The Four Series by Sloane Kennedy – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read

The Four Series by Sloane Kennedy – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.wownovels.com Fri, 20 Jan 2023 22:17:01 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 http://www.wownovels.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/favicon.png The Four Series by Sloane Kennedy – Read Books Online Free Ebooks good best novels to read http://www.wownovels.com 32 32 Rushed – Christopher (The Four #5) Read Online Sloane Kennedy http://www.wownovels.com/rushed-christopher-the-four-5-read-online-sloane-kennedy Sat, 07 Jan 2023 22:47:10 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/rushed-christopher-the-four-5-read-online-sloane-kennedy Genre: M-M Romance, Romance Authors: Sloane Kennedy Series: The Four Series by Sloane Kennedy
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Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 49669 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 199(@250wpm)___ 166(@300wpm)

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Christopher
Happily ever afters.
White knights riding to the rescue on their brazen steeds to rescue the damsel in distress.
Said knight declaring his undying love.
Same stories just with different covers.

Rush
I remembered the kid the second I saw him. I remembered the feel of him in my arms as I’d saved him from his would-be attacker years earlier. I remembered that I’d never wanted to let him go–that despite his young age, he’d fit in my arms like he’d been made for them.
But the young man opened the door might as well have been a stranger. Thin, jumpy, and distant, there was just no light in young Christopher’s eyes. Even the presence of his uncle, a man who’d treated him like a son from the first moment they’d met, elicited nothing more than passing query of why we were there.
It should have been a simple task… drop off the box of books Christopher’s uncle had asked me to help him and walk away. I managed the walk away part but between a tiny kitten appearing out of nowhere, some less than graceful footwork on my part and a broken table later, I’d been sitting on Christopher’s couch getting some TLC for a paltry wound.
And that had been when I’d seen it. The old Christopher.

*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************

PROLOGUE

CHRISTOPHER

I knew we were in trouble from the second the beefy-looking bouncer smiled at us and waved us past without asking for ID. If that fact alone hadn’t been enough to assure me that this was a really, really bad idea, the huge man clinched it by settling a knowing grin (and not the good kind) on us and adding, “Have fun, boys. The guys are just going to eat you up.”

Say something, Christopher! Do something!

It was my own voice I was hearing in my head, and it had been screaming those same words into every brain cell since I could remember. But just like all the other times, I kept my mouth shut and followed my best friend and quasi-cousin, Gio, into the club.

The air inside was thick with the stench of sweat, sex, and weed, much like the smell of the house I’d spent the first fourteen years of my life growing up in. Just like back then, it made me sick to my stomach. So did the all-too-familiar sight of people fucking in plain sight. That had been a staple in my childhood home too, just like all the needles and glass pipes that had been lying on every usable surface in every room of the house.

Except my room.

I’d always been safe in my room, lost in a book so I wouldn’t have to hear any of what had been happening on the other side of that door. My uncle Micah had always made sure he was between me and whatever dangers lurked outside my precious stories and that weak, worn wooden door.

No matter what it cost him.

My body jerked when I saw two guys fucking up against the wall. The bigger guy had the smaller one pressed face-first against the rough-looking surface. My vision dimmed as a wave of unbearable heat flashed through me followed by an equally painful, bitter cold that made my veins feel like ice.

I could feel the hot breath on the back of my neck as the stench of cologne wafted all around me.

So sweet, little one. Nice and quiet just like my special boy was. Do you want to be my special boy just like your uncle Micah was?

A bright flash of light thankfully brought me back to the present and saved me from what could have been the panic attack from hell, but the relief was short-lived as I realized we were in the main part of the club and the interior was a brighter, louder, more crowded version of the hallway.

I wanted to turn tail and run. I wanted to beg Gio to forget his mission to confront the man he’d long ago lost his heart to. But my best friend needed closure, and there was no way I could leave him alone in a place like this.

But even as I vowed that this time I wasn’t going to be the pathetic coward that I was, my mind was screaming at me that this was all wrong. I could feel the eyes on me. Even though Gio was drop-dead gorgeous with his pale hair and fair features whereas I wouldn’t stand out in a crowd even if I was on fire, I knew that in this terrible, dangerous place, we were the same in one chilling way.

