Presley Brookmore was bullied by her older half-brother Odin and his two best friends Cruz and Anderson, all of her life. They made it their life mission to humiliate her at every turn. Was it her fault her father carried on an affair with her mother who got pregnant with her and wrecked Odin’s idyllic life? She didn’t think so but apparently, Odin and his cronies did, and so they bullied her at every turn. When an opportunity to get back at Odin’s best friend Cruz Hawley presents itself in a serendipitous moment, she doesn’t let it slip away. Taking full advantage of the fact as a billionaire, an attractive one at that, all eyes are on him and people are snapping photos and videos of the celebrity in the restaurant, she makes a scene straight out a daytime soap opera. Cruz Hawley returned to Vancouver with the intent to take his billion-dollar medical equipment company to the next level. When his childhood best friend’s younger sister pops out of the woodwork and not only destroys his chance at a connection with a client, but makes him a social media sensation, his businesses take the hit. Cruz is going to teach the troublemaker a lesson but it’s his heart on the line when he finds himself looking forward to every challenge she is presenting. It’s win, lose, or draw and as a former Olympian, there is no way he can lose. Let the game of hearts begin. Winner takes all.
View MoreWalking into the breakfast area in the morning, Presley was surprised to find it full of Russian men and she couldn’t contain her giggle when Cruz walked in behind her, and they all pounded their chests and screamed “Kong!”“You are so never living it down.”“I imagine they could have given me worse nicknames,” he shrugged as he nodded at Anderson who was sitting in a corner morosely pushing an omelet around his plate. “They named him Chip.”“Chip?”“Like microchip but chip.”“I wonder what is wrong with him?”“I imagine it’s that,” Cruz gestured in the direction of where Halima was sitting at a table surrounded by six Russian men all eagerly sharing their breakfasts with her and flirting outrageously.“Rami is here!” Presley tore away from Cruz and raced to where he was standing by the breakfast bar. “Rami!”“My fifth sister!” he swung her up in his arms, hugging her tightly. “It is so good to see you looking so well rested.” He set her down and pulled something from inside the pocke
The room looked the same. Why she thought or believed the room she shared with Cruz was going to be different somehow after only a couple of nights away was confusing to her. Yet, in her mind, as she looked around the room and saw all her belongings exactly where she left them, interspersed with Cruz’s things, she felt the urge to cry. Nothing was changed.“What’s wrong?” Cruz immediately noted the way she was rapidly blinking.“I thought it would be altered.”“Altered how?”“I don’t know. I thought maybe my things would be gone or put away or yours would be packed up.”He smiled as he took her hand and led her to the bathroom. “Now why would I pack stuff up? I wasn’t leaving here without you, Presley.” He turned the shower on. “Do you want help or do you want some time alone?”“Would you be upset if I said I wanted some time alone?”“You’ve been surrounded by men for the last twenty-four hours, all of whom you didn’t know. I completely understand why you want to be alone. Take your s
Once they arrived back at the resort, Presley was taken into a reserved room where food and drinks were prepared for her and her family.Algernon and Sloane were the last to arrive and Presley was dumbfounded by her best friend’s appearance. Bruised eyes, swollen lips and hair in disarray, her friend who was usually so well put together, was a mess.Sloane raced to her and hugged her tight. “I missed you.”“Did you because you look like you’ve been very well distracted.” Presley was only half-teasing.“I think I love him,” Sloane whispered in her ear. “I’ve never felt like this before. He sees me, Presley. He sees my heart and we connect so deeply. I can’t help but feel all of this was some divine plan to bring me into his life or him into mine. All I know is it’s meant to be. I think I love him.”Presley squeezed her friend in her arms, “then love him. It’s okay to love him. He’s a good man. He’s a nice man. If he makes you happy, then I’m happy.”“Are you okay?” Sloane leaned back t
The men lifted the door off the groaning man on the floor and Presley stifled a giggle.“That was insane.” She looked at Cruz who was glowering at the man with such rage she wasn’t sure he wasn’t going to stomp on the man without the door between them. She immediately moved to stand in front of him. “Hey, Kong,” he turned and gave her an annoyed glance, “good job taking out the bad guy like a movie star stunt man but maybe we can get out of the way so they can get him upstairs.”“I’d rather throw the fucking door back on top of him.”“With the way his nose is bleeding, I think it’s broken and he’s breathing funny so definitely some broken ribs. You’ve done enough damage.” She was tugging him back towards the stairs. She grinned at Belkin who was waiting, “it worked. Cruz jumped on him.”The men all started cheering as Liborio was dragged up the stairs and thrown at Belkin’s feet. Belkin squatted and grabbed the semi-conscious man by the jaw.“You fucked up my friend. You kidnapped a w
