No Surrender : My Thirty-year War Novels & Stories

The practical, asshole part of my brain reminded me that I was about to lose everything. "Get the car," I ordered, walking out of the closet and leaving the diamonds on the floor. "Get the men. All of them." I walked past the empty bed, past the rose gold phone I had bought for a girl who wasn't there, past the piano lessons for a woman who would never play for me. "We are going to war," I said, my voice sounding like Satan himself. "And if anyone stands in my way, they can eat shit and die."

"Is this a surrender?" I shook my head, my eyes scanning the room, making sure I looked every one of them in the eye. "It's not a surrender. It's a statement. The war with Donald is over. The fighting, the bloodshed, the constant worry—it ends now. I am taking the first step back, signaling that I have no interest in the power and territories that fuel this conflict. This is my public offer of a truce. My sacrifice for peace."

“But it puts me above you here.” Our faces were inches apart. Two storms colliding. “You want a war?” I asked quietly. He shook his head once. “No. I want Sofia.” Something inside me snapped. A low, guttural sound tore from my chest—a growl more animal than human. “She is mine,” I said, every word dropping like a blade. Arzhel didn’t flinch. Didn’t blink. Didn’t even breathe wrong. Instead, he stepped even closer, invading the last inch of space between us.

He wanted me broken and afraid. I took a long, steadying breath. Losing control would give him exactly what he wanted. Instead, I tapped back a single response: a middle finger emoji. It wasn’t enough, but it would have to do. The next message made me pause. Joseph Renson. Reading his words twisted something in me. He wanted to meet. He sounded desperate. Joseph, the eldest son, the heir, the one who used to charm everyone with his manners and smooth words. There had been a time I almost invited him into the Survivors, when I realized the darkness behind the polished exterior.

With Levi back at work, Lila could not just sit around all day and staying at home did not sit well with her so she decided to go to a cafe to send out her portfolio to companies. She decided to get some air and coffee while also working. She knew that if she stayed home by herself, she would be consumed with the thoughts of what she could do for Levi and it was killing her that she could not do anything for him. She had wished she had bought some shares that she could give to him; it was too late now, as they had closed the market, and it was not going to be opened until the battle was over.

"You don’t get it, do you? The more you resist, the more he enjoys breaking you." Hailey’s eyes darkened as she crossed her arms. "All he asks is your surrender," she said, her voice eerily calm. "Give him that, and this will all be easier." I scoffed. "Easier for who? For me? Or for him?" "For both of you," she replied without hesitation. "Theo doesn’t like disobedience, but he rewards loyalty. If you just stop fighting, stop running, he’ll give you a life most people would kill for."

And Adrian Black had no intention of playing defense. And just like that, war had begun.

With shaking hands I open the envelope and pull out Nonna's letter, the familiar script bringing tears to my eyes: Belissima Abigail, I know you are sad and probably a little mad at your old Nonna right now, but please believe me that I never wanted to hurt you by keeping my illness a secret. I know you, cara; if I had told you about the aneurysm, you would have dropped out of university to wrap me up in cotton wool, and I could never have lived with myself.

Around the clock at four hour intervals trucks pull up, sit for thirty minutes, and leave, the only exception is at ten at night to six in the morning there is no movement, and that’s typically when you would expect to see a warehouse loading and unloading. It’s day three that Amory has been gone and we decide that we can’t wait any longer. Max, Bo, Rich, Spin, Gabe, Danny, Steven, Paul and I are all armed with guns and the two SUVs. Just before we roll out, Spencer gets a call from Sy… Finding out that we have zeroed in on him, he wants to make a deal. He is willing to exchange Amory unharmed if he willingly surrenders himself.

I stroked him, clenching my thighs at the thought of him driving into me with it. “Fuck, Juliet. If you don't stop, I’m going to cum in my pants”, he said, breathless. My eyes widened a bit. I wanted to see him cum. I gripped him a little tighter. He winced, grabbing my hand. “You minx”, his eyes darkened. “Lose the shirt”, Noah demanded, stepping back. His gaze was intense, trained on me. My heart skipped a beat, the little bravery I had earlier, snuffed out. I tentatively reached for the hem of the shirt, and then pulled it off.