Prince
of Blood and Steel
by Nazarea Andrews and A.J. Elmore
Seth Morgan has returned home after two years spent building an alliance that will take his family's crime syndicate to a new level in New York City's black collar society. He expects a warm welcome as heir of the Morgan empire. He hopes to finally marry Nicolette, the woman he's loved his whole life.
What he finds is a different world, one where his family's legacy is in ruins. His big brother, Caleb, has changed into someone cold and bitter, plotting to overthrow their patriarch. And Nicolette, daughter of the criminal banking industry, has left the family entirely.
When a vicious misunderstanding leaves Caleb dead, Seth is left reeling. Desperate for truth, Seth is forced to turn to his only remaining cousin, Emma, for support. As he tries to mend his relationship with Nicolette, he begins a search for answers that will take him from the dirty streets to the highest reaches of their illicit empire.
Torn between the desire to protect those who mean the most to him, and a need to learn more about Caleb's death, he grows distant to protect them. As each secret surfaces, he realizes that the only way to restore his family is to take his place at its head, and fully embrace the brutal way they live.
EXCERPT
Irving Prep, New York City. January
30th
It's
been a week of seclusion and mourning. A week of waiting and wondering.
Wondering if Seth will come to her. She isn't surprised that he has kept a low
profile. But she wants to see him and know where she stands.
Instead she is shuttled between her mother’s home and Mikie’s, refused any answers. Even her phone was taken away for a time—for her own good. Being constantly under Mikie’s guard has worn on her nerves. It took a screaming match with Bethania, and tears for her uncle, to be allowed to go back to school.
She
steps out of the classroom into the hall of people. They give her a wide berth,
wary of the dark princess. Emma has heard the whispers floating around school
about her family. She ignores them. The idiots at her school know nothing.
Nothing. About her family, about her cousins.
Quinn
comes up and wraps an arm around her shoulder, pulling her along the hall. She
would be lost without her friend. But she resents his company now. She wants
her thoughts and her cousin.
“Go
ahead of me,” she says. He hesitates, so she puts a little steel in her eyes. A
smile tickles the corner of his lips, but he turns and leaves her.
She
can feel the darting glances from her classmates, and she twitches her uniform
skirt. There's a bathroom ahead. For a moment she considers retreating there.
But that's weakness, and she refuses to show that right now. She adjusts her
books and heads for the stairs.
"Emma."
It's
a whisper of noise, almost blending with the rest of the people murmuring her
name. Except that she's waited two years to hear this voice.
She
turns and sees him, half hidden in shadows. Her stomach turns, his attention on
her like a hot brand.
His
eyes are tired, at odds with the smile he gives her as she slips across the
hallway to stand at Seth's right hand.
He's
studying her, and she shifts, taking the moment to return the gesture. He’s
thin, far past his normal slender build, almost emaciated. His skin is soft
gold from months in the sun, his dark hair hanging unruly around his ears. His
posture isn’t the arrogant disregard she’s used to from Seth—it’s hunched,
almost defensive. A bruise is ugly and yellow on his jaw, from where Caleb hit
him.
She
touches it, without thinking, and Seth flinches away.
“Let’s
get lunch,” she says, looping an arm through his. Quinn will wonder what
happened to her, but that thought barely registers—Seth is here, and she’s
pulling him along.
They
get greasy hot dogs from a vendor and a cup of Coke that makes her teeth
chatter. It’s street fare, but delicious, and she revels in it—the prince of
the city and his favorite cousin, sitting on the stoop of a shop like any
commoner. She picks at her hot dog and watches him out of the corner of her
eye. Seth eats pensively, staring at the traffic and people rushing past.
“You
missed it,” she says, picking an onion off the hot dog.
Seth
nods. “Yes. More than I thought possible.”
She
wants to ask why he was gone so long, why he never reached out to those he left
behind, why he promised to protect and teach her, but left so soon with no
word.
Emma doesn’t say any of that—she doesn’t say anything. She crumples her hot dog up and sets it aside. Leans her head against his shoulder. For a few heartbeats, Seth is stiff, startled, all tension and steel. Then a sigh moves through him and she feels his arm come around her, one hand smoothing down her curls. She shivers, time seeming to slow as she leans into him, inhaling his scent.
They
sit like that for a few long minutes. Then he squeezes her gently and pulls
away. He doesn’t look at her as she reaches for her Coke, wiping at her eyes. She’s so young, he thinks. So damn young
and vulnerable.
“What
place have you been given in the family?” he asks.
She
shrugs. “None.”
Seth
jerks, looks at her with startled eyes. Emma hurries on. “Uncle Mikie wanted me
to finish school before they brought me in. Besides, you know they always kept
me in the dark.”
“I
know you never tolerated it,” Seth answers, an amused look brightening his
eyes.
She
hesitates. Does she tell him now, about Caleb? He speaks before she can, taking
her choice away. “Things are going to be a little different, now that I’m
home.”
And Caleb is dead.
The
words aren’t spoken, but they hang there. She nods and leans into him again.
“Yes. It will.” She hesitates, and then adds, “Mother is furious, you know. The
entire family is waiting to see what you’ll do—who Mikie will kill next. They
don’t know how to anticipate your next move.”
He
looks down at her, her red-gold lashes dusting against her cheeks as she picks
at the hem of her dress. She’s not a child anymore, not the little girl he left
behind, and comments like this remind him of that. What has she done—who has
she learned from, while he was gone? She darts a glance up at him, curious.
“Are
you still listening at doors, Emma?” he asks, teasing, remembering her
childhood habit for gathering information.
She
nods. “I listen where you can’t. Always.”
He doesn’t speak—his voice and breath are choked in his throat. He came home to death and threats, to a brother ready to kill him and an uncle who demanded death for that offense. He came home to a family he doesn’t recognize and cannot trust.
But
with a simple declaration, she’s reminded him that some things don’t change.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
AJ and Nazarea became friends in a writers group. Drawn together by a love of fictional bad boys and good wine, they are best kept several states apart but rack up a ton of emails and text messages arguing plot points.
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Nazarea Andrews is an avid reader and tends to write the stories she wants to read. She loves chocolate and coffee almost as much as she loves books, but not quite as much as she loves her kids. She lives in south Georgia with her husband, daughters, and overgrown dog.
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/MtHwj
Aj has seven tattoos, two dogs, and a bachelor's degree in journalism. She enjoys live music, and a diverse range of writing styles and genres. She has been writing creatively and therapeutically since childhood. She also supports artist collaboration and cross-media projects. She is an advocate of experience as inspiration. She lives and works in southern West Virginia as a bartender novelist.
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