Making Choices

MAKING CHOICES BELLA FAUST CONTENTS Get the Faust 411 About this book Series reading order Content warning Playlist Prologue 1. Slash 2. Lily 3. Slash 4. Lily 5. Slash 6. Lily 7. Slash 8. Lily 9. Slash 10. Lily 11. Slash 12. Lily 13. Slash 14. Lily 15. Slash 16. Lily 17. Slash 18. Lily 19. Slash 20. Lily 21. Slash 22. Lily 23. Slash 24. Lily 25. Slash 26. Lily 27. Slash 28. Lily 29. Slash 30. Lily 31. Slash 32. Lily 33. Slash 34. Lily 35. Slash 36. Lily 37. Slash 38. Lily 39. Slash 40. Lily 41. Slash 42. Lily Acknowledgments About the Author Making Choices A Black Shamrocks MC (Australia) novel Copyright © 2023 DyMi Ink All rights reserved. * * * Edited by Amanda Howard Proofed by Between the Lines Cover design and formatting by Bella Faust While every effort is made to ensure this story is properly edited, proofed, and formatted, mistakes can still slip through. If you notice anything wrong with this book, the author would be beyond grateful if you alert her via this google form so she can fix the error ASAP. * * * No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, including electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. This book is licenced for your personal enjoyment only. Thank you for respecting the author’s work. GET THE FAUST 411 Sign up to the Faust 411 reader bulletin to receive free novelettes, bonus content, the occasional free book, pre-order and release date information, access to sales, and other exclusive goodies directly in your inbox. Johnny Depp (supposedly) said, “if you love two people at the same time, choose the second. Because if you really loved the first one, you wouldn’t have fallen for the second.” This book is for the people who know that’s a whole heap’a shit. The heart is a complicated organ. Its capacity for love is infinite. This story embraces that truth. ABOUT THIS BOOK Eleven years ago, Carter “Slash” Hudson was ready to end it all. Lost and shattered, devoid of hope, he was saved at the bell by the frankness of one little Cherub. Back then, he swore he’d always put her first, even if that meant stepping away when she fell for his best friend instead of him. At the time, it made sense. Venom was a leader, with Slash willingly his loyal follower. Until Lily is attacked again, and Venom decides that he is no longer worthy of her. Cast adrift, captive to past hurts and current betrayals, Lily leans on Slash. She moves in with him. He becomes her faithful shadow. Then a night of drinking, dancing, and deliberate provocation emboldens Slash to confess his true feelings. Confused, Lily backs away. Envious, Slash nurses his bruised ego. Fearful, Venom makes an ultimatum that forces the stubborn duo into a marriage of convenience. The woman Slash coveted from afar is now sleeping in his bed as his lawfully wedded wife. In the midst of chaos and carnage, can Slash make Lily see that he’s always been the right choice? Making Choices is the second book in the Duplicity trilogy. Part of Bella Faust’s Black Shamrocks MC (Australia) series, this dark, psychological romance is a steamy and taboo tale filled with angst, betrayal, and lust set within a love triangle that holds the key to the club’s survival. Reader discretion is advised as this story contains potentially triggering content. SERIES READING ORDER Making Choices is book two in the Duplicity trilogy. The Duplicity trilogy (books 2, 3, and 4 in the series) must be read in sequential order. To ensure your enjoyment of the Black Shamrocks MC (Australia) series, it is also strongly recommended that you read the first book, Craving Control, before the Duplicity trilogy. This story can be downloaded for free by subscribing to the Faust 411 reader update or purchased at your favourite book retailer. CONTENT WARNING Making Choices isn’t suitable for those who do not enjoy dark psychological romance stories. Readers are advised to exercise discretion. A detailed list of content/trigger warnings for this book is available at https://bellafaust.com/content-guidance/. This story is set in Australia and is written in UK English. PLAYLIST Music is a major source of inspiration for me. If you’d like to listen to the songs that helped form this story, the Duplicity Trilogy playlist is available on Spotify. “The most confused we ever get is when we try to convince our heads of something our hearts know is a lie.” ~Karen Moning~ PROLOGUE CARTER Aged: Nineteen “He’s in here,” my best friend, Zeke, grumbles in a low voice. “Hasn’t moved since Angelis dropped him off once the fuckin’ cops let him go after the…” When he trails off rather than say the word that’s liable to ignite my temper, I wrap a hand around the pillow next to me and slam it down over my head to block out his unwanted sympathy. This isn’t the first attempted intervention he’s pulled and it’s unlikely to be the last—not that whatever he has planned this time will work. I’m a lost cause. Charged with affray after gate crashing a funeral. My face has been splashed over the front page of every newspaper. Even made the nightly bulletin the day it happened. I’ve embarrassed my brotherhood. Brought them to the attention of the Maddison Clan and dragged our club into the spotlight shone by the organised crime taskforce onto the Australian underworld. My life as I once pictured it is over. Biding my time, drowning my sorrows in beer and weed, as I work up the courage to