Clipping Thorns (Withered Rose Book 2), page 1
The Rebel Christian Publishing
Copyright © 2022 Valicity Elaine
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.
Kindle Vella ASIN: B0B4D5WKR4
ISBN (eBook): 9781957290188
ISBN (Print): 9781957290195
This is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Names, characters, and places are products of the author’s imagination. Inclusion of or reference to any Christian elements or themes are used in a fictitious manner and are not meant to be perceived or interpreted as an act of disrespect against such a wonderful and beautiful faith.
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A note from the author
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Finish the series…
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Rebel Christian Publishing
Original Author’s Notes
Free sample of Book III, Starting Over
This book was originally published as an episodic story on the Kindle Vella platform. It has been modified and formatted for your enjoyment. Original author’s notes can be found at the very end of the book. Please enjoy Clipping Thorns and take the time to leave your thoughts and opinion in a review on Amazon, Goodreads, and Bookbub. Thank you!
Series Order
Withered Rose
Clipping Thorns
Starting Over (Fall 2022)
Other Books by Valicity Elaine:
Patches
The ‘I’ Word
I AM MAN series:
I AM MAN
I AM LOST
I AM BROKEN
I AM FREE
I AM COMPLETE
Cross Academy series:
Cross Academy
The Howler’s Cry
The Nine Births of Carnage (2022)
The Testament Relics (2023)
Cross Academy: Book V (coming soon)
To Jesus Christ
Clipping Thorns
Withered Rose Book II
By Valicity Elaine
A Rebel Christian Publishing Book
A note from the author
*** Warning ***
If you read Book I in this series (Withered Rose) then you already have an idea of what you are getting into. While this is certainly a work of Christian fiction, I will not make the claim that it is a ‘Clean & Wholesome’ story.
There are no graphic scenes of sex, no foul language, and no graphic gore. However, the story does follow a young couple involved in the mafia. Rosa and Amory are not in a warm and welcoming environment, they are immersed in darkness, death, and sin. The objective here is to demonstrate a dependence on God, even in the most brutal of places.
Our protagonists are married, so I did not shy away from depicting their encounters. However, I am still a Christian author, and I do believe there are certain lines that should not be crossed in Christian fiction. Everyone has a limit; unfortunately, those boundaries can be different for some or others. This is why I have taken the opportunity to warn you before the story begins.
Readers may find some content to be sensitive/triggering, such as abuse, gang violence, manipulation, human trafficking, etc. This book is best enjoyed by mature Christian readers ages 17+
Please continue at your own discretion.
Enjoy a free sample of Book III, Starting Over, at the end of the book.
Be the wife he needs you to be…
—Christina Jäger
One
Nona hits hard. My jaw aches as she lands a terrible left hook to my face. My head whips to the side and my mouthpiece flies out as I spin and fall to the ground. I don’t know how long we’ve been going at it, but I’ve only been able to land a hit on her once.
I hear her light footsteps as she shuffles closer, probably to kick me in the ribs, but Adella’s voice stops her. “Enough, Nona.”
I groan and roll onto my side, tapping the mat to let them know I’ve surrendered the match. I hear someone sigh in disappointment, but I don’t care. Every part of me hurts. I have a black eye, a swollen lip, and I’m sure Nona’s just given me a bruise on my cheek.
It’s been two weeks since I walked out of Amory’s home. Two weeks since I signed those papers of annulment. Two weeks since my life changed forever. Moving in with Grandpa Jamie was my only option—it wasn’t a bad choice at all; he offers a lot more kindness and protection than my brother Gio does, but he also offers tough love.
One thing my grandparents made clear when I arrived on their doorstep was that I would earn my keep and I would learn my place. In the German mafia, learning my place meant doing as I was told and obeying Amory’s every word. But here in the Willis Stronghold, where my grandmother is queen of the kingdom, learning my place means learning how to stand side by side with royalty.
“There’s a war coming, you need to be ready,” Mama Monique had said after showing me my new bedroom. She’d placed a hand on her hip and used the other to brush a loose, grey curl from her face. It was then that I’d noticed how toned her arms looked in her designer blouse. She was clearly an older woman, but nothing about her physique looked aged or worn.
“You will begin training with Adella. She runs her own kickboxing gym.”
I’d frowned at this. “I don’t want to learn how to fight.”
Mama Mo’ had laughed. “You won’t be learning how to fight. You’ll be learning how to defend yourself.”
And so, here I am. Kickboxing training twice a day, two hours per session, five days a week.
My cousins, Adella and Nona, were once my blushing bridesmaids at my own wedding months ago. I never would have guessed their warm hugs and gentle touches could so easily become quick punches and deadly kicks. Then again, they both have killer bodies—that has to come from more than just eating salad and taking strolls through the park.
