Chased By Him (Merge Second Generation #3), page 1
Chased By Him
Kylie Kent
Contents
Stalk Me
Kylie Kent
Foreword
Prologue
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Epilogue
Epilogue
Afterword
Also by Kylie Kent
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Stalk Me
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Copyright ©2022 by Kylie Kent
Ebook ISBN 13: 978-1-922816-17-7
Paperback ISBN 13: 978-1-922816-18-4
Cover illustration by
RJ CREATIVES GRAPHIC SERVICES
Editing services provided by
Kat Pagan - https://www.facebook.com/PaganProofreading
Foreword
This book contains scenes and discussions of non-consensual sexual acts, domestic violence, profanity, sexual content and violence. If any of these are triggers for you, you should consider skipping this read.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
To Natasha Joanne, thank you for always keeping me in check. For making sure I meet the crazy deadlines I make for myself. For being my shoulder to cry on when things get hectic. And for not letting me quit or kill off the main characters when I’ve wanted to stop halfway through a story.
Prologue
sixteen years old
“Come on, Lil, just cover for me. Just this once. I won’t ask you again. Please.”
“Hope, we’re in New York City. Do you even know where you’re going? Do you know how dangerous it is out there? And, besides, how are you even going to get out of here?”
She has a good point. We’re holidaying with our Aunt Holly and Uncle T. And their house isn’t your typical suburban oasis. Nope, this place is a damn top-notch resort. It’s also surrounded by armed guards.
My uncle is the Don of one of the five mafia families here in New York. We try to stay under the radar when we visit, sneaking in and out so nobody knows we’re here. Except, this time, Jaxon—my boyfriend from back home—is also in New York for the school holiday, and he wants to see me tonight.
“I know Matteo is going out. I’m going to hide in the back of his car.”
“Sure, that’ll work, Lil. Hide in the back of a mobster’s car.” Lily laughs.
“He’s not just a mobster; he’s our cousin. What’s the worst that could happen? He finds me and sends me back here?”
“Okay, if anyone asks, I’ll say you’re not feeling well. But if you’re not back by eleven, I’m telling Uncle T. I mean it, Hope.”
“Okay, deal. You’re the best sister.”
“Don’t get me in trouble for this, Hope. Jaxon better appreciate what you have to go through to see him.”
“Oh, I’ll make sure he appreciates me. Don’t you worry.” I wink at her as I run out of the room. I manage to get into the garage without anyone seeing me. I’ve watched the boys slink around this house way too much to not have picked up where all the cameras are, and where the guards are usually standing. I climb into the back of Matteo’s SUV and cover myself with a blanket. I really hope he’s heading out alone…
After waiting in the car for what seems like forever, my cousin finally shows up. He starts the engine and sings totally off-key as he drives. “Call Savvy.” His voice booms in the small space, startling me.
The dial tone rings through the car speakers. “Tao, I’m busy.”
“No, you’re not. Get dressed, Sav. I need you to be my plus-one.”
“For what?”
“A new club opening.”
“Matteo, you don’t need a plus-one for a club opening. Go alone, or find another friend,” she argues.
“But you’re my best friend, Savvy, and I don’t want any others. Please, I swear this will probably be the last time.” Matteo sighs.
And her laughter fills the car. “Fine, but you and I both know it won’t be the last time. And I’m not staying out all night. I have to study.”
“Sure, I’ll even help you study afterwards.” The phone cuts out, and minutes later, the car comes to a stop.
I count to thirty before I’m brave enough to poke my head up. I look through the window and see Matteo enter a building. I’m assuming it’s Savvy’s place. I unlock the back door and push it open. The alarm on the car starts blaring as soon as I do. Jumping out, I slam the door and run. I slide behind a bush as I watch Matteo run back towards his vehicle. He presses a button, looks around, and then makes a phone call as he heads inside again.
I text Jaxon my location, and seconds later, he responds that he’s on his way. I have nothing else to do except sit behind this bush and wait. After five minutes, I see Matteo and Savvy come out. He looks up and down the street as he opens her door, before he hops in and they drive away.
I’m scrolling through my Insta feed when Jaxon calls. “Babe, where are you?”
“I’m here.” I grin as I stand and locate him across the street. I close the distance and jump at him. It’s been a whole week since we’ve seen each other.
“I missed you,” he says, grabbing my ass.
I smile into his kiss. “I missed you more.”
“So, you got away, huh?”
