Dion's Redemption

By J.D. Walker

Twenty years ago, eighteen-year-old Dion Doukas did unthinkable things to protect his brother Dimitry, who was born with Down Syndrome. Today, he's still haunted by those choices. The owner of a low-rent apartment building, Dion spends most of his days dealing with delinquent tenants, drug addicts and less than stellar employees. Then he runs into Nolan Flannigan.

Nolan would do anything for his dying grandfather, and Dion, recognizing a kindred spirit, decides not to throw the senior Mr. Flannigan out on the street because of unpaid rent. Despite their rough start, the two men forge an awkward friendship, and Nolan begins to see just how closed off Dion really is ... and that he'll never get through those barriers unless Dion is willing to open up and let him in.

• Language: English
• Publisher: JMS Books LLC
• Release date: Aug 3, 2019
• ISBN: 9781634863483

J.D. Walker

J.D. Walker likes to keep her stories short and sweet. A multi-published author, she is also a musician, artist, and lover of all things knit and crochet. For more information, visit lifebyjo.com/jdwalker.

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Dion’s Redemption

By J.D. Walker

Published by JMS Books LLC

Visit jms-books.com for more information.

Copyright 2019 J.D. Walker

ISBN 9781634863483

Cover Design: Written Ink Designs | written-ink.com

Image(s) used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.

All rights reserved.

WARNING: This book is not transferable. It is for your own personal use. If it is sold, shared, or given away, it is an infringement of the copyright of this work and violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review.

This book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It may contain sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which might be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minors.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Published in the United States of America.

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Dion’s Redemption

By J.D. Walker

Twenty Years Ago

You ungrateful, conniving little bitch. After all I’ve done for you and your useless brother. The sneer on my uncle’s face was as ugly as ever.

I’d stolen a bag of Fritos and gotten caught by security at the grocery store. They’d let me go after finding out who my uncle was—the very same uncle who seemed to think I was still his verbal punching bag at the ripe old age of eighteen. The only reason I ever did petty stuff like this was to annoy the piss out of him, anyway. I knew I’d get away with it. After all, he owned this frickin’ town.

"Oh, I should be grateful, Uncle Pano? What the fuck for? You don’t care about us. We’re an inconvenience. And Dimitry? You treat him like crap just because he’s different. One of these days, I’m leaving this place, and I’m taking him with me. You won’t have a damn thing to say about it, and you won’t be able to stop us." So, I was a drama queen. Believe me, I had every right to be.

Pano Doukas laughed, a cruel sound that always cut through me, no matter how much I wished it didn’t. I’d like to see you try, Dion. You’re just like your father. A waste of space and too weak to do what’s necessary. You’ll never amount to anything, and you’ll never get out of this town, not while I live and breathe. I own you, boy.

You’ll see. I left his study with a swagger, refusing to let him get to me. As soon as I was out of sight, I hurried to check on Dimitry and make sure he was all right. Sometimes Pano’s goons picked on him if I wasn’t there to protect him. Shit, he was just fifteen years old and wouldn’t harm a fly, though he did have a temper, like me. People sucked.

I ran up the wide staircase to Dimitry’s room and knocked on the door. Dimitry? No response. I knocked again, then turned the knob to enter his domain.

Dimitry was lying on the bed, head bopping and eyes closed as he listened to music with headphones. I sat beside him and touched his arm. Hey.