Savage: A Second Chance at Love Read online

  Savage

  Jordan Silver

  Contents

  Coming Soon

  Other titles by Jordan Silver

  Author’s Website

  Copyright

  1. Nick

  2. Nick

  3. Nick

  4. Nick

  5. Nick

  6. Nick

  7. Nick

  8. Nick

  9. Shelly

  10. Nick

  11. Nick

  12. Nick

  13. Nick

  14. Shelly

  15. Nick

  16. Nick

  17. Nick

  18. Nick

  19. Shelly

  Epilogue

  Also by Jordan Silver

  Coming Soon

  Savage

  Jordan Silver

  COMING SOON

  Seal Team Seven Book 6

  Other titles by Jordan Silver

  SEAL Team Series

  Connor

  Logan

  Zak

  Tyler

  Cord

  The Lyon Series

  Lyon’s Crew

  Lyon’s Angel

  Lyon’s Way

  Lyon’s Heart

  Lyon’s Family

  Passion Series

  Passion

  Rebound

  The Pregnancy Series

  His One Sweet Thing

  The Sweetest Revenge

  Sweet Redemption

  The Spitfire Series

  Mouth

  Lady Boss

  Beautiful Assassin

  The Protectors

  The Guardian

  The Hit Man

  Anarchist

  Season One

  Season Two

  Eden High

  Season One

  Season 2

  What A Girl Wants

  Taken

  Bred

  Sex And Marriage

  My Best Friend’s Daughter

  Loving My Best Friend’s Daughter

  The Bad Boy Series

  The Thug

  Bastard

  The Killer

  The Villain

  The Champ

  The Mancini Way

  Catch Me if You Can

  The Bad Girls Series

  The Temptress

  The Seductress

  His Wants (A Prequel)

  Taking What He Wants

  Stolen

  The Brit

  The Homecoming

  The Soccer Mom’s Bad Boy

  The Daughter In Law

  Southern Heat

  His Secret Child

  Betrayed

  Night Visits

  The Soldier’s Lady

  Billionaire’s Fetish

  Rough Riders

  Stryker

  Caleb’s Blessing

  The Claiming

  Man of Steel

  Fervor

  My Little Book of Erotic Tales

  Tryst

  His Xmas Surprise

  Tease

  Brett’s Little Headaches

  Strangers in The Night

  My Little Farm Girl

  The Bad Boys of Capitol Hill

  Bad Boy

  The Billionaire and The Pop Star

  Gabriel’s Promise

  Kicking and Screaming

  His Holiday Gift

  Diary of a Pissed Off Wife

  The Crush

  The Gambler

  Sassy Curves

  Dangerously In Love

  The Billionaire

  The Third Wife

  Talon’s Heart

  Naughty Neighbors

  Forbidden

  Deception

  Texas Hellion

  Illicit

  Queen of My Heart

  The Wives

  Biker’s Baby Girl

  Broken

  Indiscretion

  The Good Girl

  The Forever Girl

  Biker’s Law

  Bad Santa

  Jordan Silver Writing as Jasmine Starr

  The Purrfect Pet Series

  Pet

  Training His Pet

  His Submissive Pet

  Breeding His Pet

  Jordan Silver Writing as Tiffany Lordes

  American Gangster

  Double The Trouble

  Author’s Website

  http://jordansilver.net

  Copyright

  License Notes

  All Rights Reserved. In accordance with the U.S Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher/author is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2016 Jordan Silver

  First eBook edition: Dec 2016

  1

  Nick

  “Tell me what you know about Rossi and the mayor.” The man cowering before me was bleeding out. My hand tightened around his balls and squeezed until his eyes rolled back in his head. I eased up just enough to let him catch his breath.

  “They’re in bed together, the mayor lets him know when something’s going down.”

  “This I already know. Where do they meet?”

  “I don’t, know, I…” I squeezed harder and he spilled his guts.

  Once I had everything I needed, I pulled the knife from my the small of my back where I’d hidden it, and cut him.

  His screams died in his lungs as he choked on his own blood and his own dick and balls that I’d just shoved down his throat. I kicked him away from me just as the breath left his body for the last time.

  Outside in the cool night air I walked in the shadows until I reached the place where I’d hidden my ride. No one should be around these parts this time of night, but it didn’t hurt to be extra careful.

  I still had one last job to do before I hung it up, no point in getting caught now after I’d come this far. My last mark was a slippery fucker, he went into hiding after the second hit but I knew how to draw him out. I wasn’t worried.

  I rode for home, my new home, and headed for my hiding place where I stripped and put my blood soaked clothes in the fire to burn. I had one last black on black outfit hanging in the closet in my little basement hideout. One last hit.