“I only have a few hours so make them count.”
“Oh, I plan to. Jump in.” He opens the passenger’s door of a sleek Mercedes.
“Where’d you get the car? And are you sure you should be driving? Are you going to get into trouble or something?” I ask. We’re sixteen. I know I shouldn’t be in a vehicle with him at the wheel. I know he’s unlicenced. I just don’t care right now.
“I found a little park I thought we’d go to,” he replies, ignoring my barrage of questions.
As it turns out, the park was actually a deserted car park. When he pulls to a stop, I look around. There’s not a soul in sight, which is weird. This is New York City, the city that doesn’t sleep.
“Don’t look so worried, Hope. Come on, let’s get in the back. We can spend a whole hour here, just being us. No one else around.”
I like when we make out, and how it feels to be in his arms. As creeped out as I am, I do jump in the back seat with him. We start kissing and he ends up on top of me. His hands have moved from fondling my breasts, to now going down my stomach and traveling lower. I pull his wrists back up. I’m not ready for that. We’ve spoken about this. He knows I’m not ready.
However, when I tug at his arm this time, he groans and digs his hard-on into my pelvis. He takes both my hands in one of his. “Why do you always have to be such a fucking tease, Hope. I’ve been patient. I’m sick of being patient.”
“Jaxon, stop. You’re hurting me. Stop,” I say more firmly.
“Stop? Nah, babe, we’re not stopping this time. You’re just scared. Once you get the first time over with, you won’t be so scared anymore.” His free hand reaches under my skirt.
“No, Jaxon, don’t.” I’m struggling against his hold, bucking my hips and trying everything to get out from under him. It doesn’t work. He rips my panties off and undoes the button of his jeans.
“I’ve been waiting a long time for this, Hope. Watching you parade around, teasing me in these little skirts. You want this, babe. I know you do.”
I’m crying, screaming at him to stop, when I feel his penis line up with my entrance and he pushes inside me. Pain tears through my every nerve ending before rupturing my soul. “No! Please, stop! No, don’t do this! Stop.” But he doesn’t stop. I’ve never felt so helpless in my life. I fight back, I kick my legs, and I try to roll away. Nothing works.
Then, suddenly, the car door is being ripped open and Jaxon is being p
“Hope, it’s okay. It’s me.” I look up and see Matteo squatting down in front of me.
“Tao, I didn’t. I… I didn’t. He-he wouldn’t stop,” I stutter out, my body heaving with unshed sobs.
A dark look crosses my cousin’s face. “It’s going to be okay. I’ve got you. Come on.”
He tugs me up to my feet and pulls my skirt down. I didn’t even realise it was still scrunched up around my waist.
“Come with me.” He escorts me around to the other side of the car where his older brother Theo is holding a gun to Jaxon’s head. I gasp. “You see this girl,” Matteo hisses. “She’s our fucking cousin, motherfucker. You touched the wrong fucking girl.”
I watch as though it’s a movie playing out in front of me. My cousin draws a second gun from his waistband and shoots Jaxon. Twice. Blood blows back in his direction, swept up by the breeze, and rains down like confetti beneath the streetlight.
“When a girl says no, you fucking stop, asshole.” He fires again, and Jaxon’s body hits the concrete with a thud.
“Matteo, get Hope in the car,” Theo says, his eyes flicking towards the ground.
I let Matteo pick me up and carry me back to the SUV. Just as he sets me down in the back seat, a loud explosion sounds out. I scream as I watch the Mercedes erupt into a mix of flames, metal, and dust.
Theo is walking towards us with a can of petrol in his hands, his silhouette outlined by an orange glow and a fluttering of ash. Like some hero at the end of an action movie.
But this wasn’t a movie; it was real life. And the memory of this moment would haunt my nightmares.
Prologue
Eighteen years old
I did it. I fucking did it. All those hours of studying numbers, of hiding and dodging people. The last few years of practically living a double life have fucking paid off.
I just got the letter. It’s official. I’m going to university on a full scholarship. This is everything I needed to escape the hell I’ve been in my whole life. This education is going to set me up, provide me a future where I’m not wondering how I’m going to pay rent, or what car I need to jack to buy groceries for the week.
I thought I’d won the fucking lottery when I got the scholarship to St Paul’s two years ago. But it only covered the initial fees. When I got the equipment and uniform list, I almost said fuck it and dropped the whole idea. But I don’t give up on things I want. If I’ve got my eye on something, you bet your fucking ass I’m going to fucking get it. One way or another.
