REVIEW
Damaged Kingdom by MJ Crouch
Gilded Empire #2
Swept back into the Gilded Empire of the Marcosa family that rules the mafia syndicate of Seattle and immersed again in the world of โQueen Mariโ was a sizzling treat and impossible to stop reading once I started.
What I liked:
* Mari: strong, ruthless, survivor, hands-on, holds the reins tightly, well-oiled team to support her, cares deeply for her โfamilyโ, good friend, does what it takes, has three men who love her and would die for her
* Greyson: Mariโs second in command, her friend since childhood, loving and a lover, strong, level-headed, wants what is best for Mari
* Dominic: Mariโs first love, abandoned her, let her down more than once, slowly moving back into being trusted with the possibility of being Mariโs love and lover
* Nate: new on the scene, younger, lethal, slowly learning more about him, protective, loves Mari, feels he has found home
* The secrets that are slowly being revealed while knowing there must be many more that will be uncovered as the series progresses
* That the book drew me in, made me care, and hope that there can be a happily ever after for Mari and her men
* Wondering how Cameron and Ailynn will get along in their arranged marriage
* That though the main characters are criminals they are human, have feelings, care about some things, and can love deeply
* Everything exceptโฆ
What I didnโt like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like
* Thinking about how ruthless and evil some of the characters in this series are โ do hope that at least one receives his just rewards by the end of the series.
Did I like this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Definitely!
Thank you to the author for the ARC โ This is my honest review.
5 Stars
BLURB
I always knew I would die young, so being left to bleed out on a warehouse floor is no shock to me.
But as the blood seeps from my body, my thoughts arenโt of the Marcosa empire Iโve ruled for years, or the city Iโve given everything to protect.
Itโs on the three men whoโve stood by my side:
Greyson โ my soul, my foundation. So hard and reserved, showing emotion only to me.
Dominic โ my heart, my first love. Heโs a dreamer but can wreck me in the best ways possible.
Nate - my comfort, my peace. He soothes and calms me even though Iโve only known him a short time.
My enemies have done their best to destroy me, and now itโs up to my men to piece me back together.
They will do anything to make that happen. But they canโt protect me from the threat none of us ever saw coming...
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Delilah
โUgh, this stain will never come out,โ I huff, dabbing a rag soaked in hydrogen peroxide on the bloodstain covering my white dress.
Why do I wear white?
โUghhhhโฆโ I glance over at the man attempting to crawl away with two broken kneecaps.
โOh baby, youโre not going to get very far like that,โ I muse, tsking my finger in his direction even though his back is turned to me. My eyes flickering back to the stain in annoyance.
I stride across the room, my heels clicking as I move over the bloodstained concrete floors. When I reach him, I step my heel onto the back of his already broken knee โ the baseball bat was a great choice for that. I've always wanted to do that. Itโs basically on this weird bucket list I have, to commit murders and torture that are so beyond mafia cliche, but for some reason, itโs just really fucking fun.
โAhhh!โ he screams, pounding his fist into the concrete floor and trying to claw away from me.
โWhere are you trying to go, baby?โ I hum. โI thought we were getting along so well.โ
โCrazy bitch,โ he manages to stutter out, and I lift my foot slightly.
โNow, sweetheart, if weโre going to be name-calling here, I prefer Cunt.โ
โWhat the hell do you want!โ he demands, and I can feel my lips curving into a deadly smile.
I take my foot off of his broken knee, stepping around to face him. I crouch down on my haunches in front of him, reaching my hand out to roughly grip his chin and force him to look at me. I dig my nails into his cheek, feeling the heat of his blood on my fingertips as my nails slip into the wounds.
โI want the location of the girl,โ I tell him, my voice low, emotionless, a drastic contrast to the evil smile on my face.
โI donโt know what you mean,โ he manages to grit through clenched teeth.
