Fighting for Desire (25 page)

“I’d say prove it.”

“Oh I’d say the proof is staring you in the face.”

Shannon grabbed onto Dev’s arms and gasped. “No!”

Dev’s stomach churned.
No way in hell
…

“I can see what you’re thinking. Take a close look at me.
Same age. Same build. Why we look as if we might be…
brothers
, don’t we?”

“You bastard!” Shannon said. “How long have you been
planning this?”

Dev glanced over his shoulder at her. Tears streamed down
her face. She had obviously put something together he hadn’t, but what?

John sighed dramatically. “Since I met you, Shannon. You
were the key, you see. Before then I had only my hatred toward the mighty
Devlin James to keep me warm at night. Then I had your sweet body.”

Shannon sobbed and Dev wanted to wrap his arms around her.
But turning his back on Ice was too dangerous. Not when he still had the gun
pointed at them.

“So what is your plan now, Ice? Kill me? Take Shannon? That will
never work. There are people who know where I am. You won’t get away with anything.”

John’s eye twitched. “Shut up. By the time I’m finished with
you it won’t matter if they find you or not. You’ll be dead.”

“If what you say is true, then why didn’t your mother ever
try to contact our old man?” Dev’s mind worked. He needed to keep Ice
distracted.

“What makes you think they weren’t in contact?”

“Well if you actually knew the old man then you wouldn’t be
standing here with a gun pointed in my face. We would probably be sitting over
a beer talking about what a dick he had been.”

That was more than the God’s honest truth.

John’s eyes clouded for a moment. “The bastard didn’t
believe my mom. Not even when she showed him a photo of me. He denied being my
father but your mom didn’t. She knew as soon as she saw the resemblance.
Couldn’t deny how much I looked like
you
.”

Could his mother have really known? He thought back to all
the fights his parents had that ended in his old man coming after him. Had they
been fighting about his adultery and illegitimate son?

“If you’ve taken the time to follow me all these years, then
surely you know that my life wasn’t that great…”

“It was better than mine!” Ice yelled. “And everything you
have now should be mine.”

Dev stared at the man incredulously. “Really? Are you
fucking kidding me? That’s what this is about? That’s why you blackmailed
Shannon? That’s why you tried to have me killed during my fight?” He shook his
head. “If you wanted my life so bad, then you should have fucking worked for
it. I did.”

His temper rose quickly. He needed to find a way to get
Shannon out of the cemetery before he lost his cool.

Ice laughed. “Don’t even think about trying to leave. I can
see the little wheels turning in your head. There is one more person who needs
to be here before I kill you.” He glanced to the side. “Ma, you can come out
now.”

A bush to the left rustled and a woman stepped out. The air
left Dev’s lungs in a
whoosh
and he couldn’t have been more stunned.
Mrs. Ingram walked to John’s side.

“This explains so much,” Shannon whispered. “Such as how he
knew what I was doing when I was with you.”

Dev turned his attention to the older woman. “And what do
you get out of this? Money?”

She had the decency to look away before answering. “A mother
will do anything for her child. And…you offered great benefits.”

Dev felt as if he entered an alternate universe. These
things didn’t happen to normal people.

“And you did everything I asked.” Ice turned his attention
back to Dev. “Would you care to hear how much she did for me? She is the one
who told Marco about
The Honey Jar
when he was looking for a place to
meet an old flame. She is the one who gave me inside information on your
schedule. And she is the one who made sure Shannon was following my
instructions.” He laughed. “But now her usefulness to me has reached an end.
Sorry, Ma. Be sure to tell Dad I said hello when you join him in hell.”

Dev watched as Ice aimed the gun at Mrs. Ingram and pulled
the trigger. She fell, blood staining the white shirt she wore. Shannon’s cries
filled the cemetery and Dev moved before he could think.

He rammed into Ice, knocking him backward. His first struck
the side of Ice’s head before he had a chance to recover. The gun flew across
the grass and Shannon scurried to get the weapon. Ice tried to swing back but Dev
kicked.

This felt like practice. Jab. Kick. Jab. Jab. Until Ice fell
to the ground in an unconscious heap and Dev backed away. He didn’t want the
asshole dead. No, he would let the justice system take care of Johnny Ice.

Kneeling at Mrs. Ingram’s side, Shannon looked up at him and
shook her head.

“Shannon, get over here,” Dev said in a hoarse voice.

She stood and ran into his arms.

“I was so fucking scared for you. For our baby,” he said
against her hair.

She wrapped her arms tightly around him as the sounds of
sirens filled the air.

“I love you so much,” she said against his chest.

He held her close as police cruisers filled the area. Everything
around them was chaos but he didn’t care. He had everything that mattered right
there in his arms. They had a long way to go but one day they would find their
happily ever after. And he couldn’t fucking wait.

Sarah Bale’s family always knew she was destined to write
romances when they saw the elaborate stories she created for her Barbie dolls
as a child. Throughout middle school the writer inside Sarah began to bloom. At
fifteen she penned her first book, which will never see the light of day if she
has any say.

When Sarah is not writing she enjoys spending time with her
family and friends. To keep her creative juices flowing she attends WWE live
events–who wouldn’t be inspired by all those muscles! She resides in Oklahoma
and doesn’t plan on leaving any time soon.

Sarah welcomes comments from readers. You can find her
website and email addresses on her
author
bio page
at
www.ellorascave.com
.

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Fighting for Desire

ISBN 9781419990748

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Fighting for Desire Copyright © 2014 Sarah Bale

Edited by Jill Noelle

Cover design by Fiona Jayde Media

Cover photography by pio3 , 3drenderings, Marco Scisetti

Electronic book publication July 2014

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