Adella squats beside me and brushes my dark hair from my face. “You did better today, Rosa.”
“Are you kidding?” Nona laughs, unwinding the tape from her knuckles. Della never lets us wear gloves or shoes. We fight in nothing but our underwear with taped knuckles. I don’t even get to put on sweat-shorts. I’m just thankful I own more than one sports bra, despite the fact that I never workout.
Nona looks strong and confident in her white sports bra and matching boy shorts. I can count her abs as she laughs again and says, “I just knocked her down for the third time.”
Della rolls her eyes. “And she didn’t tap out until the third time.” She looks down at me again, a very proud smile on her face, even though I know my performance was pathetic. “You lasted a minute longer than yesterday’s session.”
“Which puts her at a full two minutes on her feet,” Nona teases.
I remember Nona being the nice cousin and Adella being the critical one. But that had been when we were cousins who only shared girl talk and candy. Now we’re women—mafia wives preparing to go to war beside our husbands or defend the territory they leave behind. We aren’t whispering secrets in my living room anymore; we’re training for the fight of our lives in Adella’s gym.
This is her haven. This is her kingdom. Mama Mo’ might be the Queen of the Bronx, but in Finesse Fitness, Adella reigns supreme. Maybe that’s why she’s calmer than Nona now, or maybe it’s because I’m lying on the floor in my underwear with bruises on my face. Either way, I’m more than grateful for the hand Della extends when she helps me to my feet and slaps my butt.
“Give me four laps around the gym and then hit the showers.”
I begin a slow pace around the track that encircles the entire gym. It’s a quarter of a mile per lap so I’ll be getting in a mile once I’m finished. Nona flies by me, her bare feet slapping the track with each step. Normally, I would push myself to try to keep up with her, but I’m sore and achy and just not in the mood. I’ve been getting my butt handed to me every day, twice a day, for two weeks now. After a while, it starts to get to you.
I won’t say I’ve given up. But I’ve certainly considered it.
And then I think … What will I do after I give up?
My grandparents took me in, but they won’t have a problem kicking me out if I don’t cooperate. Jameson and Monique Willis are not doting grandparents who bake cookies and spoil their little grandkids. They are mafia bosses, leaders of the gang that runs the Bronx—also called, the Willis Stronghold.
Ten years ago, New York City defunded its police department and fired half the force due to the dramatic shift in their payroll. Since then, the mafias of the City have taken over and now rule the Big Apple through violence and oppression. Police are on their payroll and justice is in hiding.
Each borough is owned and operated by a different gang. The Stronghold rules the Bronx under Jameson Willis, Manhattan is held by the Italian mafia under my older brother, Giovanni De Luca Jr., Queens is ruled by the Spanish mafia under Emilio Moreno, Mikhail Volkov runs the Russian mafia out of Staten Island, and my father-in-law, Uwe Jäger, is the Jägermeister of the German mafia in Brooklyn.
Well … Uwe is about to become my former father-in-law now. I’m married to his oldest son, Amory Jäger, but after things blew up between the Hunters of Brooklyn and the Wolves of Staten Island, Amory decided to have our marriage annulled so he could form an alliance with the Morenos.
The whole situation is as painful as it is complicated. But the point is that I was forced into a marriage with a man I hardly knew, and the day I found it in my heart to love him, I was suddenly forced out of that marriage. I thought maybe it was an opportunity from God. I had already tried to escape New York and the mafia once before, but I know God has plans for this place and for my soon to be ex-husband.
Father Serrano, my spiritual advisor, told me he believed God wanted to use me to draw Amory closer to Him. So that God could use Amory to destroy the mafias of New York from the inside out. But now Amory and I are getting a divorce. How will God use either of us?
Maybe Father Serrano got it wrong… I sigh as I begin my final lap around the track. Or maybe there’s still a chance.
Whatever the case, I’ve got more immediate things to focus on right now, like my best friend’s wedding. I’m related to the Willis Stronghold through my deceased mother—Laura Willis—but I’m also connected to the Italian mafia through my deceased father, Giovanni De Luca Sr. My best friend is the daughter of the current Italian underboss and she’s getting married soon.
Olivia’s wedding should have happened around the time I got married, but her arrangements were delayed by all the drama that went down with Gio kidnapping me from Norman, New Jersey and forcing me to marry Amory. Now, I guess things are back on track.
Last I checked, Olive was engaged to Marco Segreto, the General in charge of Harlem. He’s a successful mafioso but he’s also old enough to be my father. I know Olive doesn’t love him at all, but she’s a far more committed mafia princess than I ever was. She’s ready to marry Marco, despite his age, his looks, and his rumored cruelty. But it isn’t like she has much choice.
