Hostile King

HOSTILE KING TOMÁS & CARINA DUET 2 HOSTILE KINGDOM: SOUZA CARTEL AUTUMN ARCHER CONTENTS Author Note Prologue 1. Tomás 2. Carina 3. Tomás 4. Carina 5. Tomás 6. Carina 7. Tomás 8. Carina 9. Tomás 10. Carina 11. Tomás 12. Carina 13. Tomás 14. Carina 15. Carina 16. Carina 17. Carina 18. Carina 19. Tomás 20. Carina 21. Tomás 22. Carina 23. Tomás Also by Autumn Archer About the Author Hostile King © copyright 2023 Autumn Archer Author Ltd The right of Autumn Archer to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers. Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. www.autumnarcher.com AUTHOR NOTE Hostile Kingdom is a Dark Romance world which includes the Jungle Oasis series and the Souza cartel series. Hostile King is the conclusion of Tomás and Carina’s haywire love affair. Like Hostile Heir, you’ll find murder, gore, references to suicide, drugs and physical assault. Please read responsibly and know your own limits before diving in. Don’t worry, once you’ve finished their duet, André Souza will invite you into his Miami kingdom. Misfits… You’re the shining light at the end of your own tunnel. Step into it and lead the way. PROLOGUE CARINA My heart is like the night sky. In the past, it hid beneath a veil of unforgiving clouds that kept the secrets of the universe at bay. And when the day dawned, inky darkness switched to a facade of happy sunshine. That was before. Lately, the constellations shine brighter, and the incandescent moon lights up every uncharted corner of my thriving heart. The once deprived organ has grown and matured. Hated and lusted. Wished and surrendered. Because Tomás owns the stars in my universe. He is the moonlight. An anomaly of supreme power, presence, and dominance. Unfortunately for me, I’ve suddenly found myself on the cusp of twilight, alone in the notion of his betrayal and slipping back into obscurity. Evil words mask the airglow, keeping Tomás out of reach while I’m lost in the mayhem of humiliation. He had lied to me. Or did he? We had an agreement, nothing more than a handwritten pledge burned to ashes. I thought it would be an easy arrangement to survive. Be willing and available to him for four days and then seek refuge in my freedom thereafter. Except something had changed within me. It wasn’t just my body that had forfeited its principles—my tortured heart did too. I had started to fall. Stepped out of my comfort zone and embraced the woman I desperately longed to be. For the first time, I proudly wore my own skin with his ownership branded over the blushing flesh. It felt good. I felt fucking alive. The darkness living in me matched the darkness seeping from him. Or so I’d thought. Except I’m just a fool—a hapless girl who romanticized a villain. Tangled in a web of deceit where the Souzas and their new king have underestimated me. Now a storm brews under my new skin. The clouds suffocate the moon and the far-off stars no longer fit in my cosmos. So, which one of us will snuff out the light first… 1 TOMÁS Shane turns his attention to the door, his eyes drilling into the solid wood. His laced boots scuff the tiles before he yanks the handle and peers into the hallway. “Thought I heard someone.” He shrugs and swivels back around to face my father’s desk, inhaling smoke from a freshly lit cigarette. I push up from the armchair, remove my jacket, and twist my cufflinks clockwise until they sit just how I like them. “There’s an army of vetted serving staff walking the halls this evening.” My sigh escapes with a slow shake of my head. Swiping two short glasses from the belly of a globe drinks cabinet, I fill them to the throat and hand one to my best friend. The one guy who’s been tight to my side for years. He knows this mania is out of character for me. “Here.” I nod at him when he stops in front of me. “Salud.” “Salud.” He mirrors me. We down the liquor at the same time and take a moment to let our previous conversation about Carina not belonging in our savage world settle in silence. “I shouldn’t have brought her here,” I finally admit. “When she returns to Bogotá, I want a team watching over her day and night.” “For how long?” “As long as it takes for those fuckers out there to lose interest in her.” He sets the glass on the oak side table beside him and stubs out his cigarette. “Understood. I’ll personally pick out a team.” I tear my gaze away from him and stare at the exit, craving her closeness and feeling off-balance in the knowledge she’s not really mine. Not when I have to let her go. Knowing she’s with Matheus fires up unwanted demons. If this is how I feel when my brother is minding her, how the hell would I react when she finally takes her money and leaves. And worse, when she meets another man—holds his hand, kisses his lips, sucks his dick. He’d die a horrible death. Fuck, I’m a pathetic mess. I never thought this obsessive behavior would happen to me. Not over a girl. Only now it has, and I’m more mentally destitute than I was before. Death is so final, so cut and dry. The person no longer walks on the same plane. Their existence is erased. Here one minute, wholly absent the next. But to watch someone