Poison Roses

poison roses BOYS OF BELLEROSE BOOK 1 TATE JAMES JAYMIN EVE Tate James Jaymin Eve Poison Roses: Boys Of Bellerose #1 Copyright © Tate James, Jaymin Eve 2022 All rights reserved First published in 2022 James, Tate Eve, Jaymin Poison Roses: Boys of Bellerose #1 No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. All characters in this publication other than those clearly in the public domain are fictitious, and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Cover design: Emily Wittig Editing: Jax Garren (line). contents Follow Us Content Warning Prologue 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 Chapter 36 Chapter 37 Chapter 38 Chapter 39 Also by Tate James Also by Jaymin Eve For anyone who has loved and lost… …then got the opportunity to fuck his new best friend and make his life hell. Whoops, is that not how it goes? follow us For book discussions, giveaways, and general shit talking from Tate or Jaymin, please check out their reader groups on Facebook: Tate James – The Fox Hole Jaymin Eve – The Nerd Herd content warning Boys of Bellerose is a rock star mafia reverse harem story where the female main character finds her happily ever after with more than one lover. It’s a four book series, so cliffhangers should be expected throughout, until they find their happy ending. This series touches on darker themes and includes both graphic sex and graphic violence. Some characters have traumatic pasts, and there is mention of miscarriage, drug use, addiction, and murder. Should you have concerns, please apply discretion in deciding if this story is right for you. - Tate & Jaymin prologue BILLIE For as long as I could remember, I was the girl who lived on top of the hill, in the bright blue house with the white fence and a shared pool in the backyard. That was where I first met Jace… and Angelo. When I was four years old, Jace’s family moved into the house next door, and our parents were instant friends. Jace had a mop of blond hair and the sweetest smile I’d ever seen. Up until the moment he tried to drown me. This is really where my story started. The part I like to think of as The Before. When my life was sunshine and laughter, rather than storms and heartbreak. When I loved the boy next door and he loved me. When his best friend was my fiercest protector, even in our darkest days. Before I made the impossible decision that popped our perfect bubble of happiness and shattered our dreams of a future together. My doomed choice spiraled us all down different roads. That’s how I ended up on this one. This crappy road. The After. one BILLIE Tears tracked down my cheeks as I clutched the straps of my torn duffel bag. Panic and despair twisted my insides up in such a tight knot I could hardly breathe. How had it come to this? “Please,” I begged, “just one more week and I swear I’ll have the money. I just need a couple more shifts and—” The weathered old woman shook her head, her mind fully made up. “Nah, I’ve heard all that shit before, girl. You had your warning; you didn’t pay. Now you gotta go. I’ve got other pathetic waifs who can pay already waiting for this room.” She was done listening to me beg and plead as she shoved me out into the street and slammed the front door behind me. Fuck. Now what? I had nowhere to go. Fucking nowhere. Mrs. Glass had been right to kick me out on my ass because I was full of shit. Even if she’d let me stay, I had no work lined up to earn that rent money. Now I also had nowhere to sleep tonight. The one small mercy was that she’d kicked me out in daylight, so I had a few hours to find somewhere safe to, hopefully, avoid being raped or murdered when night fell. “Hey.” A throaty female voice jarred me out of my melancholy thoughts. “You okay?” I glanced over to see the speaker. It was a twenty-something chick who I vaguely recognized from Mrs. Glass’s building—she lived on the floor above me. Or… had. I no longer lived there. Sniffing back tears, I nodded. “Yeah. I will be.” I always was. This wouldn’t be my first night sleeping in an alleyway or, probably, my last. The woman arched a brow in disbelief. Cigarette perched between her long, brown fingers, she took a drag before responding. “Old bitch kicked you out, huh?” I nodded, not trusting my voice. The panic and fear of the unknown was sitting in my throat like a golf ball. “You got work?” the woman pushed, her dark eyes running over me from head to toe in an appraising sort of way. I frowned. “No. But I’ll figure something out, thanks.” My words were clipped and tight, but I wasn’t desperate enough to become a hooker. Not yet, anyway. Another week might see me change my stance on that. Technically, I had money. I had plenty of money. I just refused to use it. There was no way my parents—working class, middle income parents—could have left me