Eternal Temptations (The Tempted Series Book 6) (53 page)

“We have a son,” she cries into my chest.

“Dad, would you like to cut the cord?”

I lift Reina’s head from my chest and press my lips to hers.

“Thank you,” I whisper against her mouth. Two words.

I wink at my wife and turn to the doctor, taking the scissors from his hand and cut the cord. They clean him, wrap him tightly in a blanket and place him into Reina’s waiting arms. I move to stand beside her and lean close to them. He’s perfect, absolutely perfect.

“Welcome to the world, Daniel,” Reina tells our boy, rubbing the tip of her nose against his tiny one. I watch as mother and son bond for the first time and I feel a pang in my heart, the familiar dull ache for the boy I lost.

Don’t you worry Jack; your old man won’t ever forget you.

I bend my head and press my lips to my son’s bald head and stare into his precious face, watching as he yawns and struggles to open his eyes.

“You,” I whisper to him as his eyes flutter open and he stares back at me.

I don’t know how long the three of us stayed like that, wrapped up in each other’s arms blocking out the rest of the world, but I wouldn’t have minded staying like that for the rest of my life. The doctor had a different plan though, insisting they take Danny to the nursery as they moved Reina into a regular room. I guess it was a good thing they kicked me out or else I would’ve forgotten all about the people in the waiting room

’ve done a lot of shit in my life, committed a ton of sins and probably don’t deserve to be smiling like I am, but hell if it doesn’t feel good. I push the doors to the waiting room wide open and watch as every pair of eyes turn to me.

My daughter.

My right hand, best friend and future son-in-law.

Grace Pastore.

Her two daughters.

Michael Valente.

Anthony Bianci.

Riggs and his Kitten.

The three new brother’s patched into my club.

My family.

Every person in this room is mine. They are all Property of Parrish.

“It’s a boy,” I beam as the smiles spread across their faces.

Together we mourned and now together we’ll rejoice.

We buried one of our own today but gained another.

God works in mysterious ways, he makes sinners become believers.

My boots pound the pavement of the seedy motel’s parking lot. I can’t wait for the construction to be complete on the clubhouse. I don’t know how the fuck Stryker and the boys have been living in this fleabag motel for the last five months.

Resolving to fix their living conditions, I shake the thought from my head and focus on the reason I was pulled away from Reina and our son at four in the fucking morning. Just when Danny started sleeping through the night the phone rang and Stryker’s frantic voice filled my groggy head.

I didn’t know what the fuck he was saying at first but then he calmed down and told me he found the girl he’s been banging in an alley way. I’ve been too wrapped up in my own life to pay much attention to my brother’s but after placing a quick call to Wolf I found out the girl, Stryker’s girl, isn’t just some tight piece of ass he hustled pool with, nah, our boy Stryker opened a whole fucking can of worms I tried real hard to bury.

I don’t know what the fuck goes on with my men but they love that mobbed up pussy.

“Parrish,” the cocky voice greets me as the man it belongs to steps out of the Maserati.

“Spinelli,” I sneer.

“I’m surprised you called,” he says, unbuttoning his suit and sliding a hand into the pocket of his tailored pants. Vic would be proud, his little protégé is fitting the bill of a mob boss. “But I’m happy you finally came around.”

“I didn’t call you here to break bread,” I say, tipping my chin to the dingy motel. “One of my brothers found something that belongs to you.”

His eyes narrow suspiciously as I lead him to the room Stryker occupies.

“What could one of your men have that belongs to me?”

“Your sister,” I reveal, closing my fist and pounding it against the door. I don’t have to turn around to know the air deflates from his lungs, I hear it.

Stryker pulls open the door and I take in Satan’s soldier. I knew the minute I met the veteran turned biker, he was a force to be reckoned with. I pity the motherfuckers overseas he took down, almost as much as I pity the man responsible for the look in his eyes now.

“Where is she?” Rocco demands from behind me. I watch as Stryker’s cold eyes turn to him. Stryker crosses his arms against his chest and barricades the door, sizing up the gangster before he turns that glare back to me.

“What the fuck is he doing here?” He hisses.

I open my mouth to explain when a guttural shriek sounds from the motel room. Rocco shoulders his way past me and grabs a hold of Stryker’s cut. Shoving him out of his way he enters the room and runs to his sister’s side.

Stryker moves to lunge for Rocco but I reel him in by pulling on the back of his cut.

“Get off me,” he shouts.

Forcefully, I tug him back, my patience wavers as I lean over his shoulder and clench my jaw as I hiss the words that come out of my mouth next.

“That woman wrestling her demons in your bed is Rocco’s sister.”

So much for Satan’s Knights steering clear of the mob.

Here we fucking go again…

The Satan’s Knights are back in

no·mad [ˈnōˌmad]

NOUN

a member of a people having no permanent abode, and who travel from place to place to find fresh pasture for their livestock.

a person who does not stay long in the same place; a drifter, a wanderer, a roamer, a loner.

COMING SOON

Drifter

Wanderer

Roamer

Loner

Blackie and Lacey’s happily ever after continues with
Joyful Temptations
and will be featured in the
Christmas in The City II Anthology
.