Very few things get my apathy to warm into any kind of emotion, but when bastards bring innocent children into their games, it strikes a chord deep in my gut. A chord that twists until Iโm tied into knots. When I feel any sense of emotion at all, I want to set everything around me on fire, burn it to a crisp, everything and everyone. Nothing is safe, not even myself.
โLook, Iโve been friendly, but youโre really trying my patience, and you already ruined my dress. Youโre not earning yourself any points here,โ I tell him, dropping my grip on his face and watching as he barely manages to hold himself up.
โFine, weโll just do this the hard way then,โ I huff out, covering my emotions under a veil that I have spent years masterfully crafting.
I had plans tonight, and he is ruining what is supposed to be my night off.
I kick off my heels and walk barefoot across the cold concrete warehouse floor. Making my way to the corner, I turn the stereo on. Thereโs no need for the neighbors to call in the screams. Swaying as the soothing melody of Death in My Pocket by Machine Gun Kelly starts to blast through the speakers.
I look back, and Marco is still trying to crawl away; it's almost cute the effort he is putting in. If I had the time tonight, I would have set him out for a hunt, but I just donโt have time to play cat and mouse.
Turning, I walk to the center of the room, grabbing a chain and pulling it hard to gain enough slack. Then I walk back over to Marco, pulling his ankle until he screams, but I barely even hear him over the music. I wrap the chain around his ankles, making sure itโs tight enough that he canโt get out anytime soon.
We might be here for a while.
I smile as I drop my hold on his ankles. Walking back over to the center of the room, I grab the remote control and turn on the pulley system. It starts to retract the chain, pulling Marco across the warehouse floor. He screams, thrashing himself at the unforgiving floor, and does everything he can think to do to make the pain stop. I stop the pulley as Marco appears in front of me.
Looking down, I smile at him.
โHey there, ready to talk?โ I ask, cocking my head to the side. โOr shall we keep going?โ
โWho. Are. You?โ he manages to grit out, his chest heaving, the pain probably close to unbearable at this point. Even the most brutal criminals, the ones that have been through Hell and back, have never been a match for my level of sadistic torment.
I bend down once more, tilting my head to the side and flipping my blond hair over my shoulder, revealing the small witch hat tattooed just behind my left ear. When I look down, Marco seems as if he just saw a ghost.
My name is Delilah Beau, but they call me La Bruja โ The Witch.
When I was sixteen, I took my first life, and from that day forward, I knew what Mama always said was true; I had the hands of Angels guiding me โ of something a little more sinister. Maybe it was the demons of the Devil himself that set me on this path of murder โ the ability to slip in and out of situations without anyone even realizing Iโm there โ and the inability to feel anything. Then again, maybe God and his Angels really are guiding me, looking out for me every step of the way.
Apathy is a gift I was given, and that shit was wrapped up neatly with a fucking bow on top.
A handful of people know who I truly am, that know the face associated with the name and the job. Most people that meet The Witch donโt live long enough to tell anyone about it.
I think it takes a special kind of psycho to be able to convince everyone theyโre not a killer. My family thinks Iโm an assistant at a big law firm downtown. In that regard, Iโm a bit of a psychopath. You know, like Bundy? Because no one truly suspects me, but I am capable of caring for people; I love my brother and my best friend. So I may be a psychopath, but perhaps Iโm just a girl who lacks the ability to feel like normal people do.
I slightly shake my head, forcing the thoughts away, this is no time to debate how I got this gift or why.
โAre you ready to talk now?โ I ask Marco one last time, my finger hovering over the pulley button.
โSheโsโฆ Theyโre keeping her at a safe house in Savage,โ he grits out.
โAddress,โ I demand.
โI donโt know,โ he grits out in pain. โItโs a blue single-story house at the end of Deadman Road.โ
โCreative,โ I deadpan.
โHow many guards?โ I ask.
โThey rotate, two at a time,โ he pants, his pain beginning to get the better of him. Such a shame, this could have been fun.
