and drag Luke down the stairs, needing to get to my daughter.
“Mommy, your face is wet,” Luke tells me.
“Mommy’s a little tired. We’ll get some food when we get to the hotel.” I smile.
“Good, I’m hungwy.” His dimples peek at me. Glancing away, I focus on finding Lilly.
Jax has her in his arms. Brance is standing next to him, watching.
I sigh with relief. Brance is right—I do have to pull myself together. Taking the last step, I let go of Luke’s hand and let him run to his uncle.
Slowly I make my way to them. Jax has both of them in his arms and kneels down so that he is on their level. Lilly is talking nonstop and Luke is crawling on his back.
“Hey, Jax.” I give a him a sad smile when he looks up at me. His turquoise eyes look tired.
“Tess.” He stands, taking Luke with him on his back and picking up Lilly. She squeals with delight, happily wrapping her arms around his neck. He looks away from me, focusing on Lilly and Luke.
“So…” Brance yells over an airplane taking off. Luke looks up at the plane, his eyes so alive with knowledge.
“Tess and I are going to take Luke and Lilly to the hotel and get checked in,” he informs Jax, who ignores him and continues to play with the twins.
Frowning, I say, “Jax?”
And then I know. Dread like a deadly snake slithers up my spine.
Jay opens the back door of the Bentley. Fear takes over my body. I’m frozen. This can’t be happening. I’m not ready.
I know why Jax is ignoring me, concentrating only on his niece and nephew.
I don’t have to look over to see him. I can feel him. That pull, like a magical string that never fully snapped. My eyes swing to Jax’s, my mind still trying to absorb that he is going to know. Frantically I snatch Lilly out of his traitorous arms. But Luke is still on Jax’s back.
“Tess… I warned you. Tried to reason with you.”
I want to scream. Instead I snarl, “Give me my son, Jax.”
“He’s fine, Tess. Relax.” His voice is completely calm.
“You promised,” I hiss. “Now give me my son!”
Jax’s eyes lock onto mine. “I never promised. It’s over, Tess.” As he swings Luke around, he hands him to me. I put one on either side of my hips. Along with my bag and their backpacks, I wonder if I’m going to topple over.
“Mommy?” Both Luke and Lilly look scared. For the first time in my life, I don’t let fear control me.
Fuck this!
I’m their mother and I will do anything to protect them. “It’s okay, babies. Mommy’s got you!” I kiss their dark curls, holding them so tight Luke is making a face. I hear Brance swearing; Jax is holding him back.
Turning around to face my enemy, I stand frozen and blink at the face that has haunted me for more than three years.
Reed!
To Be Continued…
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The Disciples Series
Lethal
Atone
Repent
The Entitled Duet
The Entitled
The Enlightened
Lethal
Blade McCormick is not a nice guy.
He’s pure adrenaline and smells like smoke and leather—the kind of guy you look at and know he’s going to be a combination of nasty and irresistible. The moment I allowed myself to touch his hot skin and kiss his full lips, I. Was. Done.
Like currency, I’ve become part of a transaction. Blade took me to pay off a debt. I try to tell myself, Eve, you should hate him. He’s a bad guy. But then again, I’m not a good girl. Blade’s the president of the Disciples, the notorious motorcycle club. I should be frightened, yet somehow, he doesn’t scare me. If anything, I think I scare him.
It takes a lot of work to become the club’s Queen, but I’ll stop at nothing to have the King!
Atone
I don’t apologize or regret the destruction I’m about to cause. I’m at peace with what I must do… nothing can or will stand in my way. Not even the raven-haired beauty with golden eyes who haunts my dreams.
No one is innocent in the story of my life. Fairy tales don’t exist!
I. Make. No. Excuses.
Everyone needs to atone, and I’m the man who is going to see to it.
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NEWSLETTER www.cassandrafayerobbins.com
First, I have to thank my wonderful husband Mark. He has supported and loved me even with all my craziness for years. I’m just so happy I got drunk on margaritas and said yes! To my incredible children who think I’m the best mom in the world. Best kids ever! To my brothers Chris, Duke, and Jake, I’m so lucky to have you guys. To Dahlia Narvaez, my sister-in-law. Not only did you let me read to you constantly, you were my food guru. To my dad, your support and love mean everything to me. I love you all so much.
To my incredible editor, Nikki Busch. Your guidance and ability to smooth out my sentences—and let’s not forget removing my commas—is a feat in itself. I loved The Entitled from the beginning, and you turned it into something I’m extremely proud of. Thank you. My cover designer, Michele Catalano, you are a true artist. Thank you for creating pure magic and for capturing Tess and Reed so perfectly.
To the Next Step PR Services, all of you are unbelievable. Thank you! Colleen Oppenheim, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate everything you do—so lucky I found you. To my best friend Jean and her fantastic husband Richard: Jean, your support, endless patience, and help with all my writing can’t be expressed. To Bex Dane, your knowledge astounds me. Not only are you a great author, but your help is unbelievably appreciated. Naomi Springthorp and Auden Dar, your good energy and help were amazing. To my betas—Ann Marie, Regina, Annie, Debbie, and Sarah—I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart. Love you guys.
I want to give a big thanks to our Minnesota family. I couldn’t ask for a better cheerleading squad, and it means the world to me. Connor, your videos are fantastic! I can’t wait to do more. To all my friends on Facebook and Alessandra Torre Inkers, I literally learned how to self-publish from all of you. To all my friends I didn’t get to mention, if you are in my life, you’re important. To my mother, Alma. She installed in me the joys of reading and was the greatest woman I know. She was more than my mother; she was my best friend. I miss her every day. I know this book would make her proud. My last thank-you is to you, my readers who bought this book. I hope you enjoyed it. I loved writing it and can’t wait to carry on with this duet.
Cassandra Robbins is a USA Today, Amazon Top 100, KDP All-Star, and international bestselling author. She threatened to write a romance novel for years and finally let the voices take over with her debut novel, The Entitled. She’s a self-proclaimed hopeless romantic driven to create obsessive, angst-filled characters who have to fight for their happily ever after. Cassandra resides in Los Angeles with her hot husband, two beautiful children, and a fluffy Samoyed, Stanley. Her family and friends are her lifeline but writing is her passion.