Forbidden Promise

  An Insta Love Bad Boy Romance: Book 5 of the Forbidden Series

  Vanessa James

  Contents

  1. Copyright

  2. Stay In Touch With Vanessa

  3. Free Book

  4. Join Vanessa’s ARC Team

  5. Introduction

  6. Chapter 1: Caleb

  7. Chapter 2: Mary

  8. Chapter 3: Caleb

  9. Chapter 4: Mary

  10. Chapter 5: Caleb

  11. Chapter 6 :Mary

  12. Reviews

  13. Continue Reading

  14. More Books By Vanessa James

  15. Free Book

  16. About Vanessa James

  17. Stay In Touch With Vanessa

  18. Join Vanessa’s ARC Team

  Copyright

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  Cover designed by Claire Meczes

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously . Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

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  Introduction

  The final battle has come.

  It is time for Caleb to settle his differences with The Skulls. After he discovers that Mary’s dad is the leader, he is ready to take it upon himself to finish the job. But, in the process of doing so, Caleb realizes that he, too, must come to terms with what is in store for him. He needs to tell his dad about his plans, about his future, about Mary.

  But, will it be easy? Or will it spark another fight?

  Mary feels the same way. After all the pain and hurt her dad caused her, she knows that she must do something to right all of the wrongs. The stakes are high and her own personal desires are even higher than before.

  With all of this culminating, will Mary do what she needs to do to help the MC stop her father? Find out in this heart-pounding conclusion to this alpha bad boy romance series.

  Chapter 1: Caleb

  I felt fear for the first time in a very long time.

  Mary looked at me with concern as I gritted my teeth.

  “Mary, can you walk?” I asked her.

  She nodded.

  “Good. We have to get the hell out of here. I think The Skulls are inside the building. Whether your dad is with them or not is beside the point, but for now, we should make sure that we’re out of here before things get worse,” I explained.

  Mary nodded, getting out of bed. She immediately stumbled, holding the bed as she got her bearings. Shit. This wasn’t good at all.

  “S-sorry, Caleb. I’m a bit dizzy.”

  “It’s fine, Sweetie. You need to take it easy.”

  She nodded, and I could tell from the way she looked at me that she was scared of whatever would happen next. I grasped her hand, taking it and squeezing it.

  “I promise, just follow my lead and we will be okay. I think Zephyr is around here somewhere, along with my dad.”

  I grabbed my phone, checking it. There was an alert on there, along with a message from my dad. I clicked on it, hoping it was just the instructions on what to do next.

  Caleb, take Mary and go to the safe house on Anderson St. Your bike is outback. I’m already on my way out with Zephyr but…we have to be careful. Things may get worse. I don’t know how long it’ll be before they storm this place, but it was a surprise attack. Check Mary, make sure she’s not tracked.

  I closed my phone, turning to Mary and looking at her.

  “This might sound a bit strange but…I need you to take off the gown and look at me,” I said.

  “Why, Caleb?”

  “You might have a tracker on you. They shouldn’t know where this place is. So, I’m not sure what’s going on, but I need to check your body. I’m sorry if that sounds creepy.”

  I felt a blush ghost my face, but then, I saw Mary nod.

  She dropped the gown, and for a moment, my hormones were raging. She was super-hot. And right then and there she stripped naked for me all the while looking at me with a blush on her face. But I stopped myself. I looked at her, smiling as I checked her body.

  That’s when I saw it.

  There was a small circle on the back of her neck.

  “Hey Mary, have you always had a little circle on the back of your neck? A necklace with that on there?” I asked.

  “Yeah. My dad gave it to me.”

  “Take it off. Now.”

  She looked at me with slight fear in her eyes, but I saw her slowly take the necklace off. As she put it down, I grasped it, throwing it against the wall. The sound of the beeping immediately caused me to pull Mary into my arms, holding her there as an explosion rocked the room.

  “Holy shit,” I said.

  “I—I can’t believe my dad did that,” Mary said.

  “I can. When did he give that to you?”

  “About three years ago. Right after he started acting really weird. Why?”

  “He did that to control you, Mary, which explains why he was at the house when he was. I think he’s been tracking you all this time but didn’t act on it until you joined up with us,” I explained.

  I felt terrible for her. I could tell that Mary didn’t want to deal with this. I then touched her shoulder, looking at her.

  “When this is all over, we’ll get you out of this.”

  “T-thanks, Caleb.’

  I smiled, but I felt very guilty about what happened. I mean, I felt like if she knew, she would’ve controlled this. I could tell she was frustrated by the way she looked at me.

  “I can’t wait for this to be over. I just want to live a normal life again,” she admitted.