That weekend, I went out and jacked three cars. The money I got for them took care of the rest of that list. I knew if I wanted a real chance at getting a full scholarship for uni, I needed somewhere better than Shelby State High School marked down on my application, somewhere the population of students finishing with passing grades wasn’t practically none.
Thanks to my mother being an ice-junkie drunk, I had to live in a fucking van park, and Shelby High was the locally zoned school. But it doesn’t matter anymore, because I’m holding my fucking golden ticket in my hands. Two more months of living in this fucking shithole, and then I’m out. No looking back. I just have to keep out of sight, and out of fucking trouble, for the time being. I can’t fuck this up. I won’t fuck this up.
My best friend Ash has invited me on a trip with his family over Christmas break. I tried to decline but he wouldn’t have it. The son of a bitch can be persuasive as fuck. It was when he said his cousins would be going too that I finally caved.
Ash’s cousin Hope is fucking everything I want. The only problem is she’s sixteen—oh, and she’s Ash’s fucking cousin. Making her off-fucking-limits. I can look though. I can dream that one day I’ll be good enough for her. That when she’s older, when I’m older and got my shit together… When I have all the things a man should offer her… A good job, steady money, a real home.
That’s when I’m going to claim her.
I met Ash on my first day at St Paul’s. It was evident I was a scholarship kid and not one of them—them being the rich, snot-nosed assholes with daddy’s credit card. But Ash was different. He took one look at me and decided I was his kind of people. And as it turned out, Ash was exactly my kind of people too. He just wore nicer threads. He never asked about home, never asked where I came from. I suspected the asshole knew anyway. There wasn’t much he didn’t know about anyone at that school. He had connections all over Sydney. Even at sixteen, his name opened doors for him. And when I was with him, they opened for me too.
Shaking the thoughts of the past off, I duck into the truck stop. The same one I’ve been visiting every day. I change out of my uniform and back into street clothes. I’m not stupid enough to walk through my neighbourhood in that shit. That would just be asking for a fucking beat down. As much as I don’t go out looking for trouble, it seems to have a way of finding me. Which means I have to take extra precautions to try to avoid that shit.
I jump back on the train. Taking a seat, I plug in my earbuds and pull the hoodie over my head, making myself comfortable for the remaining hour ride back to my own personal hell.
“Next stop, Shelby,” comes over the speakers. I push to my feet and straighten my shoulders as I step off the train.
I walk the fifteen-minute trek to the van park and immediately wish I had taken Ash up on his offer to crash at his tonight. Swinging the door open, I’m hit with the stench of stale beer, fast food, and smoke. I kick the empty cans out of my way, ignoring the two bodies slumped on the couch, and try to make it to my room at the back of the van without having to converse.
“What? No hello?” my mother snarls.
“No, darl, he’s too good to say hello to us. Aren’t you, boy?” That comes from Dale, my mother’s latest in a line of deadbeat boyfriends.
“Nope, not too good. Just too smart,” I mouth back. I stopped being afraid of my mother’s boyfriends around the time I was thirteen, after I learnt how to fucking fight back.
The old man stumbles as he stands, falling onto the coffee table before steadying himself. “What the fuck did you say to me, boy?” He grinds his teeth.
“I said I was too fucking smart to engage in conversation with the likes of you, old man. Now, sit down before you fucking hurt yourself.” I shoulder-check him so he plops back on his ass as I walk past and into my room.
I’m only in my little shithole of a room for five minutes before I hear it. I may fucking hate my mother with everything I have in me, but I won’t sit back and listen to her being fucking beat on. I push the door open just as the old man has his fist raised and ready to strike her again. She’s a small figure cowering on the floor, crying and begging him to stop. I take hold of his hand and spin him around. One punch, that’s all it takes to knock him the fuck out. He goes down like a ton of bricks. It’s not until my mother starts screaming that I actually look and see the pool of blood flooding the floor like a deep-red halo around the fucker’s head.
Well, serves the fucking cunt right for hitting on a woman. “Would you stop yelling.” I raise my voice at her.
“You killed him, Chase! What the hell have you done?” she sobs. I lower myself to the couch and stare at the lifeless body. Did I kill him? I can’t tell. I also don’t care enough to look. I’m still in a daze, stuck in my own head, when I hear the sirens and see the flashing red and blue lights. And before I know it, I’m being escorted out of the van in handcuffs.
