For the Taking

By Sam Crescent

Ten years ago, Riley Lord lost everything. He watched his boss murder his pregnant wife in cold blood for a stupid mistake. Left for dead, Riley vows to kill the man who took everything from him—and intends to die in the process.

Meghan Short doesn’t want to get tangled up with one of the most dangerous men in the city. When she rejects him, she knows she has to skip town. She makes one mistake and is taken, beaten, and being prepared for much worse when Riley comes to her rescue. He saves her. Helps her. Then of course, he leaves her. It’s the story of her life.

When someone is sent to kill Meghan again, Riley is there. He couldn’t walk away from her. He was supposed to. His life wasn’t meant to have complications, but ... now he has Meghan to protect. He was supposed to die to get his revenge, but Meghan has gotten under his skin, and he can’t imagine living without her, let alone dying for someone else.

Will Riley kill the person who took from him, or finally find peace and love with the woman willing to risk everything just for him?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Evernight Publishing
• Release date: Oct 8, 2019
• ISBN: 9780369500694

Book preview

EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING ®

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2019 Sam Crescent

ISBN: 978-0-3695-0069-4

Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

Editor: Karyn White

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

FOR THE TAKING

Sam Crescent

Copyright © 2019

Prologue

Do not do this! I beg of you. Please, don’t. Riley Lord wasn’t used to begging anyone. As he looked at the ground where his pregnant wife lay, he had never felt so fucking broken. He didn’t even know how this had come to be. What had gone wrong in his life? He was nearly thirty years old and had been a loyal puppet to David Peace since he was sixteen. He’d been nothing but a punk-ass kid in the street, intent on making a name for himself. He’d joined David’s crew, trained, and was now considered one of the most feared hitmen David had.

Now, he stared at the woman he had promised to love and protect, and he couldn’t do it. They had him chained to a wall with four men, guns poised, ready to take him out.

You know I have to. You know I can’t have any weakness, David said.

Then take it out on me, Riley screamed at the man he would have taken a bullet for.

She talked, Riley. You should be thanking me.

She didn’t know what she was doing. They didn’t tell her who they were. She thought they were guards.

Then this will teach you to think about the kind of woman you fuck, Riley. One day, you will thank me for this. You shouldn’t have a stupid cunt at your side, ready to talk to any willing cock. This is on you. All on you. The reason I am having to kill her is because you didn’t train her right.

She’s pregnant, Riley said. Please, don’t do this. Please. He loved Bethany so much. She was his entire life. Nothing he did had ever pushed her away. When he was covered in blood, she welcomed him with open arms, and he treated her like a queen. They had found each other in all the chaos and pain.

I’m sorry, Bethany said, sniffling.

David walked up to Bethany and tutted. For what it is worth, I am sorry for what I’m about to do.

He held the gun out, and Riley screamed. He fought against the chains that bound him, but nothing would budge. His wife was shot in the head.

Killed instantly.

His baby wouldn’t even have a chance.

He screamed and fought.

I suggest you kill him, David said, removing the silencer from his gun. And do it quick. I don’t have any more time to waste on this trash.

Riley looked at the man he had killed for. So many people he’d hurt, all in the name of keeping David Peace on time. He was the ultimate crime lord. His was the name was to be feared, and Riley had helped to put him on top.

Staring into David’s eyes, he smiled. As God is my witness, I promise you, you will rue the day you did that!

You’re not going to live to see another day, Riley. You think this doesn’t hurt me too? You were the best man I ever had working for me. I find this a real … irritation. I deserved better from the likes of you. Next time, I won’t make that mistake again.

David tutted but didn’t linger.

Riley watched him go as only one man stayed behind. A man he’d trained, and he saw the man was torn.

It’s okay, John.

I don’t want to do this.

You heard the man.

John raised his gun but rather than shoot Riley in the head, he put a bullet in his left leg. I am sorry.

Seconds passed, and Riley heard the door close.

