Better Off Dead: A Jack Reacher Novel Novels & Stories

After coming home from work, I see my favorite dishes laid out all over the table. The liquor is warmed up, and its aroma is the type that I like. But I don't feel the slightest bit grateful toward my thoughtful and gentle wife. My gaze passes through her and lands on the wall behind her. There hangs a memorial portrait of her…

My husband died six months ago. At least… that’s what everyone said. While I’m drowning in his debts, working double shifts just to survive, the only person who refuses to leave me alone is the man I should fear the most — Drakon Vasilios, my husband’s best friend and the ruthless VP of the Wolves MC. He watched me from the moment I became Nikos’s wife. Now he’s the one breaking down my door, dragging me into his world, and claiming he’s the only thing standing between me and a brutal rival gang who wants me dead. To the club, I’m “property.” To Drakon, I’m something far more dangerous. His obsession is raw. Possessive. Consuming. Wrong. Because when the truth explodes — that my husband is still alive, a traitor, and the reason everyone wants me dead — everything shatters. And then I discover I’m pregnant. The problem? I don’t know if the baby belongs to the man who betrayed me… or the man willing to burn the world to keep me. Now the club is at war. Loyalties are breaking. Blood is being spilled. And the only place I’m safe… is in the arms of the one man I should never love. He’s my husband’s best friend. My protector. My greatest sin. But once Drakon claims something… no one takes it from the Wolf.

Matteo Cassimo and I are childhood sweethearts. But he gets assassinated on the day before our wedding. I cry my heart out in front of his grave to the point I faint from exhaustion. When I wake up again, I see a few live comments crossing my vision. "Poor Annie… She's still kept in the dark about the truth." "Seriously, Annie believes everything Matteo tells her. Serves her right for getting duped by Matteo's fake death." "Can someone please tell Annie that Matteo fakes his death to get rid of her, because his mistress finds out he's about to get married and decides to secretly leave him? I bet those two are being lovey-dovey with each other right now!" "Forget about it. Annie has nothing but blind trust in Matteo, after all. Maybe when he finally comes back from the 'dead,' she'll marry him happily again." One month later, the news headlines all over the papers are filled with the explosive news of the impending marriage between me and the heir of the Valente family, William Valente. That's when Matteo's subordinate confronts me. "Our Don has just passed away recently, and yet you're already planning to marry someone else?" I merely chuckle icily in return. "So what if I am? I can't just be a widow at such a young age now, can I?"

"You're going to meet her someday." I whispered. "Olivia." I forced a smile and lifted my head. "And it's fine. I'll be rooting for you all the way." He cut me off with a soft "Liv." I blinked away my tears. "No, listen to me. We need to accept that this won't last forever. You could find her on your next trip out of town, and I'll be forgotten." I swallowed the lump formed in my throat. "I just hope we'll still be friends." His face twisted in pain as he rested his forehead against mine, his hands trembling as he cups my cheeks. "You'll always be my best friend." "And you'll always be mine." I pressed my lips against his, needing to taste him, to feel his lips on mine, to know that at this moment, he was mine. ^^^ Olivia Martins has always been an outcast in the Nightshade pack. She's an omega and the pack she grew up in never failed to remind her that she'll never be one of them. It wasn't so bad growing up, she had her best friend by her side. Caspian Storm, son of the alpha of the Nightshade pack, befriended her when they were both little, and they've been inseparable ever since. Their friendship started out sweet and innocent, but it developed into more. Olivia knew that it couldn't last forever because Caspian would find his mate and what they had would come to an end. Yet, she couldn't guard her heart and when her worst fear comes true, she flees. Will Olivia and Caspian find their way back to each other or will the threat of Caspian finding his mate keep them apart?

On my birthday, Connor Simpson's first love jumped off a building due to depression. She died on the spot. Connor blamed everything on me. I never celebrated my birthday again after she died. After the murderer electrocuted me for more than ten hours, they forced me to call Connor. "Connor, it's my 25th birthday today. Can you come over and spend time with me?" However, Connor did not notice anything unusual. His voice was laced with venomous iciness. "Clarisse Winter, Audrey wouldn't have died if it weren't for you. How dare you ask me to celebrate your birthday? If only you were the one who died." I heard him coaxing a woman on the other end just before he hung up on me. That low and gentle tone was what I loved to hear the most in the past. That night, the murderer cut my body into countless pieces, packed them in bags, and threw them in front of the police station. Connor was summoned back overnight. He spent two days and two nights piecing together the body parts, but he did not realize that the dead person was the wife that he hated the most.