โI was going to keep you here until I found her, but you have been super helpful. How about I just let you go?โ I ask with a sweet smile on my face and my voice laced with honey.
His eyes snap open and meet mine, panic racing across his features. โTheyโll kill me, I-I only talked โcause Iโm already a fucking deadman. If you donโt kill me, they will,โ he pleads.
I bend over, gripping his face and turning him to look at me. โI know,โ I whisper just loud enough to be heard over the music.
โI mean, didnโt you read the handbook, Marcus? Snitches get stitches.โ
โJust fucking kill me, you witch!โ he screams, and I grin.
โDonโt worry too much. You wonโt make it very far,โ I shrug my shoulder as I lightly kick one of his busted knees. I stand and press the button to lower the pulley and it provides just enough slack to undo the chain around his ankles.
โYouโre free to go,โ I tell him, waving him off as I turn around and walk back to the stereo, turning off the music.
I turn around, and Marco is attempting to crawl across the floor once more. Itโs actually quite comical at this point. Turning towards the large gray cabinet, I punch in my code and open the metal door, tapping my finger against my chin while I muse over the various items inside until finding the perfect one. I smile, reaching in and pulling out my brand new compact bow.
Perfect for hunting, my second favorite pastime.
Iย reach back into the cabinet for an arrow, feeling the feathers before loading it into the bow, pulling back the string. I catch sight of Marcoโs retreating form and release. The arrow leaves the bow in a whirl, flying across the room and landing right on the target. I smile, turning around and replacing the bow in its spot, then I spin back around and happily skip my bare feet across the cold floor. When I reach Marco, there is a small pool of blood forming underneath his still body. I bend over and wrench the arrow from his back; it managed to go through his ribs and right to his heart.
Exactly where I wanted it.
I smile as I bring the arrow up to study the blood dripping off of it. Looking down at Marcoโs body, I huff, realizing Iโm going to have to drag him to the incinerator. What a pain in the ass. However, that new addition to the warehouse has already made body disposal a hundred times easier than it used to be. I got the tip from an old friend, and needless to say, she knows her stuff when it comes to body clean-up.
I glance around the room until I spot a rope. Walking over, I grab it and then amble back over to Marcoโs dead body. I tie the rope around his ankles, then use it to pull him across the floor โ deadweight is not easy to move; itโs a hell of a workout.
We reach the corner where the incinerator is, and I grab the pulley chain above it. I learned quickly that no matter how much I work out, I cannot lift men over two hundred and fifty pounds of dead weight into the incinerator on my own. So I managed to install another pulley over here that allows me not to have to worry about doing all the heavy lifting.
I press the button, lifting the body, and I shove him into the opening, making sure to slowly lower the pulley chain as I push him further inside.
When he is safely tucked in, I close the door, locking it, and start to turn on the burners, clicking the button until the flames appear.
I turn the timer on and walk out of the warehouse. By the time I get back here, there won't be anything left of Marco but ash.
* * *
Alex: Where are you?
Alex: Thought we were doing movies.
Delilah: Something came up, I can still come by. But Iโll be late.
Alex: Do I want to know?
Delilah: Do you ever?
Alex: Fair point.
Alex: Iโm pretty worn out, letโs just meet up tomorrow or something.
Delilah: Sure, we can hit up Crazy Eights.
Alex: You know I hate that place, itโs such a dive.
Delilah: Someone new bought it, looks like itโs been cleaned up a bit. I might swing by tonight and check it out. Iโll report back.
Alex: Deal.
Alex: Text me when youโre home.
I stash my phone in the glove box of my car and check my jacket pockets for my weapons. Pushing open the door to my blacked-out Camaro โ a car I only own because I have too much money for my own good โ I step out onto the darkened street. I adjust my hair in the reflection of my window, then turn and saunter over to the last, blue, single-story house on Deadman Road.