We were both prey.

“Gio, we should go,” I managed to choke out. My skin itched, and I couldn’t breathe. My body felt like it weighed a thousand pounds instead of the whole hundred pounds soaking wet that it actually did.

“Yeah,” Gio responded unexpectedly. The mere fact that he was agreeing with me was proof that we were way in over our heads. I tried to take in a deep breath, but all I got was lungs full of smoke.

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Rushed – Christopher (The Four #4.5) Read Online Sloane Kennedy http://www.wownovels.com/rushed-christopher-the-four-4-5-read-online-sloane-kennedy Fri, 07 Jan 2022 21:37:30 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/rushed-christopher-the-four-4-5-read-online-sloane-kennedy Genre: M-M Romance, Romance Authors: Sloane Kennedy Series: The Four Series by Sloane Kennedy
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Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 49645 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 199(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)

<<<<1 2 3 11 21 >53

Read Online Books/Novels:	Rushed - Christopher (The Four #4.5)
Author/Writer of Book/Novel:	Sloane Kennedy
Language:	English
Book Information:
Rush It’s been four years since I rescued young Christopher from what would have been a violent assault, and while I haven’t seen the now twenty-two-year-old since then, he’s never been far from my thoughts. But he's barely even a shell of who he used to be and I want to know why. Christopher He was once my knight in shining armor but now he's the threat. I've spent years hiding the truth from my family and I can't let Rush's reappearance change that. Not yet. But how do I tell him he can't save me this time? That no one can...
Books in Series:	The Four Series by Sloane Kennedy
Books by Author:	Sloane Kennedy

PROLOGUE

CHRISTOPHER

I knew we were in trouble from the second the beefy-looking bouncer smiled at us and waved us past without asking for ID. If that fact alone hadn’t been enough to assure me that this was a really, really bad idea, the huge man clinched it by settling a knowing grin (and not the good kind) on us and adding, “Have fun, boys. The guys are just going to eat you up.”

Say something, Christopher! Do something!

It was my own voice I was hearing in my head, and it had been screaming those same words into every brain cell since I could remember. But just like all the other times, I kept my mouth shut and followed my best friend and quasi-cousin, Gio, into the club.

The air inside was thick with the stench of sweat, sex, and weed, much like the smell of the house I’d spent the first fourteen years of my life growing up in. Just like back then, it made me sick to my stomach. So did the all-too-familiar sight of people fucking in plain sight. That had been a staple in my childhood home too, just like all the needles and glass pipes that had been lying on every usable surface in every room of the house.

Except my room.

I’d always been safe in my room, lost in a book so I wouldn’t have to hear any of what had been happening on the other side of that door. My uncle Micah had always made sure he was between me and whatever dangers lurked outside my precious stories and that weak, worn wooden door.

No matter what it cost him.

My body jerked when I saw two guys fucking up against the wall. The bigger guy had the smaller one pressed face-first against the rough-looking surface. My vision dimmed as a wave of unbearable heat flashed through me followed by an equally painful, bitter cold that made my veins feel like ice.

I could feel the hot breath on the back of my neck as the stench of cologne wafted all around me.

So sweet, little one. Nice and quiet just like my special boy was. Do you want to be my special boy just like your uncle Micah was?

A bright flash of light thankfully brought me back to the present and saved me from what could have been the panic attack from hell, but the relief was short-lived as I realized we were in the main part of the club and the interior was a brighter, louder, more crowded version of the hallway.

I wanted to turn tail and run. I wanted to beg Gio to forget his mission to confront the man he’d long ago lost his heart to. But my best friend needed closure, and there was no way I could leave him alone in a place like this.

But even as I vowed that this time I wasn’t going to be the pathetic coward that I was, my mind was screaming at me that this was all wrong. I could feel the eyes on me. Even though Gio was drop-dead gorgeous with his pale hair and fair features whereas I wouldn’t stand out in a crowd even if I was on fire, I knew that in this terrible, dangerous place, we were the same in one chilling way.

We were both prey.

“Gio, we should go,” I managed to choke out. My skin itched, and I couldn’t breathe. My body felt like it weighed a thousand pounds instead of the whole hundred pounds soaking wet that it actually did.

