Free A Kingpin Love Affair by J.L. Beck Page A

know these two women’s stories, and for the first time, I wanted to share mine. I wanted to confide in someone without worrying if I would ever get the chance to do so again. Plus, staying in my room contemplating life wouldn’t be fair to them, especially after the way they had treated me.
    Standing up, I walked back out of my room toward the living room. Tegan and Bree were talking softly as I made my way down the hall. I could hear Jared’s name being spoken, and it forced me to stop right outside the entryway, listening intently.
    “He’s never called me. I mean he has, but it’s been months, Teg. Months. I really feel like Isabella might be the one thing he needs to set him free of whatever it is that’s holding him back. I don’t know why. Call me crazy if you want, but I feel it in my heart.” There was sadness in Bree’s voice that caused my own heart to ache. She cared for her brother—that much was true.
    There was a small pause, Gia and Taylor’s sounds filling the silence before Tegan responded. “Hey, I don’t think you’re crazy but listen to me. He has his own reasons for hurting. Just like you did, Zerro did, Devon and even I did. We all deal with things differently. Izzy, she’s something special for sure. Neither one of them may see it, but she is already changing him. The Jared we have seen these last three years would have never invited us over. He would have left her here and not cared. He cares for her even if he doesn’t want to acknowledge it. They are two broken people, just like all of us were.” Tegan paused briefly before carrying on. “Just remember, two broken people have the power to bring one another together, or they have enough power to take everyone and everything out. Destruction. Mayhem. Even love rests in their hands.” Tegan spoke far wiser than her age as if she understood what true brokenness really was. 
    I turned my back against the wall, my hands clutching my chest. The way they spoke told me they had pasts, they had walked somewhere in the darkness all on their own. I didn’t know how they came to be or where they were from. They could’ve had the same upbringing as I had or worse. Just because they hid their pain better than me didn’t mean they weren’t hurting.
    “You’re right. I just hope the light I see inside of Isabella can pull Jared from the darkness that has surrounded him. If she can’t, then I don’t think there is any saving him.” Bree sounded so defeated that I could feel the sadness as it seeped into the room. It was then I wondered what had caused Jared so much pain.
    What caused him to push everyone he loved away?
     

Chapter Ten
    Jared
    Music blared from somewhere inside the house, the beat causing the front door to vibrate as my mind wondered what exactly Bree and Tegan had done to Isabella. Had they transformed her? Had they caused her to lose touch with the reality of her dreams that plagued her?
    Without another thought, I unlocked the front door and pushed through it. Rihanna’s S&M instantly rattling my eardrums. Isabella was nowhere in sight, so I closed the door quietly behind me and headed further into the house. The music grew louder as I got closer to the hallway. I was just about to head toward my bedroom when a blur formed before me as her body slid right past me. My eyes were still directed to the floor, to the pair of sock covered feet before me. Then they were gliding up her body, taking in the fact that her legs were bare.
    Completely fucking bare.
    Holy. Fucking. Shit.
    They were tan and smooth—and long, and… Fuck! Was I drooling? I wanted to grab one and wrap it around my waist as I caressed the silkiness of her skin.
    A squeak filled the air as she noticed me, yet my attention was still on her legs. By the time I made it up to the hem of the shirt she was wearing, which happened to be mine, I was panting. Ready to fucking devour her in every way imaginable. She looked up at me innocently, her cheeks growing