Right after my father dies, I receive a call from the hospital, urging me to settle the hospital bills. "You're the next of kin for Carl Stone, Bed 23 of the Neurology Ward, correct? You still owe the hospital 246,000 dollars. Kindly settle the bill as soon as possible." The call completely catches me off guard. I turn around to look at my father's body in the casket. A rush of anger courses through me, but I suppress it and say, "I'm afraid you've made a mistake. My father is no longer a patient at the hospital." "I knew people like you would never admit to it. Do you think you can get away with it just because you snuck him out of the hospital without permission? "I'm giving you 24 hours to complete the payment. You don't want to find out what will happen if you don't!" Well, now I'm furious. "Go ahead and test me."

"It hurts! It hurts me more! Don't you understand, that your savage sister ran away. Taking the money and jewelry I gave her," Arka snapped and then released the hold turning to stare at Mona's reddened cheeks. "That's impossible, Brother-in-Law," Mona said shaking her head, her knees felt weak and she fell to the floor. "I didn't think it was possible either, but this is what happened!" Arka snarled, kicking Mona to her back and causing the corner of her lip to bleed. "Go to your room, or you'll die by my hands right now!" Arka ordered, making Mona try to get up and step into the room while sobbing with pain.

Lily at age fifteen wanted to be so many things, but a werewolf was never part of it. Actually, she never thought of it either, because this story isn't about Lily at fifteen, nor is it about any damn werewolves. This story is about 23-year-old Lily Hills, waking up to the dead body of her one-night stand in a motel. The same man, Damien Kalashnikov, was to tie the knot the next morning, and Lily was slated to handle the magazine publishing the glamorous wedding events. Lily who just wanted an adventurous night for once in her life, was now accused of murdering a ruthless Russian Mafia boss. Just as all hope seems lost, Dimitri, Damien's identical twin brother and infamous "Beekeeper," saves her, he proposes a shocking solution: a contract marriage, with conditions for both parties to meet. The wedding, initially intended for Damien and his bride, will proceed as planned – with Lily as the new bride. As Lily and Dimitri navigate their complicated relationship, he commissions her to write his biography. With each passing day, secrets unfold, and shocking truths surface. Their bond deepens, but danger lurks. With a surprise pregnancy raising stakes, it seemed Damien left a souvenir. A Russian Roulette began. Albeit, a typical Russian will say to you: Когда река молчит, шепчет ли она секреты рыбам? (When the river's voice is silent, does it whisper secrets to the fish?) Even in silence, hidden truths may be shared, and secrets can be revealed in unexpected ways. Will Lily, wife to the Omertà Mafia Don ‘The Beekeeper’ eventually find out what happened that night?

Lily’s engagement turns to a disaster when her fiancé suddenly falls for her sister, Ivy and chooses her instead. The Jones sisters have always had their misunderstandings, Ivy being the youngest was everyone’s favourite meanwhile Lily was left to scraped off the little love her parents had left for her. She never complained, she was willing to let Ivy have all the love but not when it came to her fiancé, Jonathan Morel. He fell for her sister instead but what broke Lily completely was when her sister accepted his proposal without hesitation Fuelled by anger and Jealousy, Lily burns her sister alive, then reclaim her fiancé and at that moment, she believed everything was perfect. But one year later, the dead returns, the sister she set on firer returns as the wife of the eldest son of the Morel family, her new sister in law. Will this little reunion be messier than what everyone imagined, will they finally reconcile or is this just the beginning of a devastating war?

My dad is a player. After he succeeds in his conquest mission, he leaves this world… as well as four mothers to me. My first mom is an extremely wealthy CEO. My second mom is supremely famous for her work as the top actress. My third mom has stellar medical skills, whereas my fourth mom holds an authoritative and influential position. My four moms have spent the last 16 years doting on me endlessly. They would give me whatever I want. That is, until three years ago when William Carson, the son of their first love, returns to their lives. Since then, my moms have only trusted him, reserving all their distrust for me. When William accuses me of calling him a bastard filthier than that of a mutt who doesn't have the right to live at home, my moms make me live in a kennel and eat scraps like a true mutt. When William claims that I'm the one taking the lead to bully him at school, my moms decide to make me drop out of school. Then, they hire three delinquents to beat me up at home for three long months. When William tells my moms that I've shoved him once again, my moms lock me up in a cage and starve me for 72 hours straight in hopes that I will learn my lesson. Just when I'm on the brink of dying from starvation, I hear Dad's voice. "Henry, do you want to come back to me?"