Cruel Love Read online

  Cruel Love

  Tabatha Drake

  Contents

  Reading Order

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Books by Tabatha Drake

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Reading Order

  While the Killer Love saga follows multiple couples, the books should not be considered stand-alone and are meant to be read in order of release.

  Reading Order

  1. Killer Love

  2. Secret Love

  3. Tainted Love

  4. Broken Love

  5. Mad Love

  6. Cruel Love

  Coming Soon…

  7. Endless Love

  Prologue

  Marilyn

  If you want something done correctly, you must do it yourself.

  You’d think, after all this time, I would have learned this by now.

  Unfortunately, all leaders get complacent sometimes. As soon as they do, the work gets sloppy. Overall quality suffers. Reputations get destroyed. The next thing you know, your entire life’s work is a single spark away from going up in flames.

  But we must never sulk. We must never show weakness, not to our enemies and especially not to our allies.

  We put on a smile.

  We roll up our sleeves.

  We get back to work.

  And if we’re lucky, we remember why we loved our job in the first place.

  The elegant feel of a knife clenched in our palm. The warm scent of blood teasing the nostrils. The satisfying sound of your enemy’s lover in pain.

  The sense of pride in a job well done.

  Oh, how I’ve missed this.

  Chapter 1

  Fox

  It was worth it.

  Every sleepless night in the desert. Every tortured second behind the barrel of a gun. Every bullet taken or fired from my own gun.

  It was all worth it because of this.

  I run my fingers down Dani’s arm, being careful to avoid the bruises still lingering around the gunshot wound on her shoulder. We lie together on my bed with nothing but a cotton sheet draped along our waistlines. My heart races, blood still pounding through me after that last climax. She rests on her side with her back to me, blissfully spent and snoozing in the moonlight. I curl an arm around her and kiss the back of her neck. She sets her hand on mine, entwining our fingers together.

  Everything I’ve done has somehow brought her back to me. I know I shouldn’t be proud. I’ve done awful things, things I’ll never atone for, but...

  Maybe I’ve earned this. Maybe something out there has taken pity on me and granted me this second chance.

  I hold Dani even tighter. Something that powerful could easily take it all away again.

  Over my dead body.

  “It’s so quiet,” Dani whispers in the dark.

  I smile. “That’s why I like it.”

  “Me, too.”

  We listen a little longer to the world outside of our cabin. It’s nothing but wind and cicadas for miles, but that was exactly the whole point. I look out the window beside us and smile at the stars and clouds in the Iowa night sky above Mrs. Clark’s farmhouse.

  It’s pure paradise. Out here, we can forget the past and embrace the future — whatever future we choose.

  But all of that could change after tonight.

  “Stay here with me,” I whisper in her ear.

  Dani doesn’t react. For a moment, I think she’s dozed off, but she eventually turns onto her other side to face me.

  “I wish I could,” she says.

  “But you can,” I say, gently touching her cheek.

  She shakes her head once. “I have to go back, Fox.”

  “Just blow it off.”

  “I’m not the one hurt the most if I do that.” She looks down. “I don’t want to do that to him.”

  I sigh. Contractual obligations. She skips out on those and Bennett’s career suffers. He’s the one still elbow-deep in the Hollywood lifestyle. Dani, on the other hand...

  She likes the quiet now.

  Her father will never see us as anything but a mistake. She knows that, but Dani is mature enough to end their professional relationship... well, professionally. Me, on the other hand...

  Let’s just say I’m not the biggest fan of the two weeks notice.

  I kiss her forehead. “Okay,” I say. “We’ll go back.”

  She touches my chest. Her warm hand lingers on my cobra tattoo for a second too long. “You should stay,” she says.

  “Not gonna happen.”

  “You’re safe here.”

  “But you’re not safe there,” I say. “They found you once, they’ll find you again.”

  “Meaning they’ll find you, too.”

  “I’ve fought for five years to find my way back to you, Dani. I’m not letting you out of my sight again.”

  Somehow, she smiles. “Okay,” she says. “We’ll go back.”

  I kiss her. I wrap my arms around her, holding her close. She rests her thigh on my hip, drawing us even closer together. Ever since she showed up on my doorstep again in that sling, every day has been better than the last. Every kiss, every moment has been one to savor and cling to as long as possible. I’d hoped, foolishly and selfishly, that this would be it. That she and I would find forever out here far away from judgmental parents and dangerous criminal organizations.

  She straddles my lap and I sit up to kiss her again. I relish in the warm comfort of her skin as a cold dread threatens my heart. For the first time in my life, I feel peace. I never thought that’d be possible for me after everything I’ve done, but out here in the quiet, somewhere between her tempting lips and the whisper of bed sheets, I’ve found peace.