(Available now for pre-order)

&

The Sacrifice Series
beginning with

Rocco Spinelli in
Sacrificing his Soul

&

Pipe’s story in a standalone novel titled –
From the Ruins

Wow. Just wow. It seems like yesterday I was saying goodbye to The Riverdale Series. I remember being scared as shit to delve into my next book. Originally, Illicit Temptations was going to be a single novel. Then you wanted Anthony and Adrianna’s story. After that, you wanted to know Jack Parrish and I was terrified to write his story because the MC genre is huge, there are so many talented authors who OWN that genre—I didn’t think I could do it justice. Then Riggs came to life and he brought out the humorous side of my writing. All the while, Blackie was festering inside my head, demanding his story. The Tempted Series was born and I couldn’t be more proud of these six books. Or grateful.

This series, in a way, saved me. You—my readers, took a very dark time in my life and brought the sunshine.

On March 11, 2015 my life changed. A pin punctured my “perfect” life and sucked the air right out of me. I had a choice to make: fall to pieces or pick up the pieces and move forward. At my lowest point, I turned to words and embraced an unexpected detour. I dug my heels into the Tempted Series and wrote six novels in a year, totaling over five hundred thousand words. What once was just a check on a bucket list became my saving grace.

It’s taken me a long time to accept that my life has changed and if I’m being honest there are days when I still don’t want to move forward, days when I want to rewind the clock to before March 11, 2015 but then I think about how far I’ve come in a little over a year…how I found my strength again and found it within my own words.

With that being said, there is a long list of people that have been standing behind me, cheering me on. People whom support me both personally and professionally starting with my parents. I can spend whatever time we have left in this world thanking you for every single thing you’ve done for me, for all the times you helped me rise up and face the challenges of life and still it wouldn’t be enough. I am blessed to have the both of you in my corner and writing this book, this particular storyline—well, it broke my heart because I truly would be lost in this world without the both of you.

I want to thank my children for being patient little boys. I imagine it isn’t easy being the children of an author—watching your mom write every single day, wondering what the hell she’s doing and why she’s not sitting on the floor playing army men with you. One day I hope you look back and realize that mommy was pushing herself to be better role model for you. I hope one day you are proud of my accomplishments and understand you were always my driving force. For now, I’ll keep trying to explain, I’ll take time in between words to jump on the bed and build forts. We’re a team and one day when you’re chasing your dreams, your mommy will be standing in shadows cheering you on and pushing you to climb those obstacles just like your grandma and grandpa taught me to. I love you, Joseph and Paulie, so much.

Jennifer I don’t know how I would’ve gotten this far without you. We were just two sisters-in-laws who loved to read. You resurrected my passion for books and provided all the support I needed to make a dream become a reality. We had no fucking clue what we were doing when I wrote Pieces, we were riding on passion and a prayer. Together we grew, put all our focus and determination in learning the ins and outs of the Indie community. There are still lessons to be learned, but we discover them together. Thank you for all you do on a daily basis for me from emails, to conference calls—teasers, formatting, promotions—I couldn’t do it without you. I can’t wait to see where we go from here. Next year we will be the official hosts of an author signing—how the fuck did that happen? Whatever happens I know we’ll always have this bond and that means everything to me. Thank you for loving these characters as much as I do and for investing as much of your time as you have.

Kristin, I’ve said it a hundred times and at the risk of sounding like a broken record I’ll say it again—God didn’t give me a sister because he had a bigger gift in mind for me when he gave me a choice and allowed me to choose my own. I picked you thirteen years ago and if I had the choice to choose again—I’d still pick you. Thank you for being a shoulder when I need one and for all you for my children.

Jackie, my friend and my muse—you’ve been supporting me throughout this entire journey and when you tell me you’re proud of me I know you’re being genuine and only want me to succeed. That means so much coming from the girl who has it all together. I don’t say it often but I want you to know I’m proud of you too and am blessed to have you as a friend.

To my loyal temptresses I wish I could hug each and every one of you and thank you in person for everything you do for me. You are more loyal than some of my blood and that’s the truth. You like my posts, read my work, promote my success and lend an ear when I need to vent—and together Janine’s Land of Temptation became part of my family. I respect your friendship. I treasure it and I’ll never understand why you took a gamble on a girl you don’t know but I’ll always be grateful for your big hearts and the trust you put into my words.

The beautiful gem that drives the success of indie and traditionally published authors are bloggers. You wonderful people are the reason our books find the hands of readers. You are the people who feed our palms and without you this community would be in ruins. The industry itself should be dedicated to each and every one of you. Thank you for all your efforts in pushing the Tempted Series into the community.

I’ve promoted five books with help of Indie Sage LLC and have met so many new bloggers and readers because they were willing to take me on when others shut the door in my face. Mia, I love working with you and look forward to all the future books we will share with the community.

Trish Bacher, a friend who gave me honest feedback and helped me see the error of my ways. With kindness and knowledge, you helped polish my words and I like to think I am a better writer having had the privilege of working with you. We will meet one day—whether it’s on my soil or yours I’m not certain but I am sure we’ll both be rocking killer heels.