Dangerous Beauty: Part Three: This is War
Chapter 1: The hit. Carter and Spook Steele.
Chapter 2: Finding Carter: Seven days after Carter was taken.
Chapter 10: Waiting is the hardest part. . .
Chapter 11: Forgiveness and her story: Anastacia & Cesare
Chapter 15: We need to talk . . .
Chapter 17: Family Time Part Two
Chapter 18: 9 months (The babies are coming)
Chapter 19: 9 months: Part two (The babies are coming)
Chapter 22: Father & Daughter. . .
Chapter 23: 16 months later. . .
Chapter 25: A husband & a father
Chapter 26: Daddy Day! 1 week later…
Chapter 28: It was a dark and stormy night
Chapter 29: It was still a dark and stormy night
Chapter 31: Battle on the Bridge
Epilogue … One Year and Six Months Later …
Dangerous Beauty Part Three: This is War
By
Michelle Hardin
Copyright
Copyright © 2015 by Michelle Hardin
All rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except for brief quotations embodied in critical reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, businesses, places, events and situations 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.
Author note: Many of the towns and various establishments, and locations in the novel are fictitious.
Credits:
Editing:
There for you Editing Services
Cover Design: Danette Davis
Books by Michelle Hardin:
Dangerous Beauty Part One: Destiny
Dangerous Beauty Part Two: A Mafia Princess
Dedication
First, to Tynesha. I cannot believe I finally finished this book! Thank you for all of your support my beautiful little sister. You have truly been amazing throughout this journey. I love you so much, and I couldn’t have done this without you.
Next, to the fans/readers of the Dangerous Beauty Series. We’ve finally made it to a book without a big cliff-hanger ending!! (LOL) I want to thank all of you who began this journey with me, and are still sticking in there with me as we move forward! Getting to know many of you and interacting with you daily has been one of the best and most meaning parts of this new journey I have embarked on. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for making this experience so amazing for me. Enjoy the story!
WARNING:
This story is intended for mature audiences only. It contains sexually explicit content, profanity, violence, and some dark subject matter which some may find offensive (such as
talk
of
incest
,
rape
,
suicide
,
murder
, and
human trafficking
). Those that are sensitive to these subjects should proceed with caution.
Thank you for sticking with Nathan and Carter as their journey continues … Enjoy.
Prologue: Rock Bottom . . .
“Come home, Ana. I miss you, Kyle misses you … he cries for you every night.”
“I know, Cesare.” Anastacia closed her eyes, but that didn’t stop the tears that poured from them. She could hear Kyle crying in the background, and it was tearing her apart. “I want to come back to see my Ky-ky soon, but …”
“But what?”
Attempting to fight back her emotions, Anastacia slammed her fist against the glass of the outdoor phone booth. She’d made the decision days ago, so it shouldn’t have been this hard. It was what was best for the both of them. “But I don’t know about us,” she whispered.
She stood waiting for his response for a full minute before he finally spoke.
“Is this because of the baby?” he asked in a pained whisper that ripped Anastacia’s strength to shreds. “I know you’re upset about it. Why won’t you just talk to me, Ana? I’m sorry we fought, I didn’t mean what I said.”
Her jaw tightened and she shook her head. The tears may have continued to fall, but she would not cry, she refused. “Talking won’t change anything, Cesare. I just need some time alone.”
“What I said was wrong, honey. It’s not how I really feel—”
“Yes it is!” Anastacia said sharply.
For her entire life, Anastacia had brought nothing but hurt and chaos to all around her, and now she was being severely punished for it. Since the moment she was born, Anastacia was told she was an abomination, and never before had she believed them until now. Losing a child had been an eye opening experience for her. Now, more than ever, she understood. There was no happiness for her, no peace, and no real love. Who could ever truly love someone that was empty inside? Outer beauty was Anastacia’s strong suit. Inner beauty, not so much.
“It’s better this way, Cesare,” she whispered. “You were right. This is just … better.”
If he didn’t have the courage to give her up by himself, she’d do it for him.
“That’s bullshit, Ana! You’re running!”
“I’m not!”
“Then what the fuck do you call this?” he yelled, emotion causing his voice to shake. “We had one goddamn fight and you’re ready to give up?”
“It wasn’t just any fight, Cesare! You basically said you never wanted it—”
“I didn’t mean it, Ana!”
“Yes you did!” she cried. Anastacia quickly pulled herself together and tried to steady her voice. “But it’s okay, Cesare. I understand.” She really did understand. It wounded her deeply, but she understood him. “You already have a son. Why would you want a child with an abomination like me?”
“Stop doing that! Stop putting words in my—”
“Just go ahead and say it, Cesare” she spat, cutting him off. “Say it! You won’t be the first, and you won’t be the last! I’ve heard it all my life! I am Alexis’s dark skinned bastard!
Born of a white man, but her skin is so dark, so unappealing
, yet every motherfucker with a dick wants to fuck me!
