Tacet a Mortuis Read online

  Contents

  Acknowledgments

  Playlist

  Recap

  Tacet a Mortuis

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  DELETED SCENE

  Acknowledgments

  I have so many people to thank, but I don’t want to drag this on.

  My children who inspire me daily.

  My partner who puts up with my crazy, and my mummy who always has my back.

  My brothers who are my everything, and my sisters who, even though we don’t always see eye-to-eye, I will always be here for.

  To my favorite sister-in-law, Chacha! I miss you, girl.

  To my best bitch, best friend, Isis. For the everything. For tolerating me, for never judging me, and for accepting me warts and all…even though you have beautiful skin. Bitch.

  My readers who continue to support me and have my back!

  My bloggers for taking the time out of their busy days to read, review and share me, and my three best friends, who read my words raw and give me the best feedback.

  My agent, Flavia! Thank you for exceeding all my expectations and loving my books like they’re your own.

  Ellie! For editing my words. Girl, draaaannks on me in Vegas. I just said dranks. Bet you hate me now, if you didn’t already. Tough, I have screenshots of you telling me you love me. Screenshots don’t lie.

  My PA Caro! She needs a pay raise. Like a massive one.

  My PR unicorn and the girls from Social Butterfly! (lifts wine glass).

  The authors who inspire, support, and encourage one another – my tribe!

  Chantal! You’re stuck with me.

  Ofa & Priscilla my OG bitches!

  To Jaci – for keeping me sane most of the time.

  My Wolf Pack – (howls).

  Jay Aheer – I love you. Thank you for my beautiful covers. For learning my vision and nailing them every single time.

  And lastly, to all the readers who may be about to read me for the first time ever: thank you for giving a girl a shot.

  Playlist

  Desperado – Rihanna

  Adore – Amy Shark

  Hail to the King – Avenged Sevenfold

  B.Y.O.B. – System Of A Down

  Toxicity – System Of A Down

  Talking Body – Tove Lo

  Hey Baby (Drop It To the Floor) – Pitbull, T-Pain

  Bad At Love – Halsey

  My Life – 50 Cent, Eminem, Adam Levine

  Everything, Everyday, Everywhere – Fabolous, Keri Hilson

  F**kin' Problems – A$AP Rocky, Drake, 2 Chainz, Kendrick Lamar

  Familiar Taste Of Poison – Halestorm

  Tourniquet – Evanescence

  Touch It – Monifah

  #icanteven – The Neighbourhood, French Montana

  Nice & Slow – Usher

  Last Night – Keyshia Cole, Diddy

  Slow Jamz (feat. Kanye West & Jamie Foxx) – Twista, Jamie Foxx, Kanye West

  I'm Sprung - Trick Daddy & YoungBloodz Remix – T-Pain

  Wonderful – Ja Rule, R. Kelly, Ashanti

  My Boo – Usher, Alicia Keys

  Everyone Nose (All The Girls Standing In The Line For The Bathroom) – N.E.R.D

  Climax – Usher

  Crawl – Breaking Benjamin

  Hate That I Love You – Rihanna, Ne-Yo

  Bonnie and Clyde – DJ Hit-Man

  Right Now (Na Na Na) – Akon

  A Place For My Head – Linkin Park

  Look In My Eyes – Rains

  I Fucking Hate You – Godsmack

  Pray For Me (with Kendrick Lamar) – The Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar

  Behind Blue Eyes – Limp Bizkit

  Kiss Me Thru The Phone – Soulja Boy, Sammie

  Light Up Light Up – Baby Bash, Z-Ro, Berner,

  Baby E

  Move to L.A. – Tyga, Ty Dolla $ign

  Sex With Me – Rihanna

  It's A Vibe – 2 Chainz, Ty Dolla $ign, Trey Songz, Jhene Aiko

  Bad Mother F*cker – Machine Gun Kelly, Kid Rock

  Water – Jack Garratt

  Get Dough – Dead Obies

  Something I Don't Know – Miras

  wRoNg – ZAYN, Kehlani

  Bad Intentions – Niykee Heaton, Migos, OG Parker

  Lullaby – Niykee Heaton

  I'm Ready – Niykee Heaton

  Zombie – Bad Wolves

  Hero – Skillet

  Torn to Pieces – Pop Evil

  Your Betrayal – Bullet For My Valentine

  Stupid Love – Jason Derulo

  Addicted – Saving Abel

  I'm Not An Angel – Halestorm

  Infinity – Niykee Heaton

  Ghetto Flower – J.Williams

  I Was Never There – The Weeknd, Gesaffelstein

  Hurt You – The Weeknd, Gesaffelstein

  The Other – Lauv

  Believer - Live/Acoustic – Imagine Dragons

  Believer – Imagine Dragons

  Call Out My Name – The Weeknd

  Innocence – Halestorm

  Whoring Streets – Scars On Broadway

  Tacet a Mortuis

  The Elite Kings’ Book 3

  By Amo Jones

  Copyright 2018 Amo Jones

  This book is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this e-book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this e-book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Note: This story is not suitable for persons under the age of 18.

