Broken : The Dove Series: Book Three, page 1
BROKEN
Book Three
The Dove Series
RENEA PORTER
Copyright © 2021 Renea Porter
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Synopsis:
KARA
I was glutton for punishment. Just when I thought my world was turned upside down, somehow my life ended up in the hands of Jose Macias because of a territorial war between him and the man I loved, Damon.
Only I wasn’t the same person I used to be. Being held captive changed me and not for the better. The bad men were dead now, there was nothing to be afraid of.
Except giving away my heart.
-------------
DAMON
I was not about to lose Kara for a second time. My heart could barely take it the first time. But this time, I was prepared to fight for her.
For us.
I had to prove I could be the man she wanted. The one she deserved.
Special Thanks & Dedication
Readers, thank you so much for choosing me. I really hope you enjoy this book.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
About the Author
Chapter One
KARA
Three months.
That was how long it had been since I was kidnapped. Nightmares haunted me. Sometimes Jose sliced my throat in those nightmares. Sometimes he let his men rape me. It was too much.
I wasn’t sure how I’d get past the damaging effect Jose Macias had on me. Granted, I was glad he and my dad were dead. Damon had been patient with me, but I constantly lived in fear. And I was not sure I was the same woman Damon took months ago. I didn’t even know if I wanted the same things as Damon anymore. Not after what I went through. Not after the humiliation. Not after what I’d seen.
Damon constantly told me he was different and how he could change. How different could mob bosses be from another? What made him so sure he wouldn’t snap if I misbehaved and he needed to punish me? There was so much to think about. There was so much at stake. Including my heart. Especially my heart.
“How are you feeling today?” Damon checked on me every morning. He gave me the space I craved. Yet, all I wanted was to lie in his arms while he told me everything would be okay.
I didn’t know if he was capable of that.
I didn’t know if I was capable of believing it.
Lying in bed, I turned my body so I was facing him and nodded. “I’m okay.”
He walked over to me and the weight of his body sunk into the bed. “You can’t keep punishing yourself. The bad guys are dead and no one is coming for you. So, you don’t have to live in fear, Kara.”
“I can’t just get over it, Damon. The humiliation…just…it took a toll on me. And I need to process it all.”
Damon reached over to squeeze my hand. “You’re a survivor. Maybe you should talk to a counselor,” he suggested. “I could have them come to the house if you want.”
I turned my back to him so I was facing the floor-to-ceiling window. It was serene outside and looking out there eased my mind for the moment. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” I simply stated, pulling the blanket tightly around me.
His weight lifted from the bed. “I’ll have Susie bring up some breakfast.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“I won’t force you, but you really need to eat. You’re losing weight too fast and it’s not healthy. Bad enough you came back just skin and bones.”
And a lot of scars, I thought.
Damon left, shutting the door behind him, and I couldn’t help the cry that came after. I didn’t know how to get out of this funk. Everything had changed. I had changed. Even being here felt like it was another form of prison that I was trapped in. Damon told me I could come and go as I pleased as long as I had security with me. But I wasn’t so sure it was enough to keep me here with him.
“Good morning, pretty girl,” Susie sing-songed as she opened the bedroom door.
I quickly wiped my tears away and sat up in bed while she placed the tray of food over my lap. “I made banana bread, eggs and sausage.”
I could only offer a weak smile in appreciation. “Thanks, Susie.”
“Master says you should eat. May I?” She asked to sit next to me and I nodded while taking a bite from the banana bread.
“If you don’t want to talk to Master, you can talk to me. About anything.”
I blinked back the tears as they threatened to spill over again. The pity in her eyes was unmistakable and I couldn’t bear seeing it. The last thing I wanted was pity. But she was just being empathetic.
I shook my head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Well, you can’t keep it bottled up inside. Doing so will only eat you alive. You need to relieve that burden from yourself. Whatever happened, it wasn’t your fault.”
My gaze met hers. “What if I can’t let it go? What then?” I constantly relived the scenes in my head like a bad horror flick.
Susie sat patiently next to me. Just her being here was comforting. Somehow, I managed to eat almost all my food. “You’re getting there. It’s the most you’ve eaten at a time.”
“Susie...” I started to tell her.
“I know, pretty girl. Master won’t stop you but he’ll be disappointed. It’s okay.”
How did she know what I was going to say? She removed the tray from my lap. “Get some rest.”
I nodded, sliding back down to cocoon myself in the blankets while gazing out the window.