Ana, you’re so beautiful, so perfect, your skin as smooth and sweet as chocolate
. All of this shit said to me behind closed doors and in secret, but nothing more. Fuck you!” she screamed, slamming her hand against the glass. “Fuck you, and fuck them. You think you’re better than Paolo? Than Angelo? Well, you’re not! Paolo used me. He just wanted me to be his bed whore, and he used me to kill for him! Angelo lied to me. He slept with a whore and had a baby. Even though he hurt me after convincing me to love him, I almost lost my life protecting him! You are the same as both of them. You lied to me, Cesare. You made me believe you really loved—”
“I
do
love you!”
Anastacia shook her head. “I know you do. Just not as much as I love you. You can’t love me that much, you won’t let yourself. You have too much to lose, Cesare. You want me for your bed, but you don’t want me for your wife … the mother of your children. I’m not worth it to you …”
“You mean
everything
to me, Anastacia. Everything. If you want marriage then we will marry—”
“Cesare, stop—“
“No!” he yelled. “I will show with my actions that you are wrong. I don’t care about anyone else but you and Kyle. If you want a baby, I’ll give you ten. I’m sorry I said those things, Ana. I swear, it was just fear talking. We’re so young, and it’s already so hard, but I will get another job. I’ll do whatever it takes until we can afford more. I understand, Ana. I understand why the loss of our baby is hurting so much. You feel alone, but you’re not. You have me, and Kyle. We are your family …”
“You and Kyle should belong to Abrielle. I was selfish because I couldn’t fight my love for you. I was wrong to do such a thing.” Because of her actions, Anastacia had lost the only sister that had ever accepted her, loved her. She had taken everything from Abrielle, causing her to break ties between them because of the pain she’d inflicted by taking her chance for a real family. Anastacia and Abrielle had bonded because they were Alexis Stone’s bastard children. Abrielle, his second child born of an affair with an Italian woman, and Anastacia, his youngest child born of an affair with his African maid.
“Abrielle does not love me, Anastacia. She doesn’t know me. It was only one night almost two years ago—”
“She is the mother of your child, Cesare. You two have a bond that you and I will never have …”
“She and I will never have what I have with you. You
know
me, Ana. Now stop this foolishness and come home! Tell me where you are so I can come and get you.”
Anastacia closed her eyes tight and fought against telling him. Cesare always had a way of making her tell him the truth. She had never been able to lie to him as easily as she’d done to others. “No. I can’t. Even if you will give me all I want, like you say, I am in no position to be what you and Ky-ky need right now. I am …” she fought off the sudden rush of despair in effort to continue, “… I’m not myself.” Unfortunately, she lost the battle and began to weep. This point was the lowest Anastacia had ever fallen. Gone was the tough exterior, the cold demeanor, the fearless beauty, and left to replace her was a worthless, pitiful woman, drowning in her own sadness. It was times like these that reminded her she was not Stone … she was only human. She couldn’t live anymore. “I can’t live anymore, Cesare,” she sobbed into the phone. This was it for her. She’d made it as long as she could without her father. “I can’t go on.”
“What are you saying, Ana?” Fear and panic was obvious in his tone. “Tell me where you are. I will pick you up. We will talk it through.”
It was the eve of her twenty-first birthday. She would end it tomorrow.
“I can’t,” she cried. “I can’t look at you because it hurts too much.” She was so close. So close to having one person in this world that came from her, that belonged to her … then one day the baby just stopped moving. The worst part was delivering her stillborn child. The months after her baby’s death did absolutely nothing to ease the pain. The only time she felt at peace was when she had Ky-ky in her arms. Sadly, she was no longer able to care for him. Not while she was in this state of mind. “I need to go.”
“Ana, no don’t hang up! Ana—”
Anastacia hung up before he could say anymore. Quickly she exited the phone booth and walked out into the pouring rain. Wrapping her arms around her shivering body, she walked around the city of Naples, Italy searching for a warm place to sleep, but it proved to be difficult. Everywhere she went she was told that there were no rooms available. Of course the men then offered her shelter in their rooms, some even asked her why she was out alone. Their concern was far from genuine and Anastacia knew it.
Paolo had always told her that Naples was no place for her to roam alone, that she needed to belong to someone. Anastacia knew she could go to him, but she didn’t want to anymore. She was sick of Paolo. He was too possessive; he suffocated her, tried to control her. She appreciated all he’d done for her. When she had nothing, he and his father had taken her in and gave her all that she need. In fact, his father even allowed her to help him with his business, which Anastacia greatly enjoyed. However, the obsessive love Paolo had for her became too much. It was one-sided. Anastacia cared for Paolo, but only in the way a sister would care for her brother. She tried to tell this to Paolo, but he never listened. He would still come to her room at night, attempting to kiss and touch her, and she would have to beat him until he got the picture.