  Cover: Jay Aheer from Simply Defined Art

  Editing: Ellie McLove

  To Amy:

  You are woman.

  You are power.

  You will understand this after you’ve read this book.

  We love you, girl, and we got you.

  #FuckCancer

  Recap

  The Broken Puppet

  “No!” I scream, dropping to the ground. Shaking my head, I clutch my hair and pull at it, wanting to scratch the memories out of my head.

  “Madison!” Who is that? It sounds like Bishop. “Brantley—”

  Looking toward the bed, I swallowed, slowly stepping into the room. It was a big room. Gigantic. It was dim, almost dark in the room, and there was a big bed sitting to the side. I looked closer, stepping toward the bed, my heart beating in my chest and my throat clogged. All the lights were dim, but there was one shining on the bed. Only when I got closer, I saw it was a camera sitting on a stand with a light pointing toward the mattress.

 
My eyebrows pulled together. “Wha—”

  “Go to the bed, Silver.” That voice. I hated that voice. I felt sick, my tummy not feeling good. Something was wrong, like it was always wrong when he was around. I hated him, but I obeyed because that was what I’d been told to do. I had to listen to adults; they always knew best. But why did he make me feel dirty? No other adult made me feel dirty. He made me sad, hurt, and angry all at once. I was confused, I think.

  Walking toward the bed, I stopped at the foot of it. There was a small boy curled up on top of the covers, but he was wearing no clothes. Why was he wearing no clothes? He must’ve been cold.

  “Silver, on the bed!” Lucan raised his voice at me, and I flinched, quickly crawling onto the soft mattress.

  “Hi,” I whispered to the boy who was crying. “What’s wrong?” I asked, wanting to know why he was so sad. Did he feel like I did? Did Lucan make him feel the same way I felt?

  The boy sobbed then buried his head into the blanket. “Go away!” he yelled as he continued to cry. He was angry and sad, so maybe he did feel the same way as I did.

  I stopped, sitting on the mattress as Lucan loosened his tie and pointed the camera at us. “Silver, take your clothes off.”

  “No!” I scream, sweat oozing out of my flesh. “Leave me alone. My name isn’t Silver! It’s Madison! Madison Montgomery! I’m not Silver!” I rock back and forth on the gravel road, trying to pull myself out of the memory.

  “I—what about the boy?”

  Lucan looked toward the boy on the bed, his lip curled. “Brantley, make room for Silver.”

  My eyes pop open and I shoot off the road, ignoring the tiny stones that are embedded into my flesh. “Brantley!” I scream.

  Brantley turns to face me, a blank look pulling over his features.

  I turn pale, all blood leaving my body. The pain, the anger, the sadness, it’s all been cracked open again, and suddenly I’m that scared little girl again.

  “What the fuck are they talking about?” Hector booms, losing his cool slightly. “And what the fuck just happened there, Madison?”

  Headlights light up the cabin, but I ignore them. I ignore everything.

  And suddenly, rage. Pure rage electrifies me like a rush of adrenaline. Squaring my shoulders, I finally look directly at Lucan, the man who abused me as a child. The man my parents trusted. The man I thought I could trust. The man who made me keep secrets by using his “I’m an adult” card on me.

  The man I want to kill.

  “You!” I seethe.

  His eyes join with mine, and he still looks the same, only older. So much older. His head is bald now, his face free of hair, but his eyes. His eyes will forever be the trigger to that feeling. That same feeling I felt when I was a little girl starts slowly slipping into me, but I fight it. I’m not her anymore. I’m older. More experienced. And though I may feel this pain for the coming months after being face-to-face with him, I know whatever I do it will be worth it. Car doors close in the distance behind me, but again, I ignore it. I ignore everything because my focus is solely on Lucan. Everything in my peripheral is closed.

  I can hear people, or someone, walking toward us behind me, their feet crunching against the gravel, but I ignore it.

  He chuckles. “Ain’t no one gonna believe you, Silver.”

  The footsteps stop.

  Ice cold wind whips my hair across my face, and that’s when I know. I know those footsteps belong to Bishop and the Kings.

  Lucan lunges at me, gripping my hair and pulling my back up against his front. It happens so fast I barely blink, but when I do, I see them. With my back pressed against Lucan’s front, his gun pressing against my temple, I look pleadingly right at Bishop, but he’s not looking at me. His shoulders are rising and falling in anger, his eyes zoned directly in on Lucan.

