Some people believed rain was a symbol of the blessings God sent us from above. I, on the other hand, would always associate rain with grief. Failure. Deceit.
It amazed—and scared—me how life always managed to surprise us. For better or for worse.
You could live in hell one moment and find out the next love wasn’t just a theoretical concept. You could find a wonderful woman to love, then ruin your family with your own hands.
Some might say it was ironic. I called it cruel.
A bad joke made by the biggest bully we faced: life itself.
I was always a little jerk. Life made me that way, and I embraced it. From the moment I learned what pain was, my path as an asshole was set. I managed to fool a few people along the way that I could be better—I even fooled myself. But our true colors always ended up showing, no matter how hard we tried to hide them.
I was Benjamin Walker for my clients—the Government among them. I was Ben for my closest friends and family. I was
Elle P. Golden
*Romantic Suspense Author*
Elle P. Golden lives in her cocoon, surrounded by books, cappuccino, and ideas.
Writer by passion and reader by vocation, she’s been collecting stories in her head since she learned how to read them.
Now she delivers contemporary romantic suspense books to anyone willing to get away from reality.
If she isn’t working, reading a romance book, or watching suspenseful or comedy shows, she’s daydreaming about the stories she plans on writing someday.
Elle P. Golden
Some people believed rain was a symbol of the blessings God sent us from above. I, on the other hand, would always associate rain with grief. Failure. Deceit.
It amazed—and scared—me how life always managed to surprise us. For better or for worse.
You could live in hell one moment and find out the next love wasn’t just a theoretical concept. You could find a wonderful woman to love, then ruin your family with your own hands.
Some might say it was ironic. I called it cruel.
A bad joke made by the biggest bully we faced: life itself.
I was always a little jerk. Life made me that way, and I embraced it. From the moment I learned what pain was, my path as an asshole was set. I managed to fool a few people along the way that I could be better—I even fooled myself. But our true colors always ended up showing, no matter how hard we tried to hide them.
I was Benjamin Walker for my clients—the Government among them. I was Ben for my closest friends and family. I was
Benny for my best friend. Son of a Bitch for my father. Baby for my woman. I even managed to be Daddy.
But I was Enemy for myself.
As I felt the rain run down my face, mixed with my tears, I cursed life for the debacle I was in. She had her share of responsibility. She was, after all, my biggest bully.
But even I couldn’t hide the fact that the pain I was feeling wasn’t all because of her twisted games and vicious sense of humor.
I was the master of my sea and I was about to sink my ship. Bringing my family down with it.
The truth was, I got cocky. I took one too many chances. I thought I could gamble with life and come out unscathed.
Newsflash: life won.
The place was opulent and not somewhere I’d normally choose. If the food matched the smell, I was looking forward to it, but this wasn’t my scene. I didn’t have a choice in the matter, though.
As I heard the clinking of silverware, I focused my attention on the brunette in front of me. I didn’t remember the last time I saw her wearing these kinds of clothes. She looked marvelous in the hugging-curves black dress. I matched her to the best of my abilities. I chose one of my best pairs of black slacks to go with my also black buttoned-down shirt, the sleeves rolled up to my elbow. Added to that black belt and black shoes, it wasn’t very creative, but I knew I looked good.
The situation called for that.
She gazed at everything around us, her big brown eyes away from my hazel ones and unimpressed by the flashy decoration.
“You look beautiful.”
Free with KU
IZZIE
He was the sexy protector. The man who made me feel complete.
And he was about to become my baby’s father.
That was, if he decided to take a chance on us.
Benjamin Walker was unexpected, and so were the changes he brought to my life. My focus should be on my new business, not the positive pregnancy test that came with the man stealing my heart.
But we had more than caring for a baby to figure out.
Between slaying dragons from his past, trying to close down the drug cartel that was haunting our small town, and fighting against his feelings for me and our baby, I wasn’t sure he was willing to take a chance on us.
BEN
She was the one woman who could save me from me.
The one that turned my life on its axis and forced me to reevaluate what I thought I knew about love.
But having a baby was never part of my plans.
I was my father’s son, after all. A product of hate and viciousness.
If you needed me to face a drug cartel, I was your man. If you needed me to despise the man who tried to eliminate me when I was a kid, you could count on me.
I had yet to learn how to be the man Isabella Turner and our baby deserved, the man who knew how to take chances.
Then I got cocky.
Drunk on her love and acceptance, I took one too many chances and miscalculated the risks my past could bring to our doorstep.
I thought I could gamble with life and come out unscathed.
Newsflash: life won.
COMING ON FEBRUARY 8TH
LISA
He was my new boss.
The older single father whose daughter I was supposed to babysit.
The man that made my days unforgettable. Until his past caught up to us.
Daniel Delgado was a protector, a caregiver. Falling in love with him was as easy as falling in love with his daughter.
He loved with everything he had and he was willing to do whatever it took to protect his loved ones. Myself included. But some dangers couldn’t be fought off.
Between dodging his vindictive ex-wife and going to war against the drug and human trafficking cartel that was threatening us, we might’ve been unable to come out unscathed. Or even alive.
By the end of it all, we had a lot of days we couldn’t forget. Not all of them were good.
DANNY
She was too young for me.
Too free to be tied to my baggage.
She was also too enticing for me to ignore, and soon enough my daughter wasn’t the only one falling for the nanny.
Lisa Specter was more than a breath of fresh air. She was my balm, my peace, my partner for life. She colored my daughter’s face with the same ease she adorned my life.
I couldn’t stay away from her despite my best efforts.
But there were a lot of reasons why us being together was dangerous. My past was coming for us. My job was threatening our lives. My feelings for her were risking our future.
For better or for worse, some days were supposed to leave a mark on our lives. Meeting Lisa was one of the best days I lived. But the dangerous seesaw we called life had surely worked its number on us.
Because the day I watched her life drain right before me?
That was one day I could never forget.