“Yeah,” Gio responded unexpectedly. The mere fact that he was agreeing with me was proof that we were way in over our heads. I tried to take in a deep breath, but all I got was lungs full of smoke.

I was practically glued to Gio’s side as we turned and began making our way back the way we’d come, but we didn’t make it more than a couple of steps before three behemoths stepped into our path. Gio stuck his arm toward me, and coward that I was, I took his hand and let him place me at his back so that he alone was facing what I knew in my gut was a very real threat.

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Forbidden – King (The Four #4) Read Online Sloane Kennedy http://www.wownovels.com/forbidden-king-the-four-4-read-online-sloane-kennedy Wed, 29 Sep 2021 10:33:04 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/forbidden-king-the-four-4-read-online-sloane-kennedy Genre: M-M Romance, Romance Authors: Sloane Kennedy Series: The Four Series by Sloane Kennedy
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Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 60418 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 302(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 201(@300wpm)

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Read Online Books/Novels:	Forbidden - King (The Four #4)
Author/Writer of Book/Novel:	Sloane Kennedy
Language:	English
ISBN/ ASIN:	B097KYL17S
Book Information:
King My brothers think I have a lot of secrets. They have no idea… My job is to rescue kids who’ve been stolen from their families. I’m good at it and it helps me forget my own ugly childhood, but I’m a grown man now and the family of my heart is all I need. Except that I haven’t seen them in two years. I walked out of their lives without an explanation. I walked away from him without even saying goodbye. I know how much I hurt him. I know how badly I broke his trust. But even though we’re not related by blood, our family thinks of me as his uncle. Yet there’s no part of me that thinks of young Giovanni Covello that way. Problem is, I shouldn’t be thinking about him at all, especially since my thoughts have become less and less innocent since Gio turned eighteen. He’s closing in on twenty now and there’s no escaping him anymore because he’s in New York, the place I rest my head. I don’t trust myself around him, yet I can’t stay away, not after learning about the painful nightmares and frightening memories he’s experiencing about his own abduction and imprisonment as a child. He’s the son of one of my best friends and he’s had a crush on me for years. But I have to leave him alone. I just have to. Not because I don’t want Gio, but because he shouldn’t want me. I can’t give him what he wants, what we both want. Not now. Not ever. Gio Things didn’t make sense until he came along. Four years ago, he saved me from myself. Now he’s trying to do it again. But I don’t need saving. I need more than that. So much more… I don’t remember much about the life I lived as a child after I was stolen from my family, but my doctor says I will. Apparently, the wall in my head will come crashing down one day and all the ugly memories of what had been done to me will come rushing back to me. I haven’t told anyone, but it’s already happening. I just need to get through the computer course I’m taking in New York City so I can prove to myself that I can live an independent life before returning home to Seattle. My plan is a pretty good one, but I forgot to include one important variable. King. He’s supposedly my uncle but I’ve never seen King that way and there’s not even one drop of shared blood between us. Two years ago, he was my protector and my friend. And then he was just… gone. He’s back now and wants back into my life, but not to resume our friendship or to act on the attraction he’s finally admitted to having toward me. No, he just wants to keep me safe. But that’s a good thing, right? What could go wrong with having the guy I can’t stop thinking about living with me under my own roof? Answer: Everything. *This book has trigger warnings. As they could cause spoilers, you can find them at the beginning of the book on the page called Trigger Warnings. You can use the Look In feature of the ebook to read the Trigger Warning before deciding on your purchase.*
Books in Series:	The Four Series by Sloane Kennedy
Books by Author:	Sloane Kennedy

Chapter 1

It was love at first sight.

I was ten years old at the time, and I fell as only a clueless little kid could—by belly flopping into love with absolutely no regard for logic or reason, and with only the flimsiest grasp on reality.

Was it mutual?

Oh, hell no.

It wasn’t like I could just fall for a kid in my class. Instead, the object of my adolescent infatuation was a seventeen-year-old god among men named Eden Davis. He was a new friend and teammate my brother Casey brought home one day after football practice, and he was perfection.

The moment I met him, it felt like an asteroid had just smashed into my little world and thrown everything off kilter. That might seem overstated. What can I say? I was a dramatic kid. But the impact he had on my life really was huge.

