A Rage Like No Other
Larissa
I was sure they would rescue me after I was kidnapped, but with each passing year of pain and torture, the mind-altering drugs, and being forced to live in a cage, I lost who I used to be, and became the killer Amon turned me into.
The Morelli brothers
Larissa was dead. There’d been proof.
Caspian, the oldest, heir to a Mafia kingdom. The memory of Larissa is a sharp pain that never goes away. They say I became a cold, calculating monster after she died. Maybe they’re right.
Ezra, the daredevil. The more dangerous the job, the more brutal, the better. I take risks, and just for a little while, I can forget how much I loved her.
Jude, the romantic. After Larissa died, it killed something inside me. I know I’m harder, angrier, and I really don’t care.
We should’ve known he only wanted us to believe Larissa was dead. He stole what we loved and created a monster, then he set her loose to destroy us.
Will we have to end the life of the one we once loved? Or can we save her?
This is an 18+ dark romance so may contain triggers. There are scenes of graphic violence. This is a why choose romance. The love scenes are explicit. No cliffhangers. HEA. I hope you enjoy the story!
Chapter One
Larissa
“You can’t go, Rissa. It’s still early,” Jude begged as he went to the refrigerator.
Think about something else and not how devastatingly attractive Jude looks right now.
Deep breath as I looked around. Something generic, like the clubhouse and how it was all decked out with a small kitchen always stocked with soda, beer, and frozen pizzas, besides a ton of snacks in the cabinets.
I frowned in thought. You couldn’t really call it a clubhouse. It was more like a mancave, complete with a movie screen and projector, comfortable chairs, and a sofa. As far as I knew, I was the only female ever invited to hang out with them here. We were like the four musketeers.
Jude grabbed a beer, then turned to look at me with that pitiful expression again.
“It’s nearly ten, and I’ve got to get up early in the morning,” I told them—again, but I was smiling as I smoothed my fingers over the heart-shaped necklace they had given me not long after we met when I was thirteen. It was beautiful, with a silver heart and three smaller hearts dangling from it. It was the perfect gift. We’d been best friends since forever.
No, it was more than that. It was as if there was an unbreakable bond between us.
That was why I faced such a dilemma. I mean, how could I resist Jude, the youngest of the Morelli boys and only a few years older than me? It wasn’t easy, not when he looked at me with those seductive green eyes begging me to stay.
My heart fluttered.
“It’s your graduation.” Ezra raised his beer to his lips and took a drink before setting it back down. "You only graduate high school once."
I turned my gaze to Ezra, who was almost as bad. Maybe a little edgier than Jude, but just as handsome. He loved taking chances, and when he looked at me as he was now, my toes curled. He was not going to be any help, either.
I turned to Caspian, the oldest, hoping he would at least be on my side, but Caspian only leaned back, his smoldering green eyes raking slowly over me before returning to meet my gaze. My thighs clenched as the heat from that one look wrapped around me, pulling me closer.
When had our relationship started changing and becoming more sexual? And that was exactly what had happened.
“Ezra’s right. You’re going to college in the fall. It’s time to live a little.” Caspian’s gaze never left mine. It was almost as if he was daring me to stay longer. His eyes held the promise of more than conversation.
Wasn't that what I wanted? Deep down inside me, in a place I hadn't dared explore too deeply, I knew what I wanted. I’d been thinking about it more and more. I wasn’t sure what they were doing to me, but I liked how they made me feel. Not just one brother, but all three. It was crazy because most girls my age had crushes on one boy. I had a crush on three.
Tempting. I sighed. Way too tempting.
They were definitely bad boys, and I enjoyed every minute I was with them.
I once asked my father why he did business with Mr. Morelli if the family was so dangerous. I wasn't stupid. I knew what the Mafia was like. My father told me it was just business and everything he did was legit. I wondered if that was actually true. Since I loved the boys, I didn’t complain too much.
That was funny. Calling them boys, that is. They were men. Caspian was twenty-seven, Ezra twenty-five, and Jude was closer to my age of eighteen at twenty-two, but they seemed much more mature than me, which wasn't my fault. My father sheltered me. My eyebrows drew together in thought. Come to think about it, so did the brothers.
I mentally shook away my wandering thoughts. I had to go. Daddy would worry if I was late. I twirled my keys. He’d bought me a shiny, baby blue BMW with all the bells and whistles, and he expected me home by a specific time. It was the least I could do. That's where the heart of my problem lay. I was also a good girl—which kind of sucked right now.
"I'll see you at the party Daddy’s throwing tomorrow night." I started toward the door but turned at the last minute. “I love you guys.” Feeling the heat stain my cheeks, I hurried out. By the time I got to my car, I was grinning. God, I loved them so much I was almost bursting.
I got in and started the car, then drove off. Tingles of pleasure spread over me. High School was finally behind me. Thank God! College was going to be so much better. Would one of the brothers make a move? After all, I was getting older. I was going…
"Pull over up ahead," a gravelly voice spoke from behind me. Before I could react, he put a gun against my temple.
I froze, cold chills running up and down my spine. I began to shiver. What should I do? News stories exploded inside my mind. Women who pulled over and were then raped or murdered.
“Do as I say, and I won't hurt you."
“How do I know if you’re telling the truth?” My voice cracked.
Oh God, oh God, oh God. Please, I don’t want to die. I had so many plans. I had my future all mapped out. Tears began to run down my face. What was I supposed to do? Just pull over? Would he kill me anyway? I sucked back a sob.
“I only want your fancy car,” he said.
Relief filled me. “You can have the car,” I blurted. “I have a little money in my purse. You can have that, too. Just please, don’t hurt me.”
“I promise I won’t harm you. As long as you don’t see my face, that is.”
“I won’t look,” I swore, but the first thing I wanted to do was glance in the rearview mirror. It was all I could do to look straight in front of me. I continued down the road for a few more miles.
“Slow down. Pull to the right at the wide spot up ahead,” he ordered.
I drew in a terrified breath but did as he requested. I began to shake harder once the car stopped.
“Shift into park, then turn off the key.”
“Okay.” I did exactly as he said.
“Now, hand me the keys without turning around.”
My hands were shaking so much I was afraid I’d drop them. My stomach churned when his cold, bony fingers closed over mine.
“Please, can I go now?”
A cloth was suddenly pressed against my face, covering my nose and mouth. I fought against him, but he was too strong, and whatever was on the cloth was suffocating me and making me dizzy. Right before darkness closed around me, he spoke softly near my ear.
“You’ll become my weapon against them. You’ll see what they’re really like behind the masks. Then, you will kill them one…by…one.”
