Dark Endings: Dark Brothers #3, page 1
DARK ENDINGS
Also by Bella Jewel
Dark Brothers
Dark Endings
Jokers' Wrath MC
Bestie
Rumblin' Knights
Knights Rising
Knights Fury
Knights Lady
Knights Burden
Sons Of Silence
Nightmare (Coming Soon)
Standalone
Amore - Boxed Set
Wild Child
Table of Contents
Title Page
Also By Bella Jewel
DEDICATION | To all my OG readers, | The ones with me from the start, | This one is for you. | Thank you xx
~*DARK ENDINGS*~
DARK ENDINGS | Copyright © 2022 Bella Jewel
~*ACKNOWLEDGMENTS*~
PROLOGUE | WILLOW
1 | SIX MONTHS LATER
2
3 | JAGGER
WILLOW
4
JAGGER
5 | WILLOW
6 | JAGGER
WILLOW
7
JAGGER
8 | WILLOW
WILLOW
9
10 | JAGGER
WILLOW
11
12 | JAGGER
WILLOW
13 | WILLOW
14 | JAGGER
WILLOW
15 | JAGGER
WILLOW
16 | JAGGER
JAGGER
17 | WILLOW
JAGGER
18 | WILLOW
EPILOGUE | A month later | WILLOW
JAGGER
THE END
Also By Bella Jewel
DEDICATION
To all my OG readers,
The ones with me from the start,
This one is for you.
Thank you xx
~*DARK ENDINGS*~
All rights reserved. This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any form without prior written permission of the publisher, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorized distribution, circulation or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly. Thank you for respecting the work of this author.
DARK ENDINGS
Copyright © 2022 Bella Jewel
DARK ENDINGS is a work of fiction. All names, characters, places and events portrayed in this book either are from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, establishments, events, or location is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
~*ACKNOWLEDGMENTS*~
As always, my heartfelt thanks to every single blogger, reader and author that has supported my journey. From reading my books, to sharing them, to raving about them, to being there for me. Thank you. My career would be nothing without any of you.
A massive thanks to the team at Valentine PR for taking me on, especially to Kim and Nina for helping me with this release and this new series. I am looking forward to working with you all on this book and future books, and I’m incredibly grateful for the hard work you all do.
A massive thanks to Ben Ellis from Tall Story Designs for this gorgeous cover. You’re the easiest, most efficient person I’ve ever worked with. You make my covers absolutely gorgeous every single time. I couldn’t do it without you.
To my favorite editor Wendi from Ready, set, edit, for always coming through for me on my edits, whenever I need them. You’re amazing and I’m so thankful to you. You’re super easy to work with and so nice. I’m glad to team up with you for these things.
And of course, to my admin, MJ, for ALWAYS keeping my page running beautifully. I couldn’t do it without you, girly. I love your teasers and your passion; thank you for taking the time out of your life to help this poor girl keep everything running.
To all of my readers that started with me as Bec Botefuhr – I know you’ll cherish this rewrite as much as I do. I hope you enjoy it every bit as much as the first and thank you for being with me this whole time.
And, last but certainly not least, to my loyal readers. To each and every one of you that picks up my books and give me a chance. To the reviews you write, good or bad. To the time you take to make me a better person. You make this real for me; never stop giving such love and passion. You make our journey so amazing.
PROLOGUE
WILLOW
GRIEF, THEY SAY, COMES in five stages.
The first: denial; the stage where a person will continue to tell themselves they feel fine, they’re going to recover easily, nothing is happening.
The second: anger; how could I let this happen? How could they let this happen? I hate everyone, they will pay for this.
The third: bargaining; I’ll change my life, I’ll fix everything, I’ll change who I am just to make this better. I’ll do whatever it takes, anything in the world, to make this go away.
The fourth: depression; I can’t live, I can’t breathe. The days are long, the nights ... longer. Nothing feels right. Everything is empty. The bottomless pit that is your stomach goes on, and on, never seeming to let up. It’s like you’re drowning.
The fifth: acceptance; I can’t change this situation. Pure and simple. I live with it, or I choose not to live with it. Either way, it is what it is.
Right now, I’m at stage four: depression. I’ve been at stage four now for about six months. I can’t seem to move past it. I lost myself when I was returned home. In the beginning, I was determined, I did everything possible to try and resolve the situation. I made calls, begged gang members, bribed people for information, and did everything in my power, at that point, to save him. Then I got angry—blinding rage filled me day and night, and I couldn’t move on, I couldn’t stop blaming myself, and everyone else for what happened. Then came the bargaining, I tried everything to make myself feel better, to ease the pain inside. I begged, I pleaded, offered to lay down my life to ensure someone helped me, but no one did.
Nobody knew how, that’s the brutal and honest truth.