Falling for Eden meant acknowledging I was gay for the first time. It shaped the man I grew into, and it affected every relationship I’d ever have.

The impact was that big because fifteen years later, I was still madly in love with Eden. It was an ache in my chest that had been there so long it had become a part of me. And it was as unrealistic as ever. Even though I wasn’t a kid anymore, my brother’s straight best friend was still totally unattainable.

Oddly enough, the three of us were currently roommates. When Eden and Casey decided to move to San Francisco to look after Eden’s granddad, I did what I’d been doing for years and tagged along.

At least I’d been promoted from an annoying kid pestering my big brother and his friend to one of the guys. More or less. Sometimes it felt like a cartoon I’d seen of a duck standing on one leg in a flock of flamingos. The caption said, “They’ve finally accepted me as one of their own.”

Not that flamingos were the right analogy. Casey and Eden were more like two lions, and I was a goofy yellow lab, wearing a mane made of mop yarn and trying to blend in. Despite the fact that they let me hang out with them now, there was still a divide. Even at twenty-five, I was convinced they still thought of me as a kid.

“Earth to Seth.” That was from my brother. He said that to me a lot. When I shot him a look, he smirked at me and said, “Concentrate, bro. You look like you’re about two seconds from slicing up your finger, instead of that carrot.”

The three of us were making dinner, and okay, yes, my mind had been wandering. That was why I was on salad duty, as usual. One little kitchen fire one time, and I was no longer trusted with the stove. My tendency to daydream really worked against me in my quest to convince both Eden and Casey I was an actual adult now.

It also didn’t help that at thirty-two, both of them were doing what I liked to call “important grown man jobs.” Eden was a police officer, and Casey was finishing up nursing school and working in a hospital. Meanwhile, they thought I delivered pizza for a living. That was what I’d been doing when we’d first moved here from St. Louis at the beginning of the year. They’d be equal parts furious and horrified if they knew I’d actually spent the last six months working as a prostitute.

For obvious reasons, I’d decided that was information they just did not need.

I hated to think about what would happen if either of them ever found out. There’d be lots of yelling, but the lectures would be even worse. It’d be just like the time I borrowed my mom’s car at fourteen and went for a joy ride. My parents didn’t even have to lecture me, because Eden and Casey did such a thorough job. As soon as the police brought me home, my brother and his bestie—who’d become part of the family by that point—started in with, “What were you thinking?” And, “I thought you knew better,” and so on.

No doubt I’d get the same lecture if they found out what I was up to these days, except that it would also include a huge helping of excruciating embarrassment. Part of still thinking of me as a kid meant that Casey and Eden were uncomfortable talking about anything even remotely sexual within five hundred yards of me.

Just imagine if they knew I’d been taking cock for cash. Dick for dollars. Peen for green. Why were there so many ways to say that?

“Ow.”

Okay, so I did what Casey had warned me about and cut my finger. He didn’t have it in him to let an “I told you so” opportunity pass him by, although he phrased it, “What did I just say?”

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Forgiven – Con (The Four #3) Read Online Sloane Kennedy http://www.wownovels.com/forgiven-con-the-four-3-read-online-sloane-kennedy Fri, 25 Jun 2021 21:55:08 +0000 http://www.booksnovels.com/forgiven-con-the-four-3-read-online-sloane-kennedy Genre: M-M Romance, Romance Authors: Sloane Kennedy Series: The Four Series by Sloane Kennedy
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Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 95906 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)