  I stoked the fire and watched the cloth turn to ash before dissolving it in solution. I had no fear of anyone finding me out, but I’d learned enough over the years to know that it was the little things that tripped you up every time.

  I hit the bathroom for a quick wash-up to get the stench of blood off of my hands before heading back to the room and pressing the on button on the remote.

  The call I’d put in to the top reporter in the city and the cops simultaneously should’ve brought some results by now. The screen came on and I recognized the scene before it flashed back to the newsroom.

  I watched and listened as if from a distance. As if I hadn’t just been there. I’d already moved on in my head. Somebody out there might mourn his loss I’m sure, there was always one.

  A mother, a wife, someone who had found something redeeming in the scum that plagued the earth. I hadn’t felt shit when I did him or the two before him. His life meant no more to me than that of a pesky fly I had to put down for annoying the fuck outta me.

  I looked away from the screen but kept my ears pricked to what was going on. I tinkered around with the little carousel I w
as working on, being careful as I painted the intricate detail of a horse’s tail.

  It didn’t escape me that not more than an hour ago I was using these same hands to destroy something ugly, and now here I was building something beautiful.

  One was part of the past. A past I couldn’t lay to rest until I’d exacted vengeance, and the other a part of the future I planned on reclaiming.

  The voice of the reporter intruded on my thoughts once again and I tuned back in to hear what spin they were going to put on this one.

  ‘The man known as ‘The Savage’ has struck again. Authorities say that the one-man vigilante crew has brought down yet another suspected gang leader. This will make the third murder in as many months.”

  “Once again there was nothing left at the scene for law enforcement to work with other than the body, another gruesome find. Be warned the images you are about to see are graphic and may cause some distress.’

  The report shifted from the news desk to a sound bite and the image of a body. They show every damn thing on TV these days.

  ‘Earlier this evening, the body of Salvatore Santino was found dismembered with his genitals stuffed into his mouth. As police are scrambling to find anything that would lead to the identity of this one-man task force, the public has been singing his praises. Here now is Terry Ross reporting from the scene.’

  ‘Yes Peter, this evening we are on the scene of yet another grisly find, of what seems to be the calling card of the man the city has dubbed ‘The Savage’.

  ‘Behind me the crowd is divided. Some say they applaud the efforts of this unknown assailant, who in their eyes has been doing more to clean up the streets than the men and women who are paid to see to that task. While the other camp is not so certain of what he will do next.’

  ‘They think the public should leave the policing to the men and women in blue. Whichever side you’re on, the atmosphere here is very volatile at the moment.’

  ‘As you can imagine, the police department, is not very appreciative of his efforts, and neither are a handful of bystanders here tonight.’

  ‘Though I must report that the shift seems to be heading more in this vigilante’s favor, as more of the city’s criminal element has ended up at the end of his knife. Back to you in the station.’

  ‘Yes Terry, it would appear that the winds have shifted more and more in favor here in the last few weeks since it appears he’s only targeting the criminal element. What, if anything, are you hearing from the detectives on scene?’

  ‘Well Peter, in contrast to a few weeks ago when this all first started, law enforcement is no longer too keen on divulging much to the media.’

  ‘I can tell you that unnamed sources have informed us that there is no forensic evidence on the scenes, which leads one to think that ‘The Savage’ has a very extensive knowledge of the way crime scenes work.’

  ‘The general consensus from that quarter as you can imagine is that this can very easily get out of hand. In other words, today he’s targeting the city’s less savory characters, but what happens when he’s through there? Will his thirst for blood lead him to knocking off anyone who gets on his bad side? Over to you…’

  I turned off the TV and put away the carousel before grabbing a beer. There was no emotion in my movements as I walked through the house.

  My gut rumbled, a reminder that I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, but I wasn’t hungry. I hadn’t been hungry since the day I stood at the gravesite and watched my son being lowered into the ground.

  No! I shifted my mind, pulling it back from the path it was heading, as I kept moving, one foot in front of the other.

  The time for dwelling on that scene was over. I had work to do and getting lost in my head would get me no closer to my goal. Still. It was hard not to let that memory intrude every once in a while.

  Sometimes it was that very thing that kept me going, that kept me focused on the path I’d taken. One that was so different from who and what I used to be before my life turned to shit.

  I didn’t register anything as I moved through the house, though I knew where everything was and could’ve navigated the space blindfolded.

  It was one of those skills I’d honed in the last few months that came in handy in certain situations. I still felt the burn from my workout, as my mind moved steadily through what came next. Just keep moving.

  In the shower, I ran the water as hot as I could stand it before switching to cold. I did that back and forth switch for the next half hour until the hot water became tepid.