  “You and me both. It’s not easy, especially for you,” I told her.

  “You’re telling me. One day things seem fine, the next everything keeps going to shit. It’s annoying.”

  “Well, once this is over, we can live a normal life.”

  I didn’t want to sound like I was just blindly not listening, but I understood the frustration from her lips. She looked at me, smiling warmly and then speaking.

  “Thank you for everything. We should get out of here.”

  “Yeah. You okay with wearing these?” I asked.

  I found some clothes in the corner, giving them to her so she could put them on. She nodded, doing so and then looking at me.

  We could go out through the wall that the explosion created, but when I looked right outside, I saw a bunch of men with guns against the very edge of the wall. Lasers appeared, and I headed inside. The sound of gunshots echoed behind me.

  “Well, that’s not happening,” I said.

  “Shit, how do we leave then?” she asked.

  There was one solution, but it would be quite a long journey and it would take us out of the way.

  “We have to go back to the main hallway. Follow me, stay close, and don’t stick around if you see any strange men,” I explained.

  Mary nodded, and I grasped her hand. I darted to the left, holding her warm hand as we went down the hallway. There was a shout, and a bunch of guards started to follow us.

  “Shit, we already have company,” I muttered.

  “Can we get out of here?”

  “Damn right we will. Just go right as soon as we get to the door.”

  We slipped inside and I locked the door behind us. There was a ladder there, and I motioned for her to come on down. She did so and, at the same time, there was a crashing sound as the door was broken behind us.

  “They’re…relentless,” she said.

  “I know. I hate it,” I muttered.

  I knew this would happen; I just didn’t expect it now. As we scaled down the stairs, I heard the sound of men bursting through the busted door.

  I grasped the gun and the knife in my hands. If that’s what it took, I would save Mary.

  We got through the tunnels just fine for the most part. But, when we came to the ladder, there was someone there.

  He looked familiar, brandishing a knife and a grin of pure hatred on his face.

  “Fancy seeing you here, Caleb,” the man said.

  “Damien,” I said.

  “Who is that?” Mary asked.

  “Damien. Used to be a part of our MC, but then he betrayed us. I see you haven’t changed at all,” I said, focusing my gaze on the man.

  “The feeling is mutual. But, don’t think I’m here to chitchat, I’m here to kill you.”

  He brandished a knife, and I looked over at Mary.

  “Stay back, and hide,” I told her.

  “But—”

  “Don’t worry,” I insisted. I grabbed the knife, holding it there as I looked at Damien.

  “I’m glad I can kill two birds with one stone right here,” he said with a sneer.

>
  I tensed my hands. So, they were out to kill both of us.

  “But what about my dad?” Marry asked.

  The guy laughed.

  “You seriously think he cares about you? Nice try, princess, but I’m actually here to dispose of both of you,” he said with a smile.

  He grabbed his knife and rushed at me, and I braced myself for this fight.

  Chapter 2: Mary

  I looked in horror at both of them fighting. I knew it would come down to this eventually but hearing from this man that my own father wanted me dead, well, it made me shiver.

  I knew it would happen, mostly because I chose my own path, but the clanging of the knives, the sweat on Caleb’s brow, the grunts I heard from both of them, it made me realize how pathetically real this all was.

  And while I wanted out, I knew I had to brace for whatever would happen next.

  Each time they would attack, I saw them both barely graze one another. Damien was strong, and I could see that Caleb was struggling to beat him. I felt my breath catch in my throat as I watched both of them, the shock along with the horror immediately making me feel ill at ease.

  But, I watched, unwavering, and ready for whatever it was that would happen next.

  I saw Damien barely graze Caleb’s throat, and Caleb then retaliated by stabbing Damien in the stomach. To my shock and slight horror though, I saw Damien move forward, stabbing Caleb in the arm. A scream echoed from his lips as he fell back, looking at me.

  “Caleb—”

  “Stay back, Mary,” Caleb said.

  I wanted to tell him no, that I wanted to help, but from the look on his face, I could tell that if I did that, things would be worse. Caleb stumbled forward, holding his arms for a minute, and then, he grabbed the knife once again.

  I stood there with both shock and horror on my face as they continued to fight, both of them clashing with their knives. I tried to stay calm as I watched hem fight. Suddenly, there was a sharp scraping noise and a shrill scream. I looked down, and there was Damien, on the ground with a knife in his heart

  “You win…I guess,” he croaked.

  “Why did you choose to work with The Skulls, Damien? You told me you left because you wanted to pursue your own life,” Caleb said.