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Read Online Books/Novels:	Forgiven - Con (The Four #3)
Author/Writer of Book/Novel:	Sloane Kennedy
Language:	English
ISBN/ ASIN:	B0977SR86Q
Book Information:
Con I have everything I’ve ever wanted… so why do I still feel like the kid who came from nothing? Please help him … Three little words that have haunted me for years. Three little words that I know I’ll take to my grave. It was supposed to be just another fight. Another few minutes of using my fists and my so-called natural “gift” for fighting to raise the cash I needed to save my little brother’s life. But it wasn’t just another fight. Yes, I had walked away with the prize money and yes, I had saved my brother, but I’d also destroyed not one, but two lives. I’d left my opponent broken on the ground with his eight-year-old brother begging the onlookers around him for help. Begging me for help. But I’d walked away… Fifteen years later and that little boy is now a bitter, broken young man standing over his brother’s grave; the grave I might as well have put him in. I want nothing more than to help Micah Fox escape the hell his life has become, the life I condemned him to, but he wants nothing to do with me. But I can’t walk away this time. I won’t. Micah I’m so close to escaping my ugly little world that I can practically taste it. No way in hell am I letting the man who put me there try to play hero now. That night was supposed to change my life. It did. Just not in any way I could have ever conceived of. Fifteen years ago, the man known only as Zeus to his fans left my brother a broken man who wanted nothing to do with the world around him. I couldn’t save my brother, but I sure as hell can make sure my niece and nephew have a future… the one their father should have had. Zeus or Con or whatever the hell his name is wants to help me now? Not happening. He might know how to turn on the charm and play to his legions of adoring fans, but he and I both know what kind of monster lurks inside him. Okay, so what if strange things happen in my belly when he touches me? What if I feel a little stronger when he wraps his arms around me and promises me that everything will be okay? It’s not real. It can’t be. Because hate is all I have right now. If I let Con take that from me… Like I said… it can’t be real. I won’t let it be.
Books in Series:	The Four Series by Sloane Kennedy
Books by Author:	Sloane Kennedy

Chapter One

Con

The kid knew how to throw a punch, I had to give him that.

Fifteen seconds ago, I’d been taking in the young man’s frail frame as he’d comforted the two children huddled beneath the umbrella with him all the while thinking to myself that a stiff wind could blow the guy over.

My stinging jaw was proof that he was stronger than I’d given him credit for.

Like his brother…

“I take it you know who I am?”

“I do,” he snapped as he shook out his hand. I had a sneaking suspicion he’d ended up causing more damage to his own hand than he had my face, but I didn’t remark on that fact. I glanced down at his knuckles.

Yep, already turning red. They’d be black and blue by day’s end while I’d probably have to look hard in the mirror to see the mark he’d left on my face.

I waited for another punch, but none came.

Very much unlike his brother…

The same brother who lay buried six feet under not more than a dozen feet behind the kid.

“I’m sorry, I just came to pay my respects—”

“Go to hell,” the kid said in response, his green eyes like ice.

I needed to stop thinking of him as a kid because even though that was what he’d been the last time I’d seen him, there was nothing kid-like about him. I couldn’t help but let my gaze roam over him as I tried to find any evidence of the little boy I’d seen a fleeting glimpse of as I’d turned my back on his brother’s still body so long ago.

The kid’s—young man’s—dirty-blond hair was pushed halfheartedly off his forehead like he’d been repeatedly running his fingers through the soft-looking locks. His face was made of sharp lines and angles that made his unusual beauty seem just a little bit too harsh. Despite the fact that he was almost my height, I had to outweigh him by at least fifty pounds. I figured part of that was just his natural lean frame, but between his pale skin and the sharpness of his collarbone sticking up from the neckline of his shirt, my gut was telling me that he’d been missing out on a lot of regular meals for a while. In addition to hanging off his body, his clothes showed considerable wear and tear and weren’t a match for the elements. Thankfully, with it being late summer in New Jersey, he didn’t have to worry about the cold, but the storm clouds rumbling above our heads meant his thin dress shirt and khaki slacks would be soaked through in a matter of seconds when the heavens finally did give in and let loose.

“Uncle Micah?” I heard one of the kids with him—the little girl—call in confusion and fear.

“It’s okay, Rory,” the guy, Micah, called without looking over his shoulder. “It’s over.”

“Did he come to say goodbye to Papa?”

Papa? What the hell?

“She’s Brady’s kid?” I blurted before I could consider my words. “So Brady wasn’t—”

Before I could finish my sentence, Micah grabbed my wrist and dug his fingers into my skin. It didn’t hurt overly much but the move caught me off guard just the same and I snapped my mouth shut.

“Don’t,” he whispered harshly. “Just don’t.”

Something about the way he was holding on to me was almost desperate. I couldn’t think of any other word to describe it, even though it made no sense. There was not even a scintilla of doubt in my mind that Micah hated me with every fiber of his being, and rightfully so. I’d destroyed his brother’s life. If anyone had done to my brothers what I’d done to Brady Fox…

“Please, just go,” Micah added as he glanced over his shoulder at the children.

