Self-Published | May 31, 2016 | New Adult/Mafia
Eagle Elite, book 7
★★★★★
SOURCE: INKSLINGER PR
I have lost everything.My purpose.My love.My soul.Death knocks on my door, I want to answer, but every time I reach for the handle--the promise I made her, brings me back.So I breathe.I live.I hate.And I allow the anger to boil beneath the surface of a perfectly indifferent facade.I am broken, I dont want to be fixed.One last trip to New York, one last chance to redeem a lost part of the mafia family. The Empire is crumbling and it's my job to fix it, my job to mend the pieces that were scattered over thirty years ago.The only issue is, the only way to fix, is to do something I swore I'd never do again.An arranged marriage.Only this time.I won't fall.Or so help me God, I'll kill her myself.My name is Sergio Abandanoto, you think you know my pain, my suffering, my anger, my hate--you have no idea.I am the mafia.I am the darkness.Blood in. No out.
Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she's not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.
She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband, adorable son, and two snoring boxers! She loves to hear from readers!
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You can connect with her on Facebook www.facebook.com/rachelvandyken or join her fan group Rachel's New Rockin Readers. Her website is www.rachelvandykenauthor.com.
{ excerpt } .
“Taxi.” I held up my hand. “It’s too cold to walk.”“Is it?”
“For those of us who have hearts,” I said under my breath.
He paused and then burst out laughing. “Holy shit, was that a dig at me?”
I shrugged as the taxi pulled up.
“Damn, and you’re not even apologizing.”
“It was more of a passing comment under my breath…” I got into the taxi and slid across the cold, worn vinyl seat. “But true.”
Sergio slammed the door after him. “And here I thought I was making a good impression.”
“You offered to kill me if I kissed you.”
The taxi driver frowned into the rearview mirror.
“She’s kidding,” Sergio reassured him.
I refused to let him get off that easy. “You also look at me like you want to throw up.”
Mr. Taxi Driver’s nostrils flared.
“Uh.” Sergio laughed uncomfortably. “I just have a lot on my mind.”
“The wife.”
Taxi Driver’s eyes looked like they were going to bug out of his head. Yeah, this was probably the best entertainment he’d had all day.
“I don’t talk about it,” Sergio said in a drop-the-subject voice.
“Maybe you should.”
“I have enough money to afford a therapist, thank you,” he said through clenched teeth.
“Money doesn’t buy happiness,” I fired back.
Sergio released a string of pithy curses. “Did someone spike your milk this morning during show and tell?”
“Lactose intolerant.”
“Sorry. Your Kool-Aid.” His eyes narrowed. “It’s like you’re trying to piss me off.”
Bingo. I smiled. “Funny, that’s what Dante says to me all the time. Just think of all the things you get to look forward to. Isn’t that what you said you wanted?”
Sergio looked ready to strangle me. “No. I don’t believe I asked for an annoying little sister, but if that’s what you’re offering, please don’t let me stop you. Just know, I won’t hesitate to put you over my knee if you get out of hand.”
The minute the words left his mouth. I froze.
He froze.
The taxi driver stared little laser-like holes into the rearview mirror.
And Sergio leaned toward me.
I swallowed as tension swirled around us.
He gripped me by the chin and turned my head to the side, his lips brushing my ear. “It’s like you have a death wish.”
“You wouldn’t do it.”
He pulled back as both of his eyebrows shot up, and then he looked down, like something had caught his eye.
I followed the direction of his gaze and let out a little gasp as a gun dug into my stomach.
“It’s been directed at you for the last four minutes,” Sergio said through a practiced smile. “I meant what I said. Listen well. I keep my word. Kiss me, and blood will be spilled.”
“Y-you’re a crazy person!” I hissed, shoving at his chest. “And I wasn’t going to kiss you!”
“Sure you weren’t.” He put the gun away. “Good talk though, right? Oh look, the movie theater.”
To say that I scrambled out of the car like a kid running away from her kidnapper would be a gross understatement, but the minute my feet hit the pavement, I paused.
My body told me to run.
The guy had pulled a gun.
On me.
I didn’t even watch violent movies, I’d just panicked and said the first thing that popped into my head!
And I was about to go to the theater with a guy who probably showered in blood on a daily basis and by the looks of it — got off on it.
Shivering, I forced myself to take a deep breath and wrapped my jacket tighter around my body.
That was the thing about men like Sergio, or maybe just loyalty in general. He’d promised he would keep me safe, but I wondered if that promise was only extended until I was more trouble than I was worth.
I was safe, not because of what I was to him.
But because of who my dad had been to him.
I was nothing.