Presley wrapped her arms and legs around Cruz’s neck, and he crushed her to his frame.“Fuck Ladybird, oh fuck,” his voice cracked as he buried his head in her hair.She couldn’t help herself and she was sobbing uncontrollably in the crook of his neck as he stood holding her while men milled all around them. Despite the yelling and the way everyone was rushing around, in the midst of trying to get the ship back under their control before other factions arrived to assist Liborio, she felt nothing but the relief of being in Cruz’s arms.She felt him carrying her away after someone yelled at him in French and he was taking her to a more secure location, away from the possibility of gunfire. He wasn’t letting her go through. The sound of his sniffling and clearing his throat made her pull her head back and look at him. Tears stained his cheeks as he tucked them against a small corner of a wall. Cupping his cheeks with her hands she stared into his eyes. “Hi.”His laugh made her smile, “hi
Presley looked around the quiet room, grateful the men were still tending to the bruises and shallow breathing of Odin despite how furious they all were with him. Then suddenly there was a cacophony overhead as it sounded like hundreds of feet hit the deck overhead.“What is going on?” she made wide eyes at Rami.“The cavalry has arrived,” he smiled at the men. “Now we wait. As much as we’d love very much to go up and shoot some of these fuckers who stole our ship, we will wait here with you and keep you safe.”Liborio’s voice rang out, but it seemed he was talking to someone other than them. “You should leave. I have your crew and Presley locked up down here and she does not leave without me. If you try to come down for her, I will kill us all, including your eleven men, the captain’s wife and child, and Presley.”“He’s nuttier than a Christmas fruit cake,” Presley muttered angrily. “Would your gun’s bullets make it through the metal barricades? Seriously. If you could take one shot
Cruz could feel his heart thundering in his chest. He was a known adrenaline junky. He’d be the first to admit it. He’d sky dived multiple times in his life. He loved activities which got his blood pumping and his heart racing. Yet, this time, the adrenaline running through his veins was not excitement but nervous terror.Belkin let him know before they boarded the chopper Presley wasn’t lying about Liborio taking a hit out on him. The man wanted him dead. Belkin said he’d sent out a message to the underworld indicating Cruz was now one of his and any attempts on his life would not end well for anyone. He’d also confirmed he declared a war against Liborio for violating multiple treaties between their families and he’d collected allies. The problem was, Liborio had friends in places as dark as some of Belkin’s hid and as a result there was a great divide. Many families were indeed on Liborio’s side, supporting his right to choose his bride how he saw fit. Most of those families were no
Presley was sitting in the kitchen directly in front of the door, on a table, watching as the men tended to Odin as if he were one of their own.“Is he going to be okay?”“Not sure. He took a lot of hits to the head.” Rami tossed a bag from under a cabinet to one of the men who opened it and began digging through the bag.The cook grabbed a pair of scissors from a drawer and began cutting Odin’s clothes off his body. Presley whimpered at the bruises which covered him from head to toe.“He’s breathing funny.”“Fractured ribs. Might have punctured a lung. We’re going to check him out but he’s not doing well.” Rami commented quietly.She watched as Odin’s swollen eyes barely opened fluttered, looked around as if searching for something. When his eyes landed on her, he gave a loud raspy sigh, made a gurgling noise, and then closed his eyes again.“Did he die?” she was horrified.“He’s still alive.” Rami commented quietly keeping her. “He was up on the deck when you were brought on the shi
She had just settled into the chair when the door sprung open again and Rami came in rushing, “come, come.”“What?”“They know we brought you this way and Liborio has rounded up everyone but the three of us. We need you as a hostage.”“I’m sorry, what?”“We are going to use you as a hostage.”“Rami.”“Not for real. It is a stall tactic. We are going to use you as a way to get our men back. We won’t turn you over to him. We’re going to hole up in the kitchen where it is warm and with food. One way in. One way out. You will be surrounded by all of us, but he is going to kill our captain and five of our men and,” he was waving his hand.“No!” she held her hand up. “Do not explain. Let’s go. Hell. I’ll even go with him if it means I’m saving your lives. I can’t let you all die.” She was racing to follow him.“We need to make this look good. We want him to think we kidnapped you from the beginning, so he doesn’t punish you for hiding. It is important. I don’t want him to hurt you.”“I unde
Presley Brookmore wasn’t one to let an opportunity pass her by. All of her life her older brother Odin and his two best friends Cruz Hawley and Anderson Oak did everything they could to terrorize her. Everything from jumping on her sandcastles when she was a little girl to making fun of her when she got her braces at ten to interrupting her first kiss when was thirteen.It was the first kiss which was on her mind now. While Odin and Anderson were always just on the right side of going too far, it was Cruz who didn’t just straddle the line, he hopped over it with vengeance. Cruz always took their games too far and if she wasn’t crying, he wasn’t laughing, and man did that boy love to laugh.She cocked her head to the side as she and her two friends, Sloane, Anderson’s little sister, and Halima were sitting in a restaurant. One might argue it purely happenstance which put them in the same restaurant as Cruz Hawley, but Presley was certain it was fate.“I haven’t seen him in like five, s...
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