Cruel Beauty

Copyright © 2023 by Dana Isaly All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Editor: Sandra at One Love Editing Discreet Cover: Kat at Kat Savage Designs Model Cover: Cady at Cruel Ink Editing + Design Formatter: Tori at Cruel Ink Editing + Design Photography credit for model cover: Michelle Lancaster at www.michellelancaster.com or on Instagram at @lanefotograf To all the girls who watched Sons of Anarchy and thought Jax was hot, this is for you. I added an Irish accent for fun. Oh, and plenty of hair to pull. This book is intended for those over the age of legal adulthood. There are graphic sexual scenes that include spanking, edging, and more of that nature. Gore, murder, and torture are either mentioned or acted on. Have fun! “Chainsmoking” by Jacob Banks “Down To Ride” by Kodoku “Work Song” by Hozier “Cringe” by Matt Maeson “Movement” by Hozier “Eat Your Young” by Hozier “Tip Toe” by PatrickReza “Your Guilty Pleasure” by Henry Verus To listen to the entire playlist and others: https://spoti.fi/3JpnLxd CONTENTS 1. Izabela 2. Niko 3. Izabela 4. Izabela 5. Niko 6. Niko 7. Niko 8. Izabela 9. Niko 10. Izabela 11. Niko 12. Izabela 13. Izabela 14. Niko 15. Izabela 16. Izabela 17. Niko 18. Izabela 19. Niko 20. Izabela 21. Izabela 22. Izabela 23. Niko 24. Izabela 25. Niko 26. Izabela 27. Niko 28. Niko 29. Izabela 30. Izabela 31. Niko Epilogue Also by Dana Isaly Acknowledgments About the Author “Izabela!” my mum shouts, causing my steps to falter. “Fuck,” I whisper, turning on my heel and looking back in through the sliding doors that lead to the kitchen. Mum walks into view and opens the door, leaning on the doorframe, and she looks me over. I’m completely busted. One of her eyebrows hitches up as she takes in all the skin on display. “Going somewhere?” she asks, a smile forming on her face. When I don’t answer, she laughs. “Take one of my cars, not your father’s. I’ll try to keep them none the wiser until you get back if you promise me no drinking and that you’ll be back before sunrise.” “Promise,” I sigh, relieved she’s going to actually let me go. I can’t remember the last time I was allowed out of the house without an escort. “Are you meeting Georgie?” “Picking her up, actually…” I pause. “At the end of the lane.” Mum laughs again. She won’t rat Georgie out, even though she and Georgie’s mum, Kenna, have been friends for decades. They went through some tough shit before I was born, and it bonded them for life. That, and Kenna managed to marry herself into the life when she married my uncle Finn. “Okay, sweet girl. Don’t try to sneak out again. Your fathers may seem strict, but they mean well. If you just come to me and explain what’s going on, I can try to overrule them, yeah?” She walks forward, her hands running through the brown waves of my hair. My eyes are the same color as hers, a blue that can look grey in certain lights. But my hair and warmer complexion are all my dad. I took after him in almost everything except my eyes. “Be safe,” she whispers, kissing me on the forehead before pulling a switchblade out of nowhere and placing it in my hand. “Watch your back.” “So disappointed that you doubted me!” I tell her before lifting the hem of my dress to show the gun strapped to my thigh. “Girl after my own heart.” She laughs and then turns to leave. “Have a good night, fata dulce!” Sweet girl. Growing up with both sides of your family running the largest organized crime syndicates in the city comes with its perks. But mostly, it just means you’re guarded like a fucking hawk. Now I’m eighteen, a lot of rules will be loosened up for me. But my younger siblings aren’t so lucky. I know they’re just trying to keep us safe, but sometimes it feels like I’m being suffocated. My mum has an old Range Rover that I climb into. Knowing where I’m going, I might need four-wheel drive. The party is out in the middle of nowhere, and really, my parents have nothing to worry about. Most of the people that will be there are employees and partners. But more importantly, I think someone else is going to be there. Someone I am definitely not supposed to be hanging out with, let alone crushing on. But he’s been in my life since I was a kid, and as I got older, I noticed him getting hotter. And he would always keep his distance, barely giving me any attention. He hardly even looks at me. But I can’t explain it. I just know that he sees me, and he wants me. He just can’t have me. But that makes it all the more fun. I smile as I think about all the naughty things he could say to me in that sexy Irish lilt of his. Niko. He may work for my family and be twice my age, but that isn’t going to stop me from trying to get to him. And now that I’m eighteen, I’m fair game, and so is he. “Glad to see you got out alright,” I say as Georgie opens the door and climbs in, all wild red hair and smiles. Her tits strain against the low-cut fabric of her top, and I happily get an eyeful. She catches me staring and rolls her eyes, making me laugh. “Why? Did you not?” she asks. “Mum caught me right as I made it out the door.” I work the old Rover into gear and slowly pull out of the neighborhood. “No shit. And