And yet, a part of me still yearned to be… something.
Anything really.
Pathetic.
“Change your mind?” Sergio’s smooth voice interrupted my thoughts. He was the type of man you felt even when he wasn’t speaking. His presence was impossible to ignore, kind of like his ridiculous good looks.
Weren’t mafia guys supposed to be old?
Fat?
Chain smokers who bought Cuban cigars and sat behind large desks while counting money and ordering hits on people who pissed them off?
“No.” I finally found my voice. “I was just thinking….”
“About?” His hand touched my back, ushering me forward, but not pushing, almost as if he was giving me the option of still saying no.
I increased my pace so that I couldn’t feel the warmth of his fingertips. “Popcorn.” I turned and winked, hoping it would hide the fact that my body was shaking.
Maybe I was the crazy one.
Because he was armed.
The man was armed.
And he had no qualms about pointing his weapon at me whenever I got too close.
Huh, we’d have a happy marriage.
I guess we’d never argue, since I liked living.
And, you know, breathing.
It would suck not to make my twenty-first birthday because I didn’t fold the towels just right.
And again, I froze.
Was he that neurotic? Or was it just the closeness?
“On a scale of one to ten…” I was proud of the way I kept the shaking out of my voice. Why was I so scared? Oh right, because he’d pointed a gun, no, shoved a freaking gun into my stomach and done it with a smile on his face. “How OCD are you?”
An easy laugh escaped him as he glanced around the movie theater lobby and then back at me. “What makes you think I’m OCD?”
“Things.” I gulped then forced a smile that I didn’t feel. How was I supposed to go through an entire movie knowing he was one uncomfortable conversation away from losing it? “So?”
“What can I get you?” A teen boy looked at Sergio then smiled wider when his eyes fell to me.
Immediately, Sergio wrapped a protective arm around me, basically forcing my body to curve into his warmth. “My wife and I will have two buckets of popcorn, two packs of Sour Patch Kids, and a bottled water.”
I didn’t correct him about the water.
“Wait.” Sergio held up his hand. “Sorry, Dr. Pepper mixed with Coke.”
The teen scrunched up his face then rung us up. His eyes fell to me again then back at the register, like he was trying not to look but couldn’t help it, which was comical, since I didn’t really think I was anything to look at.
When he handed Sergio back his change I could have sworn I heard a growl from my “husband.”
As it was, he jerked the candy so hard out of the kid’s hands that I was surprised he didn’t do a front flip over the counter.
“He’s a boy,” I whispered under my breath. “No need to shoot him too.”
Sergio glanced down at me, muttered a curse. “He was staring.”
“He looked about one science project away from solving world hunger via his mom’s basement… hardly the type of guy that I’d date.”
“Date?” Sergio said it so loudly the people in front of us waiting to show the attendant their tickets jumped and then turned around. “What the hell do you mean date?”
Crap. I’d messed up again.
My palms went sweaty while my face felt numb with fear. Regardless of how pretty he was to look at — I was finally fully aware of how dangerous he was to me.
To everyone around me.
Sweat trickled down my lower back as I gulped down more soda and shrugged. “I just mean, he’s not my type.”
“No shit he isn’t, because you don’t get a type anymore.”
“Right.” I licked my lower lip, pretending not to be scared, pretending to be the brave person I wasn’t was wearing on me.
By the time we made it into the theater I was dizzy.
It was too much all at once.
“So…” Sergio’s voice was in my ear. I jumped a foot. He frowned as if he couldn’t figure out why I’d be so jumpy. “Dante sits behind you, right?”
“Right.” I exhaled in relief. I forgot. It wasn’t a date. It was a challenge. He’d called me his sister, so therefore he was my brother, right? Hah. I relaxed a bit as I pointed to a seat a few rows back and quickly stole the goodies out of his hands then made my way to my own seat before he could object.
The credits started rolling.
And I found myself ducking in the chair.
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.
As if I was being watched — because I was.
Ten minutes into the movie, I was so stressed out, I almost burst into tears. My back was to him.
Wasn’t that a big no-no? My back was to the dude with the gun.
Even though he was supposed to protect me with the gun, all bets were off now.
Sweat pooled in the palms of my hands.
The music rose as one of the actresses ran down the stairs screaming.
I couldn’t take it.
And then, a body sat down next to me.
Sergio gave me a suspicious look then put a seat between us.
I exhaled.
But it wasn’t relief.
At least I knew where he was.
And where the gun was, he was right handed, so there was that.
I finally allowed myself to relax enough to watch the movie when I saw Sergio’s right hand duck into his jacket.