Seriously, this town either lacks originality when naming places, or they were really shooting for a theme here. If you live in Savage, California, you probably live on a street named something like Deadman Road. You party down at Switchblade Cove. And you raft down Arterial Creek in the summer.
See? Theme.
I make my way up the driveway, unzipping my leather jacket to reveal high-waisted black leather pants and a red crop top. I knock on the door and put on my best sexy smirk, the kind that screams, Iโm a paid escort.
The door opens slowly revealing one fairly large man. โWhat do you want?โ he asks in a gruff tone.
I reach my hand up and twirl a finger through my long blond hair. โHey sexy,โ I coo. โCan I come in?โ I purr as he looks me up and down.
โDepends. Why are you here?โ he asks, opening the door a little wider to show another man leaning against a wall across the room. Itโs a move that says theyโre trying to figure out why Iโm here, but also they donโt want me to leave even if Iโm at the wrong house.
โIโm bought and paid for, for you and your friend,โ I nod my head to the man across the room.
โOh, yeah?โ he asks, his eyebrows rising in surprise.
โYup. Bossman said you guys earned a bonus. Iโm the bonus,โ I say as I pull my jacket open and twirl around on my stilettos.
โSeems like a good bonus to me. What do you think, Chad?โ the man in front of me calls over his shoulder to his friend. Turning back to look me over once more, biting his lip and eye-fucking me before I even make it through the door.
โI agree,โ Chad says as he makes his way across the room.
โShall we go to a room?โ I ask, batting my eyelashes at them dramatically.
โWho first?โ Chad asks.
โFirst? Oh, I was just planning on a doubleheader,โ I say and wink at them, watching their eyes grow wide with excitement. They reach their fists out for a bump, and then Chad grabs my hand and leads me down the hallway with the other one trailing behind us.
โWhatโs your name, handsome?โ I ask over my shoulder.
โMike.โ
We make it into a back bedroom, minimally decorated, just the basics; a bed, empty closet, a single nightstand, and an attached bath. Chad pulls me over to the bed, sitting down on the end, and I move to straddle his thighs. He begins to run his hands over me, moving to roughly grip my ass as I feel Mike push in behind me. I press my chest close to Chad and quickly manage to grab two switchblades before Mike pushes my jacket off my shoulders.
I run my hand over Chadโs back, and as he moves to pepper kisses along my neck, I run a blade across his. Feeling the blood from his wound start to pour down my chest, I manage to lay him down on the mattress. Mike, too distracted at the prospect of my ass to care that his friend is dying in front of him.
I reach my hand back, gripping Mikeโs wrist and urging him onto the bed by his friend thatโs bleeding out. Quickly I move over to his lap, and he doesnโt even notice the blood as he grips my ass.
I stab my sharp blade up into his throat, twisting it before pulling it back out, and more blood coats my chest, effectively ruining my entire outfit but turning it a pretty shade of red. I slide off Mikeโs lap, closing my blades and picking up my jacket from the ground. I shrug it over my shoulders and zip it up to cover the blood. Moving into the bathroom, I wash my hands, throat, and my blades. Then I turn the lights off as I walk out of the room and check the other bedrooms until I find her.
โHey, are you Bethany?โ I ask the scared girl, whoโs huddled up in the corner. She doesn't move or answer me. I reach into my back pocket and pull out a picture her mother gave me. Itโs a sweet photo, she told me she keeps it in her purse at all times, and it shows Bethany sitting on her mom's lap at her last birthday party.
โHere, your mommy gave this to me. She misses you, so Iโm here to bring you home,โ I inform her, slowly moving across the room.
โNo!โ she screams. โStay away, I donโt know you!โ she yells, and I try hard not to laugh. At least sheโs a fighter; I love that for her.
โChurch,โ I tell her softly.
โWhat?โ she asks, perking up slightly.
