
would still be just an idea on a hard drive.
Acknowl
e
dgments
From Azure:
I’d like to acknowledge my husband and children for all they put up with in my efforts to become a successful writer. I’d also like to acknowledge the entire Azurite Street team for all they do and will do for the success of these books.
From
Kenra
:
I'd like to acknowledge and thank my husband for all his help, and for putting up with my preoccupation and neglect of him as I work toward my lifelong goal
of becoming a successful author. Both he and our daughter are great sounding boards for ideas and they can always talk me through serious plot dilemmas. They're both also endless fonts of insane ideas.
Before all they've done and put up with, my parents instilled a great love of reading in me from a very early age.
They encouraged my interest in writing, while reminding me realistically that very few people could make a living at it
.
The Street Team Angels are an amazing bunch of ladies, and they will pay a huge part in making this series successful.
Chapter One
Devyn
Karnes, or
DeVyne
, as she was known at wor
k, scrubbed the half inch of gau
dy makeup off her face. The
shit
looked like it had been applied with a putty knife, especially at the end of the
night
.
It nearly took one to get it off.
She winced when
the washcloth passed over her lower right jaw. The bastard left a bruise when he tried to strong-arm her into his lap. Of course, security had wasted no time showing him to the door, but that wouldn't stop it from happening again. The only thing that could prevent the patrons from trying to manhandle the dancers would be to keep the girls off the floor, and no one wanted that. Except maybe Devyn.
With the makeup gone, she brushed the glitter and
spray
out of her hair and pulled it back into its customary ponytail. One last check to ensure the lock closed securely on her locker, and she was ready to get the hell out of Lucky's Sand Castle.
Dead tired, she shoved out through the emergency door that led from the changing room into the
alley
behind the Castle. The
smell of
piss, puke and other things best not thought about
greeted her
, but it was better than going out the front and fending off drunks.
Even in her comfy sneakers, Devyn's feet hurt. The block and a half to the bus stop seemed like ten miles from just starting out. Dancing and six inch stilettos were not meant for each other. Too bad for Devyn that her floor manager didn't agree. The bitch insisted that, as the new headliner, Devyn had to set an example for the other girls. Like breaking her ankles or neck would do that.
Occupied with her thoughts, Devyn nearly walked head-long into the small crowd gathered on the sidewalk at the end of the alley.
What the hell? Standing on tiptoe, she managed to peer over the shoulder of a man, most likely one who'd recently tucked bills into her G-String, to see what was going on.
In the middle of the knot of people, a clean-cut young man stood, trying to convince one of her co-workers to take his flyer. Krystal refused in her harsh, loud voice and shouldered her way back through the spectators.
Some drunk
-
ass shoved past Devyn and nearly toppled
her
over. A strong hand caught
her
upper arm and steadied
her
.
A quick glance up put her nearly face to face with none other than the clean cut guy, a concerned frown marring
his
handsome brow
. E
arnest, warm hazel eyes gaz
ed
at her
until heat flooded her cheeks.
"Thanks."
Before she could hurry off, he grabbed her arm again.
"Wait!
D
o you work here?" The smooth voice sounded as clean-cut as the man looked.
"What do you care?" Did this guy think he had the right to ask where she worked just because he'd kept her from a face-plant?
"Um… Well, I'd like you to take this." He pressed his flyer into her hand. "I'm starting a mission for exploited women-"
"What do you mean 'exploited'?" Figures, she'd run into some goody-two-shoes who thought she needed saving.
She did, but not that kind.
"Well… See, women who are being taken advanta
ge of." He swallowed hard, Adam
s apple rising and falling in his strong neck. "I mean, um… forced into a life… into doing things-"
"Whores?" Cruel, maybe, but the guy's discomfort refused to be let alone. "You're trying to say whores?"
"Well, that is one word some-" His high cheekbones flushed dark with shame.
"Look,
Sugar,
go back to your Sunday
School
class. You don't belong down here, and you're not going to save anyone." She started to turn away,
then
looked back. "The only thing you might accomplish is getting one of the girls beat to death if a pimp thinks she's considering leaving."
Ignoring the guilty horror on the handsome face, Devyn turned and headed down and across the street, angling for her shortcut to the bus stop. Damn, where did that guy get off? Coming down to the bad part of town like some knight in shining armor to save damsels in distress was one of the stupidest things she'd ever heard of. What a
fucktard
!
Wary of the loose bits of pavement and gravel, she almost jogged through the alley. If she didn't hurry, she'd miss the bus and have to wait two hours for the next one.
Her forward momentum came to an abrupt halt, her left arm caught fast, leaving her in an awkward solo version of Crack-The-Whip. Her chest slammed against a solid surface, knocking the breath out of her. A rough hand sank into her hair and yanked her head back.
****
Troy watched the woman hurry off down the street, his chest heavy with the need to drive sense into a perfect stranger.
Lord, keep her safe. Let your angels protect her. Lead her back to me if it
'
s
Your
will and time.
She disappeared around the building.
That could
'
ve been my mother right there.
Maybe if somebody had made an effort to reach out to her, his own life would
'
ve turned out much different.
Not that he didn
'
t love his adopted parents, he did. They gave him the life his mother couldn
'
t. Well…couldn
'
t because of her dire circumstances, no doubt. Just like that woman
'
s. The familiar litany played through his head, as it always did when he encountered a woman enslaved to the streets.
He shoved the remaining flyers into his back pocket, eyeing the alley she
'
d turned down.
He resisted a sudden pull to follow her,
then
shook
his head. Time he learned how to take no for an answer.
The pull turned into
a spike of
terror
slashing through
his gut
and
Troy ran
after
the woman
.
He might get his ass kicked, but a sixth sense insisted she needed help
and he couldn't turn away
.
H
e entered the alley
as the echo of
a
stifled scream
somewhere
ahead
died away
.
Eyes finally adjusted to the darker shadows, he bolted into a sprint
. Troy
skidded to a stop by two bodies writhing on the ground
against the back of a loading platform
. Shock froze him in place
a
s
he recognized
the poor woman from the strip club
struggling
beneath
an
ox of a man.
