Bitter Truths: A Twisted Arranged Marriage Romance (Crimson Falls Duet Book 2) by Dani René (best fiction novels to read .txt) 📗

notice a few of the brothers in the bar, a couple in the lounge, and when I step outside, I find Howler talking to some pretty bird. She’s tall, possibly about five foot eight, but that’s in the heels she’s wearing. He doesn’t look happy.

Her long blonde hair hangs to the middle of her back, and she looks about nineteen. Fuck, her tits are almost tumbling from the tank top she’s wearing. Thankfully she’s wearing jeans, or my dick would be standing to attention if she had her ass out. Even so, with those tight ass cheeks in the denim, I can’t deny she’s hot.

“But Dad,” she whines, and my breath is knocked from my lungs when I realize she is Howler’s fucking daughter. Jesus Christ. “Why can’t I go to the party? Mom only dropped me here so you could let me stay with you for a while.”

“Get inside and change. Put your tits away,” he grunts, and the girl sighs when she makes her way past me, I get a whiff of vanilla which does nothing to calm my thickening erection.

Too young.

She’s too fucking young, Darius.

She glances my way, big, bright blue eyes locking on mine. Her plump, pink lips shimmer with gloss, and her rosy cheeks darken when her gaze roves over me. I am so fucked.

Once she’s gone, I take a deep breath and face my best friend. “What was that about?”

“Fuckin’ ex-wife lumps me with a newly turned nineteen-year-old,” he grumbles, and I hold back my smile at my guess at her age. But still, I remind myself, she’s too fucking young. “It okay if she stays here a while?”

“Yeah, you know my home is your home,” I tell him, while my mind starts running through scenarios that I doubt he wants to hear.

“Thanks, man.” He slaps me on the shoulder in a show of camaraderie, but if I were to be honest about my thoughts, he’d probably knock me the fuck out. I would if I were him. Before I can answer, he asks, “You headed out now?”

“Yeah. Not sure when I’ll be back. I’ll need you to watch the club,” I tell him. “Also, she can stay as long as she wants.” I gesture with my head toward the door where his far too young for me, daughter just walked through.

“Thanks, man. Anything you need while you’re away, just call.”

I nod. “See you soon.” Before he can say anything more, I head to my Harley and swing a leg over. I pick up my helmet, but before I slip it on, my gaze flicks to the house, and on the second floor, at the window which is at the staircase, is a pretty blonde girl watching me.

I’m so fucked.

Time to get away from here.

A few weeks of hunting and killing in Europe will sort me out.

At least, that’s what I tell myself as I pull away and head to the waiting plane.

33

Scarlett

Lycan saunters into the office where I’m perched on the couch, reading my Kindle. The latest romance novel from my favorite author released and I’m already four chapters in. But when I look up at my husband, all those romantic thoughts dissipate.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, pushing to my feet as he closes the distance between us.

He settles on the sofa, pulling me into his lap, and I wonder what has happened. From the expression on his face, it looks like he’s gotten some bad news. And that is never good.

“Darius has been in contact,” he starts, and my chest tightens. Lycan said that his brother had been keeping tabs on my folks, making sure they both behave. Because of reasons I don’t want to know, torturing my dad with what we know about him is better than sending him to prison. Although, I think that was something Darius enjoyed more than Lycan.

“Tell me?” I plead, looking at my husband, taking in his expression, which is deadly serious, I pull in a deep breath and hold it.

“You dad committed suicide last night,” he finally says, and my lungs expel the breath I’d been holding onto. “We’re not sure if it was murder made to look like he took his own life or not, but there’s an investigation into it.”

My mouth opens, but I find no words. My heart slowly cracks at the thought of my father taking his life. But not in sadness, more that I didn’t get a chance to have a normal relationship with him. He’s a bad man. He’s done deplorable things, and my heart aches because I feel cheated that my family is so broken.

Lycan’s thumbs swipe at my cheeks, and I realize he’s wiping tears away. “I’m sorry, little red,” he tells me. The seriousness in his eyes tells me he knows exactly how I feel. And he does to a certain extent. He lost his father as well as his mother, but at least he had a close relationship with Conall Shaw.

“Is it wrong that I don’t feel sad for him, but sad for me instead?” I ask, my voice raspy with emotion as I blink away more tears that seem to be coming more frequently. It’s as if the floodgates have opened and I can’t close them again.

Lycan’s arms cocoon me. He holds me tight, keeping me close to his chest, and I can hear his heart beating in a steady rhythm. The calmness of his demeanor grounds me, and even though I let my emotions run free for the first time in a long while, especially for my family, I’m safe right here.

When I first came to Lycan’s home, I didn’t think I could ever love him. There was so much anger inside me, but now I realize it wasn’t him I was angry at, it was my father. He was the one who put me in a situation where I could’ve easily been in danger. I’m thankful Lycan stepped in. I don’t know what would’ve happened to me if he hadn’t, and