  “I love you,” Dani says, our lips brushing together.

  I chuckle. “You stole my line.”

  She smiles. “You stole my heart. It’s only fair.”

  I kiss her. I close my eyes and I let go. I lose myself in her all over again, ignoring the damn black cobra permanently lingering between us.

  After tonight, I might never get another chance.

  Tomorrow, we go back to Los Angeles.

  Home sweet home.

  Chapter 2

  Fox

  Two Months Later

  One more night.

  That’s all we needed.

  Just one more night of red carpet wonder and camera flashes. After this, her contractual obligations were over, and we could start planning our future together.

  Instead, they found us.

  Why did it have to be tonight of all nights?

  My nose twitches as I step into the parking garage, immediately detecting the stench of blood somewhere in the air. I move forward with silent steps, eager to stay one move ahead of the enemy. It’s an old habit. A g
ood habit to have, but my fate was already sealed the moment I stepped inside.

  There’s no point in using stealth against the man who taught it to me.

  I cross the lettered aisles to the opposite side, following the signs toward the theater’s back entrance, just like he told me to.

  A heavy shuffling sound echoes behind a nearby car. I stop and stare at its source until she drops the dead agent’s legs and stands upright with an exasperated huff. She’s dressed in black with her bright red hair tied back in a tight ponytail.

  “Hey, Lilah,” I say.

  She bobs her head. “‘Sup, killer?”

  “Fox—”

  Dani.

  My heart lurches as she races toward me. She throws her arms around my neck and I hug her close while keeping an eye on Lilah as grabs another body and drags it away to hide it behind a different large car.

  “Are you okay?” I ask Dani.

  She pulls back and nods, but there’s fear in her eyes and tears on her cheeks. I curse the moment as guilt plagues my gut. I promised her she’d never feel like this ever again after what Mercer did to her.

  “Did they hurt you?” I ask.

  “No. Well...” She gestures at the hidden bodies. “They did, but not...”

  Not Dante.

  “Hi, Fox.”

  I look at him lingering about ten paces away next to an old sedan wearing just as much black as his sister.

  Dante Hart, the only man I met in Snake Eyes I’d ever consider a friend — in another life.

  I nod. “If this is your idea of keeping distance, then I’ve got news for you...”

  He smirks. “Something came up.”

  “What?”

  “Not here,” he says as he opens the car’s back door. “We should get somewhere a little less public first.”

  I could run. Hell, I could probably get off one shot at Dante before Lilah can react and then lose her somewhere between the cars. But Dani...

  I can’t guarantee her safety if I did that. If Dante wanted to kill her, he would have. Lilah isn’t the type to leave witnesses standing around either. They came here to find me, but not to fight me or turn me in. They killed a half-dozen agents and saved Dani’s life just to talk to me. Something definitely came up and I’m ashamed to admit that I’m curious.

  The best way out of this is to move forward.

  I take Dani’s hand in mine. I look her in the eyes, silently asking for her to trust me as we walk toward the car.

  Lilah grunts as she deposits another body behind a truck. “No, it’s okay,” she says, annoyed. “Don’t mind me, boys. I’ll just finish dragging the bodies around by myself.”

  Chapter 3

  Boxcar

  I hate suits.

  Give me a pair of jeans and a t-shirt any day of the week. Sneakers. A nice, warm jacket. That’s home for me. Most days, I wouldn’t be caught dead in a damn three-piece but when my wife puts her foot down, I have to obey.

  Pretty sure she could kill me with a spoon. Just saying.

  I stare at myself in the mirror. It’s just for one night, thankfully. I doubt Fox and Dani are going to get engaged twice. I guess I’ll have to suit-up again for their wedding, but I have plenty of time to mentally prepare myself for that.

  “Hey, Caleb...” I fidget in front of the mirror in the corner.

  “What?” she calls out from the bathroom.

  “Can you tie this thing for me?”

  “Tie what?”

  “The, uh... the tie.”

  “Yeah. Just…” Her voice falls. “Just give me a minute.”

  I leave it draped along the back of my neck and wander off toward the kitchen. It didn’t take long before Caleb’s loft apartment above her shop felt a little too small. It’s the two of us up here and while I respect her bohemian tendencies, I’m accustomed to a lifestyle a little more... suave.

  I slide onto the stool by the counter to sit in front of my laptop. The web browser is already open to my search of apartment rentals and condominiums in the area. I can’t say Los Angeles is my dream location, but Caleb seems to like it. What the wife wants, the wife gets.

  And yes, just deliberately thinking that in my head weirds me out but here I am.