My eyes followed his to where the kids were standing huddled under the umbrella, the freshly turned earth behind them a brutal reminder of where we were.

And why we were there.

The girl couldn’t have been more than five and she looked nothing like the man I remembered. Micah, at least, had the same coloring as his late brother but the child—Rory—had dark hair and eyes and her skin tone hinted at biracial heritage.

The boy next to her was a different story. He looked very much like Micah. It was hard to guess his age, though. He was tall but still looked in early adolescence so he could have been anywhere from twelve to fifteen. Since that made him too old to be Micah’s kid, that left Brady as the most likely sire. The boy had his eyes practically glued to the ground. When he did briefly look my way, he let out a little whimper and dropped them again. The knowledge that I was scaring the hell out of him caused my stomach to roil.

Like Micah, both kids seemed to be on the thin side. Their clothes were clean and didn’t show the same wear as Micah’s, but while the boy looked like he was ten seconds away from outgrowing his clothes, Rory’s dress appeared to be a size too big. Something about the kids’ outfits niggled at my brain, though I couldn’t say why.

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Foreseen – Lex Read online Sloane Kennedy (The Four #2) http://www.wownovels.com/foreseen-lex-2-read-online-sloane-kennedy Fri, 12 Apr 2019 13:57:33 +0000 http://www.test123.demo2.xyz/foreseen-lex-2-read-online-sloane-kennedy Genre: Gay, GLBT, M-M Romance, Romance Authors: Sloane Kennedy Series: The Four Series by Sloane Kennedy
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Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 103918 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 520(@200wpm)___ 416(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)

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Read Online Books/Novels:	Foreseen - Lex (The Four #2)
Author/Writer of Book/Novel:	Sloane Kennedy
Language:	English
ISBN/ ASIN:	B085QMLZX2
Book Information:
LEX Even if I wasn’t losing my sight, I never would have seen him coming… I’ve known my fate for years, but I wasn’t willing to accept it. But as the light in my eyes dims a little more each day, I have no choice but to adapt. Or not? The secluded cabin in the north woods of Maine is supposed to be an escape… a place where I can figure out how to move forward with my life… to find out if I even can. But then he shows up and suddenly I’m facing a new fight… GIDEON He wants to be left alone? Fine by me. But I’m not going to watch him just give up… Wanting to be left alone, that’s something the guy and I have in common. But that’s about it. As far as I’m concerned, he’s just another rich city boy playing at living off the grid for a while. He’s got no idea what it really means to be alone. My job is to take care of the cabin he’s staying in and that’s it. It doesn’t matter that I can’t stop thinking about why he looks so damn broken or wondering why he stirs something inside of me I thought long dead. But try as I might, I can’t stay away from him, just like I can’t watch him give up on himself. He may be losing his sight, but I won’t let him lose himself. I won’t let him become like me… *Although this book is part of a series, it can be read as a stand-alone*
Books in Series:	The Four Series by Sloane Kennedy
Books by Author:	Sloane Kennedy

Chapter One

Lex

The place was quiet, I had to give it that. Hell, quiet wasn’t even the right word. Silent didn’t quite fit either. Despite knowing the woods surrounding the cabin were teeming with life, the structure itself had a cold emptiness to it. It was… numb.

Like you.

I ignored my inner voice and searched out my phone. It took several long seconds of fumbling to get to the voice-to-text option. Frustration welled up inside of me as I faced yet more proof of what my life was becoming.

Was becoming? Who was I kidding? I was already there.

As tears pricked the backs of my eyes, I realized maybe I wasn’t quite as numb as I’d thought… or hoped.

“Made it,” I said into the phone before hitting send. I could only hope the phone had translated the words correctly into the text message.

I sighed when my phone rang just seconds later.

“You’re late,” King said as soon as I answered. My brother wasn’t exactly known for his ability to make small talk.

“Did you call just to tell me that?” I joked.

King was silent for a beat before gruffly asking, “Where are you?”

I sighed as I looked around what I presumed was the kitchen based on the various shapes I was able to make out. I felt around until I found a table and chairs and then sat down.