Now, depression. I’ve lived with depression before, so it’s nothing foreign to me. Oddly, I’m dealing with it better than the previous three emotions. In fact, I’m dealing with this stage quite well. I was sure when I got back that I’d crumble and fall back into my old ways, and, for a while, I did ... until Cody. He changed my life, he made the sun begin to shine again. He gave me a reason to live. He gave me a reason to push myself from my bed each day and put one foot in front of the other. He gave me a reason to breathe. He became my everything, and I would fight to make sure nothing ever happened to him.
Cody is my son.
I didn’t know I was pregnant when I first returned. In fact, I didn’t know for three months. It wasn’t until I snapped out of my grief and realized it had been a while since I’d had a period. When I did the test, I sat staring at the two pink lines for over three hours. I was numb, I felt nothing. The usual ‘how did this happen?’ or ‘how will I break the news to him?’ didn’t pass through my mind. I had no one to break the news to. I had no emotions. I couldn’t think about anything except the tiny lines in front of me.
The two lines that would change my entire world.
Ava and Jenny were my rocks through my pregnancy. They took me to my appointments, fed me well, made sure I took my vitamins, and held me when I let everything shut down because I just couldn’t take it any longer. When labor came around, they were both by my side as I welcomed Cody into the world. Cody became my sunshine. He’s gorgeous and a spitting image of Jagger. His eyes are that beautiful light blue, and his hair is dark and thick. He has my lighter skin, and he is the happiest little soul I’ve ever met.
During my pregnancy, I couldn’t cope living where I was, so we packed up everything and moved to the beach. To the ocean. To a place where I’d attempt to find myself again. I really tried, I chased down everything I could to get Jagger back, but it was of no use to me. The gang wouldn’t support me; instead, they supported their bosses words. Their loyalty won out, and I was on my own with no other choice but to do as Jagger asked—run away and forget about him. I’d never forget about him, but I also knew there was no other option.
Right then, I needed to be what my son needs.
Ava and Angel had a huge falling out right before we left, because she wanted him to come with her, but he refused. He chose his gang over his girl, and it broke her heart. Not that I could blame her, but I understood Angel wasn’t going to leave at a time like this. He couldn’t just pack up and run. I told Ava to stay, but her mind was made up and she’s more stubborn than anyone I know when she has decided something.
So, we packed up everything and moved. I haven’t seen or heard from the guys since, and that alone is enough to break someone’s heart, not to mention living with the daily thoughts of what could be happening to Jagger and how there isn’t a single thing in the world I can do about it. That pains me, deep into my very soul, and I don’t think I’ll ever recover.
The images in my mind stop me from sleeping most nights, which is okay since Cody is a restless baby during the evening hours, much like his father. I lie awake more often than not, staring at the stars from my window and listening to the waves crashing against the shore. I don’t even know if Jagger is still alive. That thought makes me sick, it rips down to the very core of me and eats away at it, slowly but surely.
I don’t know if I’ll ever be okay again.
Not without him.
He is my missing piece and, without him, I’m simply not whole.
1
SIX MONTHS LATER
“Hey, my little munchkin,” Ava croons, swooping down to scoop Cody up into her arms.
He smiles at her. He has this big, beautiful smile that puts sunshine back into all our lives. He’s gorgeous, everything about him is pure perfection and beauty. He’s six months old now and the happiest baby under the sun. He reaches out and clutches Ava’s necklace, and she laughs.
“No, baby, that’s Aunty Ava’s special necklace.”
Like he cares. He pops it into his mouth and drool runs down Ava’s chest.
“You’re the only man I’d let drool over me.” She frowns, but the love in her eyes tells me she doesn’t care how much he drools on her.
I watch them, and my heart warms. Ava tells me that I don’t smile the way I used to anymore but my face lights up when Cody is around. That is more than a little upsetting, because I want my son to see all the beautiful things in me, all the pieces that I’ve squashed down. I want him to know joy.
“He’s a charmer,” I say, stroking his soft, dark curls.
“Oh, he’s a charmer alright. Where’s Jen?”
Ava puts Cody on the floor and hands him a pacifier, which he drools all over and then tosses on the floor with an angry expression. Yes, he’s like his father in that sense. The boy has anger issues. He’s calm and chill until he doesn’t get his own way, and then he turns into one hell of a fighter. He’ll go head to head with me, until I either cave and give him what he wants or out stare him and force him to accept defeat.
He's strong. I love that about him.
“I don’t know.” I shrug. “She got a call and she rushed out. Maybe work?”
Ava nods, walking into the kitchen and pulling out a bag of grapes. She pops one into her mouth and chews, looking thoughtful. She ponders something for a minute and then leans her butt against the kitchen counter and looks to me.
“Do you think she’s seeing someone?”
I’ve considered it. “I mean, it’s possible. She’s out a lot lately.”
“Maybe she’s calling your mom?” Ava suggests.