  A notification pops up at the bottom of the screen. This isn’t unusual. The motion detector goes off every time a damn mouse scurries along the old walls, but I still check every time it goes off anyway. I flick the keys to bring up the live camera display of the hallway, expecting to see absolutely nothing.

  A man stands outside in a leather jacket and jeans. Tall, blond, and British.

  I hop off the stool, moving quietly to keep Caleb from hearing me open the door.

  Archer Allen flinches once before smiling at me beneath a crown of thick hair with that damn fairytale prince smile.

  “Hey, Sparky,” he greets. “You’re looking well. How’s the shoulder?”

  I lean forward. “Barely feel it anymore. What are you doing here?” I whisper.

  He matches my volume. “I need your help.”

  “Help with what?”

  He glances over my head. “Is your wife here?”

  “Yes, my wife is here...”

  “Boxcar?”

  I flinch at the sound of her voice and look over my shoulder toward the bathroom. “Yeah, honey?” I call out.

  “Could you come here for a minute?” she asks.

  “Uh, yeah. Just a second.” I twist back to Archer. “You need to leave.”

  “Right.” He nods. “With you, preferably.”

  “I can’t leave,” I say. “No, I’m not going anywhere. Caleb’s been planning this engagement party dinner thing for Fox and Dani for days and if I skip it, she’ll fuck me up.”

  “Box, where are you going?”

  I bounce back into the apartment to find Caleb staring at me from the bathroom doorway. I gawk at her dress. Tight and black. Come to think of it... I don’t think I’ve ever seen my wife in a dress before.

  Goddamn, she’s gorgeous.

  “Hello?” she asks, slinking backward self-consciously.

  I think quickly for a lie. “Oh, I was just going down to the market across the street to grab another bottle of champagne.”

  “We don’t need another bottle, Box.”

  I scoff, ignoring Archer as he taps his nonexistent wristwatch in my peripheral vision. “I beg to differ. I’ve seen you chug down half a bottle all by yourself. I’ll just be a few minutes—”

  “Yeah... I won’t be drinking that much tonight,” she says.

  I laugh. “Sure, okay.”

  “I’m pregnant, Boxcar.”

  I freeze in the door frame and Archer’s jaw drops. I hop backward, slamming the door closed in his face as I swing back into the room, instantly seeing the small, plastic stick in her hand. A pregnancy test.

  “Pregnant?”

  Her eyes shift from me to the door. “Who’s out there?”

  I step forward. “Nobody. You’re pregnant?”

  “Yeah.”

  “How?”

  Her nose turns up. “Are you really going to make me explain it?”

  “Well, I...” I breathe out. “I know how, I just...”

  She walks into the room, heading straight for the door. “Who is in the hallway?” she asks again.

  “There’s no one out there—”

  Caleb passes me and I groan in defeat.

  She pulls the door open and looks out at Archer’s forced grin. “Archer?” she asks.

  “Caleb!” He happily throws up his hands. “Hello! You... you look ravishing.”

  I poke my head around the door with a furrowed brow. “Really, man? That’s the word you choose?”

  Caleb squints at him. “What are you doing here?”

  Archer hesitates. “I heard the good news!” he says, pointing at the stick in her hand. “Thought I’d stop by and congratulate you. Mozel tov.”

  “You’re Jewish?” I ask.

  “No,” he ans
wers. “I don’t know why I said that.”

  Caleb taps her heel on the floor. “Archer.”

  “Okay.” He holds up his hands in surrender. “I just need to borrow your husband for a few... hours.”

  “Hours?” she repeats.

  “Well, days,” he says.

  She crosses her arms. “Days?”

  “Okay, weeks. A few weeks. Tops.”

  I feel her red-hot gaze on me. I keep my eyes forward at Archer instead. “What’s going on?” I ask him.

  “Doesn’t matter,” Caleb says before he can answer. “I’m sorry, Archer, but Box is a little busy to come out and play tonight. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Archer blocks the door with his foot. “This really can’t wait,” he says, his face turning serious. “They’ve probably already made contact with Fox and if I’m tardy because of traffic I’ll never hear the bloody end of it.”

  Caleb shifts forward. “Who made contact with Fox?”

  His lips twitch. “I’d really rather discuss this with Boxcar...”

  “Archer,” I say, “who?”

  He swallows. “Dante and Lilah Hart.”

  I look at Caleb as her face turns white. She spins on her heel and grabs her keys off the wall. “Box, find out where he is. I’ll put some pants on and get my gun.”

  “See, now...” Archer steps inside and closes the door behind him. “That’s why I wanted to talk to him first. No offense, Caleb, but a fighter’s instinct isn’t what we need at the moment.”