  With my body now awake, it was time to get to work. After a quick rub down with the towel, I grabbed a pair of shorts and headed for my office. Still on autopilot!

  I pulled up the files I needed for the job ahead, going over everything with a fine toothcomb. I didn’t miss a detail, going over everything twice no matter how small, changing things up here and there where needed.

  The niggling voice of conscience that had plagued me in the beginning had long given up since all I did was tune it out. I wasn’t interested in second-guessing or convicting myself for the things that I was now forced to do.

  Once, not long ago, I would’ve frowned on anyone who took the law into their own hands. I would’ve stood firm in my belief that civilians should leave such things to the law.

  That man no longer existed. The man who believed in the system that he had served so valiantly and honorably. In his place was one who still believed in justice yes, but not the sort of justice that could be bought and paid for by the highest bidder.

  Instead, circumstances had forced me to take justice into my own hands and to mete out vengeance on all those who had had a hand in the destruction that had turned my once peaceful existence into ashes.

  When I was done, I looked at the words I had written, the coded instructions, making sure I had missed nothing. It was funny, but after all my years on the force, until lately, I had never been as diligent or as focused as I am now.

  I’d always prided myself on doing the best I could to solve the cases that came across my desk, but these days I think that had all just been a precursor for this. Something I could never have been prepared for but had been dumped on me because in the end, I had been too good at my job.

  I paid close attention to every minute detail as I perused the words written on paper. I made sure to go over it all at least twice before moving on to the next.

  I was more patient than was my norm. Part of that could be because I was working alone; part of it was because this was personal.

  The reporter’s words played through my head as I worked. Savage. I earned the name honestly. To some I’m a fucking beast. I really don’t give a fuck what ‘some’ think.

  I care only about the thirst for justice that burns beneath my skin like an army of ants, never letting me forget. In the beginning, when this first started, I wasn’t worried about losing myself, about forever erasing any semblance of decency that had been left in me from before.

  I didn’t care one way or the other; all I wanted was their blood on my hands. But once the red haze had cleared a bit that changed. I remembered there was something out there I had to live for.

  I couldn’t think about her now though. That was for later. It was the only thing that kept me from going all the way over the edge, that kept that little part of what was still human alive in me.

  If I lose that, if I lose myself completely, I’m almost afraid of what would happen, what would become of me. But the promise I’ve made myself to have her back with me no matter what, that’s what keeps the little sliver of humanity alive.

  Those who knew me well has sensed the difference, but I’m absolutely sure none of them would ever consider, could ever imagine what it is that I have truly become.

  They believe that it’s the grief and the harsh reality of my loss that has made the changes they now see in me. I’m more than happy to let them go on believing that. It suits my purposes very well, since I have no intentions on paying the price for wh
at I have done, what I have been forced to do.

  Was it a sign of how deeply I’d climbed into darkness that I no longer saw them? The ones I’ve destroyed? When it was all said and done, could I really go back to being completely human again, or will I carry the stink of their fear and death with me for the rest of my life?

  Fuck no, when this is all over I’m going to put it behind me and move on. Salvage what was left of my life while those fuckers rot on a spit in hell.

  Savage. It’s not the name my mama gave me when I came into this world, it’s the one that man chose for me when they backed me into a corner and I came out swinging. The one, that was on the tongues of half the city. But I wasn’t interested in infamy I had no real interest in anything these, days, well except…

  Not tonight Nick. I pushed thoughts of her to the back of my mind once again as I plodded through the mountain of paperwork I had collected on my next target.

  I studied his face and imagined the look in his eyes when he realized it was all over. Just before he drew his last breath. Just before he realized his life was a waste and it had all been for nothing.

  I guess I wasn’t altogether gone, since I felt just the slightest pang of…something. But that too I squashed and put out of my mind. I can no longer think like a cop, not when it comes to this.

  The once stalwart cop who lived by the book of the law was no more. In his place was a very determined father who sought to avenge the blood of his son. Innocent blood.

  I used to be cool, calm, some said approachable. I was one of those keep your head down and do you types. I never fucked with a motherfucker who didn’t fuck with me, and that shit was rare since I minded my own.

  I did the job, but kept a low profile no matter how fast I climbed the ranks. I was in love with the job back then. A believer in all the shit you think the law stands for before you become a cog in that very big wheel.

  And because I believed, I did my best and it showed. The right people took notice and I excelled in my chosen field, making a name for myself in the department.

  I wasn’t there for accolades, my job was to clean up the streets and make them safer for everyone. I’d gained the reputation of a quiet do-gooder. The soft-spoken lieutenant with a heart of gold; even criminals liked me.