I gripped the plastic arm rests, my fingers digging into the cheap sticky plastic material as he slowly pulled something out.
He turned.
And I flinched so hard that there was no mistaking what I thought he was doing.
Even though he had grabbed a black cell phone.
The damage was done.
My entire body shook as a big fat tear escaped, I tried to wipe it away but I wasn’t fast enough.
“S-sorry.” I shoved past him and ran.
But my body was too scared.
Too tired
To make it very far.
{ review } .
Please note: EMPIRE is essentially the conclusion to Sergio's story. To fully grasp Sergio and his reasons, ELUDE is more than recommended to be read prior to EMPIRE. There are therefore spoilers in this review, in regards to ELUDE.
The course of true love, never did run smooth.
The course of true love, never did run smooth.
{My face was also puffy and red, and I wasn't allowed out of the house until I lost the puff-look;
oh no worries! It comes back with this book}
I hadn't deserved Andi.
I sure as hell didn't deserve Val.
Was God insane? Was this some cruel joke to make me change my ways? Give me two of the most incredible women in existence? But make it impossible to love them. Take the first away, and create a pain so swift, so strong, that I had nothing left for the next.
I hated Andi for sending him to Val and for telling him she (Andi) was never meant to be his. I got it, I did; I understood it, I did... But Sergio and Andi, my goodness, their relationship became a beautiful one. And gosh darn it, there I go, ready to cry again.
"It's going to be epic."
"What is?" Phoenix asked. Brave man.
"His story," Andi whispered. "His love story is going to be epic."
...to be peaceful about one's death, to plan for your spouse's happily ever after, knowing you would never get one.
It took guts.
It too bravery.
--Frank
I will be honest. The first time I 'read' through Empire, it was with keyword searches for 'Andi' and 'Russia' -- what he called her. I wanted more Andi and Sergio, even if it was in memory and in letters. I thought their relationship was so incredibly beautiful.
But what else was beautiful? Andi paving the way for another could-be-great relationship. She always told Sergio she wasn't his forever, she wasn't his soul mate -- she wanted to be his friend, but he had a soul mate out there....
Sergio, in true fashion of course, goes into this thing with Val with his heels on the brake pedal, trying to keep his heart true to Andi, not wanting another arranged marriage, not wanting to fall in love with someone else, because it hurt the first time. What I loved about Val then, was that she recognized this and quite honestly, her ability to embrace the fact that Sergio's heart was with someone else... she became a lovable character for me. But she also wasn't a roll-over, and that was something I found to be very important when it came to her relationship with Sergio. She may have been an innocent, she may have been in the dark... but she wasn't going to let Sergio be an ass to her because he was hurting.
One of the most beautiful aspects of Sergio and Val's story was Andi's presence -- and how well she knew Sergio: his actions, his words, his loyalty... his heart. And Sergio... Oh Sergio. The loss he feels from Andi's death isn't thrown in the reader's faces, but it's there. It's in his way of grieving, his way of doing as she asked.
"Life is full of two-twirl moments -- don't allow her to settle for only one." --Andi to Sergio
Sergio has always been one to keep things close to his chest. His tattoos are hidden (all except for an important one), something we learned with Andi. Again, he talks about his tattoos with Val -- and in one particularly emotional scene where they're talking about tattoos, we start to see Sergio opening his heart to Val.
I would take the pieces.
I would search for them.
I would keep them close.
I would mend them back together.
I would cut myself on them when he hurt me.
And the process of scattering them would repeat.
Only for me to collect the pieces all over again and continue the torturous cycle of being Sergio Abandonato's wife -- of being second.
--Val
Before, we watched Sergio become human to the readers as well as his family. This time, we watch as he grows even more, learning that his heart is more than capable of what he was beginning to think. We see him mature as half of a relationship -- even if it takes a little time, a fight, and a bathtub.
Our love would be ugly, deformed, awkward. It would be so many things, but I hoped, that in the end, above all else, it would be good enough.
Not just good.
Not just amazing.
But good enough.
--Val
This wouldn't be Eagle Elite though without it's fair share of storms, so Sergio and Val have more to battle than his heart belonging to someone else. We watch as Val learns some truths, too; her world is being rocked by more than just a marriage to someone she doesn't know.
And yet of course... we get all the Eagle Elite gang in many of the scenes. You have to love how much these 'kids' have grown and how the guys are filling in their new roles. We see our hardheaded males with soft hearts, and we see everyone come together... even if there is still a gun at the table.
Oh, and PS? The next book sounds pretty phenomenal too. Great set up, RVD!
"...I forget all about the pain of loss and remember the joy in being found."
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