  “Heh. Well, your little girlfriend’s father here offered a lot of money to do his dirty work, and I couldn’t say no. The good ole’ preacher man definitely had a nice offer,” he said.

  I looked at Damien, my face burning.

  “Where is he?” I asked.

  “You mean your old man? He’s on Anderson Street. Told me that once I was done here, I should go meet up with him but…that ain’t happening,” he said.

  “Damn right it’s not,” Caleb said.

  “I’m surprised you’re still on his side, Caleb,” he said.

  “You mean my father?”

  “Yes. Isn’t he forcing you to do his dirty work?”

  “He is but…I need to do this. For our future,” he said.

  “I see. You must really love her?” Damien uttered with a chuckle.

  Caleb and I looked at one another; there was a huge amount of tension in the air. I felt a bit of nervousness as I heard him say those words. Did Caleb really love me? I know we haven’t talked much about it since the whole mess at the other base, but I wanted to believe so.

  “I’m protecting Mary here for the reason of, if things are good, we’ll have a brighter future together. That’s all. I do love her though. And that won’t be changing. I love her so much, I’m willing to help solve this family drama for our own benefit,” he said.

  “Very noble of you, Caleb. Well, I guess that’s it. Have a nice life you two.”

  He let out one last breath, and then he died, a puddle of blood surrounding him. He wasn’t the first person I’ve seen die, but I felt a heaviness in my heart. Caleb stayed quiet as he looked over at me.

  “Everything okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah, it’s just…I’m surprised. I knew that you wanted to see this all through till the end but…I’m shocked.”

  “I mean it, Mary. This is the end. I’m not going to let this fight continue. The thing is though when we do go to their base…I’m going to have to kill your dad. You understand that right?” he asked.

  I thought about it. I felt a strange feeling of sentimentality as he uttered those words. Like…it was wrong for me to say yes, but I couldn’t help but utter it.

  “I know you’re just doing what’s best, Caleb. I accept…whatever it is that you must do,” I told him with a sigh.

  It was very odd. I was scared of what might transpire, if I would ever see my dad again, and how this would all pan out. But I did trust Caleb. Caleb took my hand, kissing it, looking at me with those big eyes of his.

  “Thank you, Mary. I promise once this is all over, I’ll talk to my dad, and the two of us can live a normal life. I’m sure that’s what your mom wants too. I can tell that she’s a bit upset with the way things are going, but she’s trying to keep an open mind,” he said.

  “Yeah. Zephyr definitely wants what’s best for both of us,” I told him.

  I knew that to be the case. I knew my mom wouldn’t stop unless we all had what we wanted, and I could tell that this was something that would change all of us.

  The future would either be bright or one of sadness and pain. I felt like the sadness and pain would stop now that we were finally doing something about it. But I wondered if I was making the right decision.

  “I’m not sure what to do once we…we finally defeat him,” I said.

  “You don’t have to make a decision right away, Mary. You gotta understand that if you do spend too much time worrying about this now, it could cause problems in the future. For now, you need to be smart with the way you live your own life, and do what makes you happy,” he said to me.

  I did need to do what made me happy, what made my heart whole, what made me feel good. It was definitely something that made me feel good, and it definitely was something that I felt, once things settled down, we could discuss more.

  Chapter 3: Caleb

  I could see the hesitation in Mary’s eyes. I took her hand though, squeezing it, and as we got up the stairs over to where the entrance of the base was, I could tell she was beginning to relax. When we got to the doorway, I punched in the code that I remembered from my previous time coming here.

  This area was certainly different from what I was used to in terms of secret bases. It was simple, a little bit messy, and the intent of this was that it was clearly a temporary location. When I got in there, Zephyr walked to the doorway, looking at Mary and me.

  “Oh, thank god it’s not another one,” she said.

  “What do you mean?” I inquired.

  “Someone gave the code for this place to a couple of the goons, and I had to kill them all. Looks like we’re safe for the moment,” she said.

  “Can we change it?” I asked.

  “That’s up to your old man to decide. I was just playing guard dog. Alright, now that most of the key players are here, I think it’s safe to say that we all need to have a nice, long talk about all of the bullshit that’s going on,” she said.

  “What other bullshit is there?” I asked her.

  “Well, it seems like her father is on the move,’ Zephyr explained, pointing to Mary.

  “Yeah. We ran into Damien and he said the same thing,” Mary said.

  “I see. So, our information is correct. Well, no matter. The plan is simple: now that we’re all here. We need to suit up for the attack. We’re going to take him down, dead or alive. He’s more valuable alive, but I don’t think he’ll come easily,” she said.

  “No, he won’t. He’s relentless,” Mary said.

 

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