It’s possible. My mom got released just after Jagger was taken. She wasn’t too thrilled to find out we were skipping a few states as soon as she was released. I think Jenny calls her every day, just to make her believe that we weren’t running from her. I’ve tried to tell her that too, but she doesn’t want to listen to me. She’s visited a few times but it’s not something any of us are very comfortable with. She adores Cody, though I would never fully trust her with him. Do I feel bad about that? Sure I do, but I have reason to stand my ground with it. I’ve forgiven her, and we’ve managed to build some sort of relationship.
It’s a start.
“I don’t think she’d hide that she’s talking to Mom,” I say. “No, it’s something more.”
Ava contemplates this, while sucking noisily on her grape. I raise my brows at her.
“What’d the grape do to you?”
She laughs. “It tastes better smooshed and decapitated.”
I scrunch my nose up. “Seriously, you’re twisted.”
She nods, like that doesn’t even bother her. “Totally.”
“How’s work going?”
Ava has taken up work at a local restaurant on the water. It keeps her busy, and I know she likes to work, but she also looks like she’s missing something that brings her joy, too. It saddens me that she’s hurt, and I can’t help but feel a little bad that she lost someone she cared about because I couldn’t stay.
She smiles. “It’s a good job, but it’s not something I want to do forever, you know?”
I nod. “I know what you mean. At least it keeps you busy.”
She nods, popping another grape into her mouth. “It does, if I don’t work, I’ll go crazy.”
“True.”
We hear a car pull up, and I turn, staring at the front door. Our house is very open, and we can see right out over the ocean. It’s all white on the outside, and the inside is painted a light, breezy blue. Soft cotton curtains cover the open windows, flapping constantly with the ocean breeze. It’s a very tropical little place so we picked furniture to match the beachy vibe. We are right on the sand, literally. We step out the front door and onto the beach.
The floors are all wooden, and have paintings of flowers, surfboards and ocean sunsets on the walls. The kitchen is large, with white tiled counter tops and shiny silver fittings. It’s four bedrooms, and we all have one each as well as a spare. The front of the house is set out with a huge deck and white painted chairs and a swing seat that Cody loves.
It's perfect.
It’s peaceful.
It’s just what we needed.
“Oh ... my ... god!”
I’m snapped out of my daze when I hear Ava’s voice. I turn to stare at whatever it is that has her screaming out like that, and I stop breathing. Jenny is coming up the front steps, and she’s being followed by four men. I know those men. I know them nearly as well as I know myself—Ace, Angel, Rusty, and Bull. I’m numb, my legs tingle and my skin prickles. When they step inside, I’m still standing completely blindsided by the scene before me.
I didn’t think I’d see them again.
I thought they’d given up.
I had accepted they weren’t in my life anymore.
“Willow ...”
Ace speaks, his voice careful, but I can’t grasp the fact that he’s standing in my living room. Hot, angry tears well in my eyes, and I fight them back. I haven’t cried for months, I refuse to start again now. How could they come here after they left me on my own and refused to help me? They were my family, I loved them like my own brothers, and they chose to let me suffer.
To leave me alone.
“What are you doing here?”
It comes out as a harsh whisper, my voice has betrayed me and gone into hiding. Ace stares at me for long moments, his eyes narrowing at my expression, I can see the pain in his eyes, but I have no pity for him. “Kid, we wanted to help out.”
“Don’t call me that!” I snap, shocking myself with how harsh my voice comes out.
I cover my face and take a deep, calming breath. I can’t deal with this. Not right now. I need air. I glance at Ava, who now has Cody in her arms, and knowing he’s safe, I rush past them, slapping Ace’s hand away when he reaches out for me. I hurry out the front door and down onto the sand. Each breath is like fire in my lungs. How could they come back and think it’s all just going to be okay? Why do they want to help me now, when they wanted no part of it when I needed them the most? I walk down the long stretch of beach, just needing to get as far away from them as possible.
“Come on, Willow. Wait!” Ace’s voice whips in the breeze, but I don’t stop.
Moments later, a strong hand curls around my arm and swings me toward him. My hand raises and connects with his face so hard he stumbles backward and falls onto the sand. Anger—anger that I’ve held in for so long—finally comes to the surface. Fury rises, and I leap on top of him, slamming my fists into his chest over and over. He grips my arms, yanking me down so he can wrap his arms around me and hold onto me so tightly I can’t move.
“How could you?” I yell into his chest. “I loved you guys, I trusted you, and you all left me alone. Now you think you can just come back? How dare you, Ace?”
“I know,” he whispers, his voice hoarse. “I know what we did. We were following orders, we thought it was for the best. At that point, it was just too dangerous for you to try and save him. It would have only ended badly. We thought we were helping you out.”
“What’s changed?” I snap, shoving myself off and rolling onto the sand beside him. I push up and sit, tucking my knees to my chest and burying my face in my hands. I can’t wrap my mind around this, it’s all too much.