“I don’t want to do this again, King,” I murmured. My brother and I had already had this same conversation on multiple occasions and all it did was break each of us a bit more. The solution was a simple one—I could just give in and tell my brother where I was, but it was the last thing I wanted to do. I hadn’t really been able to explain my reasoning to my overprotective big brother, mostly because I hadn’t really understood it myself. When King didn’t say anything, I softly added, “I need this.”

“You need your family, Lex,” King interjected angrily. I heard a thud in the background. I knew exactly what the sound was.

I closed my stinging eyes and ran my hand through my hair. “Go take care of your hand, big brother,” I said. “And remind me to get you a punching bag for every room of your house so you don’t keep putting holes in the walls.”

“Lex,” King said quietly. The almost desperate way he said my name threatened to crumble my resolve.

“Say hi to Luca and Con for me. And Vaughn too, if you can.” The mere mention of the rest of my family had my throat closing up tight. “I’m safe, King. I promise. I’ll see you soon, okay?”

I didn’t give King a chance to respond, mostly because I was on the verge of completely losing it. I hung up the phone, then turned it off altogether. I couldn’t help but wonder if King was already on the phone with one of his tech guys trying to track the disposable phone I was using. He’d promised me he wouldn’t, but I knew at some point his fear would overshadow his desire to respect my decisions. My other brother, Con, wouldn’t have been as patient—he’d probably been searching for me from the moment I’d stopped taking his calls.

I couldn’t prevent the hot tears that began coasting down my cheeks as I thought about the men who’d been the only family I’d ever known.

Definitely not numb.

I wasn't sure how long I sat there for, but by the time there was a brief knock at the side door, the tears on my cheeks had dried and some of the emptiness I’d craved returned. When I opened my eyes, I could tell that the sun was starting to fall. I automatically glanced down at my phone, but it was more out of habit than anything else.

There was another rap on the door and then it was opening.

"Sorry to disturb you, sir, but it looks like we’re going to get hit with some nasty weather overnight and I want to make sure you’ve got enough logs to keep the fire going in case I can't get the generator up and running if the power goes out."

The voice behind me faded out as the individual walked farther away, presumably to put away whatever logs he’d brought into the house. I fought back the agitation that went through me. Within a handful of seconds, I heard the footsteps again. I didn't dare look over my shoulder at the man because with the falling light, I’d have a hard time making out his shape. If that happened, I could end up giving away the truth about my condition since I wouldn’t be able to find the man to make eye contact with him.

I waited until the steps sounded like they were right behind me before saying, "Mr. Parnell assured me when I rented this cabin that I wouldn't be disturbed."

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Forgotten Luca Read online Sloane Kennedy (The Four #1) http://www.wownovels.com/forgotten-luca-1-read-online-sloane-kennedy Thu, 17 May 2018 01:57:33 +0000 http://www.test123.demo2.xyz/forgotten-luca-1-read-online-sloane-kennedy Genre: Gay, GLBT, M-M Romance, Romance Authors: Sloane Kennedy Series: The Four Series by Sloane Kennedy
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Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 112069 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 374(@300wpm)

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Read Online Books/Novels:	Forgotten Luca (The Four #1)
Author/Writer of Book/Novel:	Sloane Kennedy
Language:	English
ISBN/ ASIN:	1086247809 (ISBN13: 9781086247800)
Book Information:
Luca I left him behind because I had no choice… That’s what I keep telling myself, but it doesn’t make it any easier to sleep at night… or to drown out the words he kept repeating over and over the day we’d met: I just want to go home. That was eight long years ago and I’d only known him as Billy, a terrified fourteen-year-old I’d had to leave behind to save someone else. But his name wasn’t Billy and he’s no longer a frightened kid lost in a world where he was nothing more than a possession. His name is Remy, and while I didn’t recognize him upon meeting him again, he sure as hell remembers me. It would be easier just to turn my back on him a second time, especially since that’s exactly what he wants, but there’s no way I can let the tormented young man go. At least not without trying to make things right first. The problem is, even if I can make up for leaving Remy behind so long ago, I’m not sure I’ll be able to walk away from him twice. I don’t know what that means, but I do know that it scares the hell out of me. Because needing in my world comes at a heavy price… one that not even I can afford to pay.
Books in Series:	The Four Series by Sloane Kennedy
Books by Author:	Sloane Kennedy Books

Prologue

Luca

“Yeah, he’s fine, Aleks. We’ll probably be talking long into the night, but I’ll have Remy check in with you tomorrow for sure.”