Chapter Two
DAMON
“She managed to eat more this morning than she has since she got back,” Susie told me while carrying the tray into the kitchen.
I sipped on my coffee. “Good. She’s gaining her strength back.”
“That girl…” Susie paused before speaking. “She is broken, Master. I’m not sure she’ll ever recover from what’s happened. And we don’t know what she has been through.”
“She won’t talk to you either?”
Susie shook her head. “No. But she seemed…I don’t know, comforted when I sat next to her on the bed. I think she just needs to know you’re there for her. And when she’s ready, you’ll still be here.”
“I do tell her that.”
“Yeah, but you gotta show her, Master. There is a difference. I know you are used to your own ways, living by your own rules. And no one is saying you can’t. But Kara, I’m not quite sure she wants the life you were offering her before…he took her and now she’s different. But it’s just my observation.”
Thinking about losing Kara gutted me. It hurt me to my core. Would she really leave me after everything? I lost her once, I sure as shit didn’t want to lose her again. But might have been out of my hands this time. I might not have a choice in the matter and that was what scared me the most.
“I’ll be in my office if you need me.” I stood, heading off in that direction. But first, I peered into Kara’s room and saw she was peacefully sleeping. If I could take all her nightmares and stress away, I would do it in a heartbeat. But this was something she had to work through.
***
Three hours later, there was a light knock on my office door. I pulled my glasses off my face. “Come in.”
Kara pushed the door open and walked over to my desk, sitting down in the oversized brown leather chair; it swallowed her body. The woman didn’t realize just how powerful she really was. She writhed her hands in front of her body. “I wanted to see if we could talk, if you aren’t busy.”
“Sure.”
“God, I don’t know how to say what I want to say.” She looked at me nervously while she tried to gauge my temperament.
“Just come out with it, Dove.”
“I don’t think I can be here anymore. I feel like it would be best if I went on my own for a little while.”
I paused and thought about what she was saying. “A re you planning on coming back?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I just feel like I need to be on my own in order to heal myself. I need my own space.”
“You don’t want to be with me anymore?”
“I need to think about what I want, Damon. I don’t know if I can continue the lifestyle you expect me to live.”
“Why can’t you tell me what happened? I want to know so I can understand.”
“I can’t. At least not right now. Jose fucked me up.”
I winced when she said his name.
“If you don’t want the handcuffs and the spankings, then I don’t have to do that. I’d rather have you. Just remember that when you are thinking about everything.”
Tears escaped her amber brown eyes. “You’re just going to let me go?” she questioned with concern.
I leaned back in my chair. “I can’t stop you. I won’t stop you. However, I would hope you would allow me to put one of my men with you for security.”
Her face fell. “Absolutely not. You said I wasn’t in danger now. I need to be me for a minute.”
“I understand that. But it would be for my own peace of mind. Please, Kara.”
“Fine.”
I passed her an envelope. “Inside you’ll find your bank account information. It’s enough to live off until you figure out what you want. The key is for a small condo at River North right in the city. And here’s a phone. It has all the important numbers you need already programmed in.”
Her mouth fell open while holding the key. “How did you…? I can’t accept that. Those condos go for almost a million dollars.”
I chuckled, not knowing how she knew that. “More like two million to be exact. And I insist. It’s secure and safe. And it’s inside a building that has a doorman and everything you need. Don’t argue with me on this. It’s the one condition I have to have.”
She looked back down at the key. “I didn’t expect any of this when I said I wanted to leave.”
I forced a smile, letting her know it was okay. “You can take as many of the clothes as you want with you. It’s all yours.”
She met my gaze and searched my eyes for something, but I wasn’t sure what.
“Why are being so nice?”
“When I got you back, I told you that you could come and go as you pleased. And if you don’t want to be with me, then I won’t stop you. I won’t make you stay. I want you to stay because you want to. Not because I make you. Just consider the debt paid. You don’t owe me a thing.”
Tears flowed down her cheeks. “I really don’t know what to say.”
“I just want you to find your way back to me.” When she stood, I followed her lead. Closing the distance between us, she wrapped her arms around my neck to hug me.
She let me hold onto her for a little longer than normal. God, I didn’t want to let her go. I didn’t want to lose her forever. At the same time, I knew she needed this to heal. And if it was meant to be, she would come back to me.