Since Olivia is my best friend, she came under suspicion after my escape from New York almost a year ago. My father and brother likely suspected she’d helped me, even though she didn’t, so they set her up with this arrangement to shame her family and punish her. Olivia has accepted her fate with an air of dignity which I envy.
I went into my marriage kicking and screaming—I’d refused to let Amory even touch me until the day he ended things. That was when I’d stripped down and offered myself to him, finally realizing that I was in love with him.
Too little too late.
Now, I’ve got to watch my best friend walk down the aisle to marry a man who will never appreciate or love her. All while knowing I’d stupidly ruined my own marriage to a man who did love me and appreciate me.
I wonder when Amory and his new Spanish fiancé will tie the knot. I wonder if he will give her the wedding night he’d promised me.
I can be gentle… He had said in a voice that’d left me weak in the knees.
I can take it slow… He’d looked at me like I was the only woman in the world.
I shake my head as I finish my last lap and grab my water bottle. Adella dismisses me with a slap to the butt; I immediately slip back on my sweatpants and t-shirt so I can go home to shower. I just want to stand under the steaming water and let it drench me until I’m red and wrinkled. I need something to distract me from the pit of grief left gaping in my heart.
This is why I never complain when Nona hits too hard or when I feel like I’ve broken a bone. The pain is horrible, the bruises are severe, but they’re nothing compared to what I feel inside. Bones will heal, bruises will fade. But nothing can mend my broken heart. Especially when I played a role in breaking it.
The pain is a distraction. But it’s only twice a day for a few hours. When I’m left alone to my thoughts and my emotions, I fall into the dark parts of my mind that whispers blame against me. Tells me this is all my fault, and that Amory is better off without me.
The only thing that gives me solace is the memory of that day; Amory’s last words to me. How he thought he didn’t deserve me. How he believed he was helping me by ending our marriage.
Amory loved me. He truly did.
A small part of me believes he still does, which gives me hope that things will work out in my favor. It’s been two weeks since I signed the papers—enough time for the courts to have noticed my ‘mistake.’ If I’m fortunate, my little typo should have bought me at least another month of paperwork before things are finalized. That’s enough time to convince my husband that he was wrong.
He did deserve me—we deserved each other. We’d been brought together by God. And it was never part of His plan for us to split up or for me to escape New York again. I don’t care about the coming war; I am fighting my own battle right now. And I intend to win, even if it means fighting dirty.
Two
I’m standing between my cousins Morgen and Conrad in matching suits with matching ties. The room is stuffed with Germans, all hushed to a quiet murmur as we watch the bride walk slowly down the aisle. She looks beautiful. Any man in the room could admit that—even me. But I’m not interested in this. I don’t want to be here.
The whole thing reminds me too much of my own wedding, and the fact that I’m here at another one just a few months later makes me sad. The only thing that eases the discomfort is the look on Petra’s face as she catches her groom, Eike, smiling at her. They take hands and stand before the Priest when she reaches the end of the aisle. Those two were made for each other. I’m positive their marriage will turn out much better than mine did.
At the thought of my failed marriage, I glance out at the audience in search of my new fiancé. Petra and Eike moved up their wedding after the war officially began last week. Shots were fired between a group of Russian bar hoppers and some off-duty German security guards near the east side of Brooklyn. No deaths or injuries, but the panic that came after sent everyone into a frenzy. Petra, my little cousin on my mother’s side, decided to move up the wedding date by four months. Eike, who’s madly in love with Petra, didn’t have any arguments about it so the date was set, and everything was thrown into place. My family even found room to squeeze in a seat for my new fiancé. Eliana Moreno, oldest daughter of Emilio Moreno—capo of the Spanish mafia.
She looks beautiful and daring, wearing an all-white gown to another woman’s wedding. But my family took the insult in stride, wisely choosing not to respond to her blatant disrespect. We can’t respond to any of her taunting right now. We need the Morenos and everything they have to offer—men, weapons, intel. All of that will come at the cost of my hand in marriage, but it’s a deal I’m ready to take. It’s a deal I put together.
My chest clenches as Eliana catches me staring and offers a sultry smile. I don’t miss the way she shifts in her chair, slowly arching her back so her full breasts poke out more. It’s a subtle movement but I can’t ignore it even if I want to—especially not with the way she winks at me and catches her bottom lip between her teeth.
Eliana is an absolute vixen.
I would know. I’ve been sleeping with her since before all this went down. Her father has no idea. No one has any idea or else she’d be shipped off to Spain as punishment and I’d be fighting a war with the Morenos for breaking the virtue of a mafia princess.