I didn’t know what to make of the fact that the young man who stepped into the darkened apartment was talking about himself in the third person, but part of me didn’t care as I drank in the sight of him. There was a light on just above him, but it was only enough to make out a few of his features.

But it didn’t matter because everything about him was stamped into the deepest recesses of my brain.

Billy.

No, not Billy.

Remy.

I’d known him only as Billy the first time I’d met him when he’d been a kid. That moment was also etched into my mind, but for very different reasons. And it seemed like it wasn’t just my brain that couldn’t rid itself of every second of that dark day when I’d done something, become somebody, I never would have dreamed possible.

Every cell in my body remembered that day.

The smells.

The sounds.

The feel of the terrified, crying boy who’d had to have the strength of an adult to deal with what I’d had to do to him to keep us both breathing.

They would have left him alone, you cowardly piece of shit.

The voice in my head was ugly and cold, but I knew it was true.

Billy… no, Remy, wouldn’t have been punished for what had happened. He’d been too valuable to them.

I would’ve been the one who wouldn’t have walked out of that house alive.

The kid had saved my ass by playing along with everything I’d told him to do.

And I’d fucking left him there.

“Yeah, Aleks, here’s Remy. It was nice to meet you, finally, even if it was just over the phone,” Remy said. He had a messenger bag strapped across his midsection and sitting on one hip. I could see his left hand fisted on top of the cheap-looking material. His right hand was holding the phone against his ear. He pulled the phone away from his face for a moment as if he were actually going to hand it to someone. I watched as he drew in a deep breath, then put the phone back to his ear.

“Satisfied?” he asked with what probably was supposed to have been a humorous drawl, but he didn’t smile. The voice he used was the same one I’d heard earlier in the day right before he’d slammed his fist into my jaw.

His natural voice.

“Yeah, Joe’s great,” Remy said.

I knew he was talking to Aleks Silva, my brother’s boyfriend. What I didn’t understand was why he had pretended to be someone else… Joe.

Who the fuck was Joe?

I actually felt jealousy curl through my belly, and that made me want to throw up.

Because no way in hell could I or should I be attracted to this young man.

Not after what I’d done to him.

“Yeah, I’m just going to stay with Joe for a few days… until he’s sure I’ll be okay on my own,” Remy said, his voice a strange mix of confidence and certainty that, again, didn’t match his body language. I willed him to turn completely around so I could see his face full-on.

I knew I should probably say something to make my presence known, but I needed these moments to take in everything about him. I’d already been through his apartment… after I’d broken into it.

And breaking in was exactly what I’d done—and it had taken a hell of a long time, considering the young man had four different locks on his door. Thankfully, he lived in a small building that didn’t have a lot going on so late in the evening.

“I’ll call you when I’m back in town,” Remy said, clearly lying, since we were in town… downtown Seattle, to be exact.

I leaned back in the chair I was sitting in. It wasn’t particularly comfortable, but from looking around Remy’s apartment when I’d first managed to get into it, I’d already determined Remy seemed to prefer function to fashion or comfort. His furniture was the kind you could get from any cheap furniture store, and while not exactly new, it hadn’t seemed like thrift-store used, either. His bedroom had just a mattress and a dresser in it, and his small kitchen sported only the basic appliances and a few pots and pans. His refrigerator was mostly empty.

Which might explain why Remy was so skinny.

“Yeah, I’ll tell him,” Remy remarked as he said his goodbyes to Aleks. From the expression on Remy’s face, I could tell it pained him to lie to his friend.

So why was he doing it?

You know why.

I actually shook my head before I caught myself.

No, I refused to believe that. From the information I’d managed to pull together in the last few hours, Remy had been living a quiet, comfortable existence in the two years since he’d moved to Seattle from Chicago. He had a good job at a local security firm and from what I’d seen this afternoon, he was part of a large group of men and women who considered themselves family, despite so few of them actually sharing any blood.

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