I moved my lips to kiss her; she opened her mouth to let my tongue tangle with hers. Was this a goodbye kiss? I sure hoped it wasn’t. I hoped it was goodbye for now. If we were gonna do this, I had to be gentle and go as slow as she needed.
Hoisting her up, she wrapped her legs around my waist. While her lips remained on mine, I walked us over to my bedroom, the one I punished her for being in. Twisting the knob with one hand, I moved toward the bed and planted her on it softly. I stopped kissing her and looked into her eyes. It was as if she was telling me this was okay.
“I need this, Damon,” she reassured me.
I moved my lips to her neck and began planting soft kisses down her body, undressing her as I went. Her skin prickled at my touch as I continued moving down. She moaned and wiggled under my weight. I stopped to kiss the inside of each thigh.
“Yes, Damon. I need you inside me.”
I removed my pants and moved back up her body. Her wish was my command. I smirked while kissing her lips and moved inside of her. Her legs were spread wide as she moved her hips to match my rhythm.
We both needed the release. I was overcome with confusion. What did this mean for us?
After making love to her, she rolled over to face me. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Everything. Please don’t think I’m ungrateful for everything you’ve done for me.”
“If you need anything and I mean anything, you call me. Day or night. I don’t care. Promise me, Kara.”
“I promise.” She barely got the words out before tears fell from her eyes.
I helped her out of bed and held her face in my hands, wiping her tears with the pads of my thumbs. “Don’t cry. We’re good. I promise.”
She nodded her head in appreciation.
Chapter Three
KARA
Telling Damon I wanted to leave was way harder than I imagined. The fact that he was just letting me go, admittedly kind of stung a little. I expected him to put up a bigger fight. However, I wasn’t sure how much fight I had left in me, so I was slightly relieved I didn’t have to make the effort.
I knew leaving right now was the right thing to do. I needed to work on myself and establish my independence.
I stood in front of Damon, trying to regain my composure. “Thank you for everything.”
“Stop thanking me, Kara. Anything I did, it was because I wanted to.”
I moved to walk out of the bedroom, closing the door behind me. Pausing outside the door before heading to my room, I heard Damon’s rage as he punched his fist into a wall. I jumped. He hated knowing that he couldn’t fix me and make me all better. No one could fix me but me. I had to break free from the chains that were holding me down.
Inside my room, I located my suitcase and stashed all my workout clothes inside as well as six pairs of jeans and a lot of tops. I grabbed around five pairs of shoes and stashed those in an overnight bag. Next, I entered my bathroom to grab all the essentials that Damon had spoiled me with.
Placing all the bags on my bed, I heard the door open. “You’re leaving?” Susie questioned, but she knew.
I offered a forced smile. “I’m sorry. I have to leave. I need to…”
She cut me off. “I know, Kara.”
I choked back my tears because I didn’t want to leave. But it just felt like I had no choice. I had to figure what I wanted and who I was, especially before I could give myself to someone else.
“Just don’t wait too long to come back.” Susie winked before wrapping her arms around my shoulders and hugging me tight.
“One day, you’re gonna have to tell me your story,” I said, taking a step back.
“If you have time, we can have some tea and I can tell you all about me.”
I was so shocked by her response and her openness that I was lost for words. I just stared at her, making sure I heard her correctly.
“Okay.”
We walked down to the nook area in the kitchen. “Sit. I’ll make some tea,” she told me.
I sat, watching her move around the kitchen. She was at home here. Once she was done, she pushed a mug over to me as she sat down with her own. I braced myself for whatever she was about to tell me.
Taking a sip of the hot liquid, I was ready to listen to her.
Susie sighed at first. “To be honest, I don’t know where to start. I was in a bad relationship or what I thought was a relationship until that guy and his friend raped me. Not once, not twice, but three times. They hit me, put objects in my body that weren’t meant to be there. They even drugged me, and I never did drugs before.”
My breath caught in my throat. What happened to her was beyond horrible.
“They held me against my will. And after three days, I escaped when they fell asleep after doing some drugs. I was rushing down in the street in a torn-up nightgown. And then I met Damon. He was driving down the road and saw me. He pulled over and he immediately knew I needed medical attention. I tried to fight him on it, saying the men would kill me if this was reported. He offered me protection. He stayed at the hospital the whole time. They even wanted to keep me overnight, but I refused. Damon didn’t like that I refused. But he offered me a place where I could heal and get back on my feet. Then after all that, he offered me this job. Damon saved my life.”