โChurch, your mommy told me to tell you Iโm going to take you to church.โ
โYou do know my Mom!โ she yells and nearly launches herself off the bed and into my arms. She nuzzles her head into my shoulder, hugging me tightly.
โYeah, sweetie, let's get you home,โ I whisper.
Hugging her close to me, we make our way out of the dark room, down the hallway, and out the front door. I move quickly down the street, and when I get to my car, I donโt even bother to set her down. I slide in with her still clinging to me like a spider monkey until I have to put her in the passenger seat and buckle her in.
โWhat about the bad men?โ she whispers as I start my car.
โThey will never be able to hurt you again, I promise,โ I tell her as we pull away from the curb, and I race down the street. If I have anything to do with it, no one will ever lay a hand on her again.
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Second Male Leads Are all Yanderes but I Won't Rest Until I Win My Love Back (Female Reader x OCs)
CHAPTER 1
Story will start from below synopsis
Every second male lead who appeared in this world had a hidden yandere side that can emerge at any moment and turn them into a twisted and obsessive villain.
As someone with a severe case of the "second male lead syndrome", you are determined to pursue your love for the second male lead, leaving the original male lead to become the second.
While you were busy chasing after the second male lead, the original male lead kept on bothering you and trying to get you to choose him instead.
"Don't you dare to come any closer!" You snap at the original male lead, your tone sharp and firm.
"Oh, and who's going to stop me? You?" The yandere stares at you, a menacing look in their eyes, as their body slowly moves closer.
"Too close! Step back!"
"Your words mean nothing to me. You can't control me. I will come as close as I please, you can't stop me."
As if a yandere was not enough, when you chose to ignore the original male lead, another second male lead suddenly entered your life, further complicating the situation.
The yandere and the upcoming second male lead both seem determined to have you for themselves, and they were both very possessive and pushy in their approaches to you.
You just wanted to be happy with your true love. Yandere or not, you would stick with your crush!
CHAPTER 1: THE CONFESSION
How would you determine for a man to be the first or second male lead? From behind a bush, you secretly watched a famous young knight professed his love to the most esteemed lady at the academy.
Confessions of love are a natural thing, it was everyone's right to develop such a feeling. However, how could you confess when you were hanging out with your best friend who had a crush on the same girl? We should talk about the timing there!ย
There was a clear idiot word displayed on the knight's forehead in your eyes. His look also looks a bit stupid with a dump grin as he passionately confessing his love, forgetting his bestfriend altogether. Self-centeredness and idiocy were not a nice combination.
The girl appeared shyly glancing at him while softly playing with her eyelashes, deeply engrossed in the moment. Their surroundings were filled with a colorful display of flowers, bathed in the gentle rays of sunlight. What a truly perfect match.
'Hey, Liesel and Cyrus! My man over there, yeah, the one who is being ignored and neglected by you guys is having a moment of deep sadness and heartbreak right now. If you could please be the best friends that you're supposed to be and show some compassion and support, that would be greatly appreciated.'
You sighed with disappointmentย as both of them cannot hear your thoughts. It appeared that you were the one who must take action to save your man. Your crush hung his head low, using his glistening silver hair to shield his face from the painful scene unfolding before him. Hiding behind this wall of silvery locks, you could witness him hiding his tears.ย
That was the difference between the male lead and the second male lead. One was a courageous figure, while the other merely existed in service of the female protagonist, loving and watching her from the sideline. As if she deserved such a title.
Despite the apparent contrast between the male lead and the second male lead, you found your true interest in the latter. You preferred him who was not as bold or confident, but who was always considerate of others' feelings. Even though all his paintings related to that famous girl, you still would like to declare that,
'My man finally is officially available!'
You made your way to your man, his head still bowed, tears still streaming down his face. You reached out a reassuring hand and quickly pulled him away from the scene. He appeared confused, and you flashed a triumphant glance in his direction, a bright smile upon your face.
"It's alright Adrian. My love is only for you"
>> CHAPTER 2
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