John should have killed him.

He was known for getting out of tight situations, and being chained to a wall, bleeding to death, was a piece of fucking cake to him.

All chains had a weakness, and he’d felt the cement in the old warehouse give. He tugged on the chains, and within minutes, the chains broke free.

He dove toward his wife, the love of his life and held her lifeless body in his arms.

I will kill him, baby. I promise. This is not your fault. I will make sure he suffers before I finally kill him. He kissed her cheek and held her close.

As much as it grieved him, he couldn’t stay here. He had to leave, and to do that he had to wipe away all traces of his presence.

This wasn’t the first time he had to disappear, and it wouldn’t be the last. Even broken, hurt, shot, in pain, Riley had always been able to survive, and now, he had a mission—take out David Peace, one man at a time.

Chapter One

Ten years later

Meghan Short screamed as the man broke her arm. The pain was intense, and she knew without a shadow of a doubt her arm was broken. Why did they have to go for her arms? Why not her feet? Or her face?

Tears fell down her face, and she wished she could hurt the man in front of her. She would leave to see the shock and fear on their face as she burned them all alive and tore them to pieces.

Instead, she got to enjoy them laughing at her expense and for them to see her crying. This wasn’t good.

Turning down a space in David Peace’s bed had been a really bad idea. Who the fuck did he think he was? He came into the artisan grocery store, thinking he was a gift to all women, and that anyone would be crazy not to fall for him.

He’d thought she would jump up and down for joy that he’d spotted her and wanted her, rather than all the other women who were throwing themselves at him.

Please.

She knew who David was and what he was capable of. No way would she ever lower her standards and fuck him.

The man was a monster.

She didn’t want to even be in the same room as David Peace. If she had known the store was having a bad run with funds, she’d have found a new job. Instead, the stupid owners had taken out a loan from him, and now because she had caught his eye, she was set to die.

So unfair.

You know, it’s a shame we couldn’t fuck her first, but David wants her broken before he comes and has his way with her, one of the guys said.

How very … nice.

Ugh.

They were supposed to torture her for David to come and rape her. Charming.

She would roll her eyes, but one of them was swollen shut. A punch to the face hurt so bad.

This was the first time she had ever been beaten up in all of her thirty years of living. So far, not so bad.

Who was she kidding? She was in agony.

When David had found out she was thirty years old, he’d been even more angry. Not only had she turned him down, but she was also older than the women he liked to take to his bed. Fucking pervert.

Someone had to hurt him. Maybe even kill him.

If someone gave her a gun, she’d gladly do it. She’d hold it against his forehead and deal with him the only way a guy like him should be dealt with.

I know what he sees in her. Look at those tits. Anyone would be lucky to suck on those precious beauties. He did some kind of sucking motion with his lips, which only served to make her feel sick and dirty.

She had large tits, a big ass, wide hips, and a round stomach. She was as curvy as they came, and she didn’t care.

No matter what boyfriend told her to lose weight, she showed them the door. Growing up, moving from home to home, she had learned to stand up for herself, and to be happy with who she was. No one was going to give her happiness if it came at the cost of her body. Yep, a couple of foster fathers and mothers had wanted to give her a little loving but only if they got to touch her.

She didn’t give them the time of day.

Instead, she had moved like always.

Changing location was second nature to her.

At eighteen, she got a job, left the system, and hadn’t relied on anyone since. There was only one person she could count on, and that was herself.

There had been a couple of boyfriends along the way, but none of them stuck around, not for long. One of them had thought using his fists would keep her in line. It was the only time in her life someone had hit her. He’d slapped her around the face, hard, and she had used her skillet and bashed him over the head as well.

He’d wanted to press charges, but the cops had advised him against it with the bruise on her face.

Nothing like this though. Her face felt like it was six sizes too big for her. She probably looked like a monster.

When David had offered her a spot in his bed, she should have run. Instead, she’d gone back to