Strike Three Novels & Stories

"No. I want more. More than just leaving the marriage. I want my company to be successful, rich, and clean." A cough erupted from my weakened body, and Alex grinned, saying, "I like this part of you. Making your company have all that it needs. It's not a hard thing. I am glad you have decided to join my crew. Do we have a deal?" I adjusted my restrained body on the chair, scoffed, then laughed. "Fuck you. I would never betray my husband. You want to get into his mafia, go find another pawn, you dumb rat." The room echoed with my defiance, but it was met with a resounding slap that turned my face to the right. Pain radiated through my jaw, and I coughed out blood as my teeth jammed against th

Someone knocked at Dan’s office three times. “Come in.” He approved, but didn’t look up. No one came in. After a while, someone knocked six times. He got irritated and bit down on the urge to curse out loud. “If I hear that knock one more time, You will lose your job.” He almost raised his voice to a high pitch. The door slightly opened after the threat. A man appeared, smiling with open arms. “Guess who’s back?” It was his younger brother.

One by one, they assemble the different materials until it forms a podium. “Good. Get her up there.” One of the guards drag me up, they tie my hands and they tie me to the podium they constructed. I shut my eyes as the first whip lands on my back. “Three! She’s A Thief!” “Four! She’s A Thief!” “Eight!” Tears roll down my eyes and I struggle to swallow my snot back inside my throat. “Thirty! She’s A Thief!” “Thirty One! She’s A Thief!” “Thirty Five!”

“What they will do if they find her?” “That’s different,” Tino argues. She laughs, disbelief written across her face as she pushes the boy away. “How is this different?!” She questions. “You know how they are. You know what happens when you go against them.” “You didn’t go against them!” He points, but she disagrees. “I’ve disappointed them. I’ve risked their reputation. I’ve embarrassed them,” she lists her offenses. “Three strikes and you’re out. And we have to be honest here, T. I have a lot more than just three.”

“Yes, Sir.” “You seem to have gotten it into your head that you don't need protection.” The third strike was twice as hard as the last. A cry escaped her lips and she picked her head up off the floor out of instinct. He immediately pressed it back down. He leaned in, whispering, “How about now? Do you feel quite as tough now, Pup?”

I went for it again slamming it barely as it swerves out of the way into the opposite direction and disappears. Bringing my car to a stop, I rested my head on the sterling wheel. My breath coming out in large puffs like I had just ran a marathon. There was hardly a doubt that they were Lester’s goons. So this is how he wanted to play. If he thought he was going to scare me into hiding, he was playing. I was not going to back down not until I had gotten revenge. I pulled out my phone and for some unknown reason saw myself texting Kendrick to tell him what happened.

Only this time, they brought reinforcement, the third girlfriend. Lisa slammed her palm against my table. Hard. Plates rattled. I kept eating. Silence can bruise louder than a slap. “You thought you could embarrass us and get away with it?” Lisa demanded. I chewed slowly. Swallowed. Then lifted my gaze to the three of them. I let my eyes linger on the unfamiliar girl. “I see you brought an extra minion today.” The third girl blinked. “What?” Susan scoffed. “So you think you’re all that now?”

Before she could catch her breath, Tiana lunged at her and strangled her neck. "You damned old hag!" she shrieked. "How dare you put the house up as collateral? This house was supposed to be my son's!" I floated midair, watching their chaos unfurl like a spectator at play. In fact, I had already discovered Dorothy's gambling habit three years ago. But before I could tell Andrew, he dragged me off to the countryside. Now, it all made sense. Three years ago, Dorothy had lied that she saw Stella push Tiana down the stairs because she'd been afraid that I'd expose her gambling addiction. She acted first, using the lie to drive me and Stella away.

The paper slipped from his fingers and scattered across the floor. The contract clearly stated: Zoey had been given 99 chances. If he chose her even once, she’d be allowed to stay and marry him. If not—she’d be forced to leave the country and never return. And he… He had chosen Claire. Every. Single. Time. He had ignored Zoey. Let her get hurt. Rejected her. Again and again. What the hell had he done? Adrian leaned against the wall, stunned, unable to breathe. Linda finally spoke.

I thought he would give up, but he summoned all the werewolves in the pack for the 99th time and got on his knees, swearing to the Moon Goddess, “Mia, you’re the only Mate I’ll ever have. If you refuse me, I’ll keep asking until you agree.” I was moved by his determination and love. After that, I established a Mate Bond with him. To repay his love, I gave him 99 handmade forgiveness coupons on the day of our Marking Ceremony. I promised him that I would forgive him 99 times. As long as he still had coupons left over, I would forgive him and stay with him no matter what he did.