  “What the fuck is going on here, son?” Hector asks calmly, not fazed I’m about to get my brains blown out everywhere. My heart pounds in my chest, and goose bumps prickle all over my flesh as fear ripples through me. No. There’s no way. I didn’t survive through all the memories, all the suppressed bullshit, only to go out by his hands. His hands already took so much from me; I won’t let them take my life too.

  Bishop steps forward, his lip curled and his eyes black. So black. I’ve not seen this look before; this is feral. Casting a look over his shoulder, Nate is there, the same position, his knuckles cracking. He starts jumping in his spot, cracking his neck as if he’s ready to fight. Which I have no doubt he is. The rest of the boys are there too, ready to throw down if they need to. Whether they know the story or not, I see it right there. Their loyalty to Bishop. It’s unquestionable. This is The Elite Kings in full form.

  “Ah!” Lucan presses the gun into my temple more. “Don’t fucking move. Now, since people will be dying tonight, I want to get a few things out there for Silver so she knows the deal.”

  “Don’t call me that,” I hiss, my lip slightly curling.

  “Hey, I’m doing you a favor.”

  “Fuck you.”

  He laughs, his breath falling over my neck. I can’t hide the disgust; I dry heave, ready to spill my guts all over the road.

  “What the fuck is going on?” Hector asks again.

  Where is Brantley? This was all a setup. He and Khales are nowhere to be seen. I look around again, as much as I can from the position I’m in, and sure enough, they’re both not where they were a few minutes ago.

  Hate.

  “First, let me start with this. Silver, do you know much about the last names of these boys here?”

  What?

  “The hell has that got to do with you and what you did to me all those years ago?”

  “I’ll get to that part.” He grins. I can hear it in his sick voice how much he’s getting out of this, and that’s the thing about age. The tone of your voice is one of the last things to change. Therefore, Lucan still has the same voice.

  “What are you doing, Lucan?” Hector warns. His tone should be enough to put the fear of God into Lucan, but it doesn’t, because he continues.

  “Hector and Bishop Hayes… Hayes meaning ‘The Devil,’” he starts, and just as I open my mouth to ask another question, his hand slams over it, pausing me. “Everyone shut the fuck up and let me finish, or I swear to God I will shoot her.”

  He clears his throat, before smugly murmuring, “Now, where was I? Oh yes, the names. Lucan and Brantley Vitiosus. I’ll get to the meanings of the names and the English translations when I’ve finished.” He laughs. Then his lips skim over my earlobe before he whispers, “And you know how theatrical I can get, don’t ya, Silver?”

  The first teardrops, followed by anger. Rage.

  He continues, “Max, Saint, and Cash Ditio. Phoenix and Chase Divitae. Raguel, Ace, and Eli Rebellis.” He laughs at these last two. My eyes shoot toward Nate, who is now being held back by Chase and Cash. He looks absolutely feral. The lack of light and smudged tears in my eyes make it hard to view, but even if I couldn’t see it, I could sure as fuck feel it.

  Lucan carries on. “Nate Malum-Riverside.” Then he laughs, bringing his lips to my ear again.

  I shut my eyes, fighting the bile that’s about to spew out of my mouth from not just his proximity, but his touch. “Johan, Hunter, Jase, and Madison Venari.”

  I freeze. All life drains from my face.

  “You hear that, Silver? You’re adopted… you and that schizo brother of yours.”

  What? More tears spill out of my eyes. This can’t be true. There’s no way. He’s fucking with me. My dad is my dad and my mom was my mom. Lucan is being what he is.

  I look at Bishop, who is finally looking directly at me, and I see it. The look. It’s the look he gives me when it’s just us together. His eyebrows are furrowed and his eyes are zeroed into mine.

  Not only is it true, but he knew.

  Sobs wrack through my body, and my knees buckle, but Lucan yanks me back up. “Careful, careful… maybe you can talk with your man here
about the meanings of those last names and what they mean in regards to each family’s duty in the Kings, but let me tell you this, Silver,” he whispers so harshly into my ear. “When you know all there is to know about this—they will kill you.”

  I don’t care.

  I’m adopted. My whole life was a lie. I was wrong. I can’t trust anyone. I can only trust Daemon. Daemon. His face lights up inside my head, but instead of it soothing me, it brings on another set of tears.

  “So I’ll make this easier for you and tell you the big firework kicker!” he yells, laughing hysterically. Leaning down, I pause, my heavy breathing the only thing breaking the silence.

  “You—”

  A gun fires and Lucan screams, his hand loosening from around my mouth as he falls to the ground.

  I freeze, static buzzing in my ears from the gunshot.

  Pain.

  Anger.

  Rage.