Concede (The Diamond Empire Book 1) by Kathy Coopmans (bts book recommendations .TXT) 📕

another perverted fucker. A wet behind the ears, one at that. The guy might have a few years under his belt, but he lacks using the knowledge you’d think he learned, that’s for damn sure.

The wheels on the jet had just touched the ground at Roan’s private airport when my phone went off with a message from Aidan. That worked, as I’d planned on telling him I was staking a claim on Victoria.

He deserves and has my respect. Plus, I wanted his blessing. After all he’s done for me over the years, taking me under his wing, teaching me things, I wasn’t going to Victoria without looking him in the eye and vowing I’m as loyal to her as I am to the Empire.

I wasn’t expecting to talk to him this late at night, nor planning to kill a man, but as they say, no rest for the wicked.

I never got the chance because he already knew, which doesn’t sit well with me. It came from an asshole strapped to a chair with blood speckled palms facing up just how I’d asked them to be.

It’s a good thing I didn’t know about him before I left Houston, or I would have torn the jet apart and probably choked the hell out of the pilot for not getting me here sooner. I already had a stake in my heart over what went down with Lexi. It broke off, scattering splinters everywhere when Lane pried her off me. Little legs kicking at me, arms flailing all over the place as she hit me in the stomach. Hateful words were coming out of her mouth. A sight and sound I will never forget, and now this.

So, to say I’m a little bent out of shape. Frustrated as fuck would be an understatement.

I’m goddamn deranged.

“Look at me, you maggot fuck. This is what happens to men sticking their noses where it doesn’t belong.” I draw in my Louisiana accent. It’s always more prominent when I’m angry.

Before he has a chance to respond, a growl rips from my throat. I can’t help the rage that balls my hand into a fist and smashes into his mouth, smiling when his head snaps backward before it falls onto his chest. Red dripping like drops of rain from what’s left of his lips.

I’ll be damned if the distress he’s under doesn’t fully awaken my monster.

I can smell his death, and I hunger for it. It’s not as sweet as my addiction to Victoria. It doesn’t come close. What it’s done has my beast ripping off the door to his cage, ready to blow his top as he roars to bathe in blood, and I see nothing except a red mist.

It’s been a long damn time since I’ve let the beast inside me out to kill a man. He was ready for action while we looked for the killer. Furious as all get out when he went back into his cage with no blood on his hands, and now he’s whispering threats to kill and be done with it in my ear.

The problem with the beast caged for so long has him snarling when I tell him to simmer down. I’ve no idea what he’ll do or how long the adrenaline will stay in my system. The last time I killed someone, I had to fuck or do it again. Neither will be happening tonight after I kill Agent Wozniak and as much as I want to check on Victoria, inhale the sweet scent of her skin. See her gorgeous face, bury myself between her legs. It’s not in either of our best interests for her to see me until he’s locked back up.

That only fuels my fury further.

Agent Wozniak lifts his head and tries to speak but ends up coughing and sputtering incoherently. Aidan messed him up real nice. A blood-soaked canvas. A killer’s wet dream, and he left me the honors to finish him off.

I’m not going to complain. As he’s about to find out the type of man I am when I’m pissed the fuck off. It’s one of the reasons Roan and Aidan offered me the job.

I’m a man baptized in the fires of hell when it comes to seeking justice after someone hurts those that mean something to me for their own personal satisfaction. A man you do not want to cross. A deliver of pain—an addict with an obsession toward a woman—a toxic man when need be.

There’s no cause, no purpose for this side of me. It isn’t because I have mommy issues like some might think. I can barely remember begging the bitch for attention. I do, however, recall the day she offed herself.

At the time, I didn’t know how or why she died. I just knew she wasn’t coming back around. I cried like a baby. Those tears dried right up when I learned my brothers and I would be living with Gabe Ricci and his wife, Lena.

Precious Lena, God rest her beautiful soul. The woman was a saint. The only mother I’ve known. A wise woman, and she loved the hell out of Gabe as much as he did her.

My focus returns to the son of a bitch who deserves to die. Not only did he touch Victoria, marking her with his fingertips, he targeted my family with his plan that didn’t get very far. Both justification for death. He also placed cameras in Victoria’s apartment in Houston. For those reasons, his last breath will come by my blade. Fumes of ire flare inside me to gut him like a fish. It’s an adrenaline rush straight to my black soul.

“Are you scared to die?” The prick best answer quickly before I yank out the remainder of his teeth.

I wait for him to upright himself. To be a man and look me in the eye. I’d imagine it’s not that easy when his neck is like a limp noodle—the thing flopping around until he lines his sight with mine.

“Not in the