Books by Elizabeth Reyes
Desert Heat
Defining Love
Moreno Brothers Series
Forever Mine
Sweet Sofie
Forever Yours
When You Were Mine
Always Been Mine
Romero
Making You Mine
Tangled—A Moreno Brothers novella
5th Street Series
Noah
Gio
Hector
Abel
Felix
Fate Series
Fate
Breaking Brandon
Suspicious Minds
Again
Rage
His to Guard
Uninvited
Boyle Heights Series
Lila
Beast
BEAST
(Boyle Heights #2)
Elizabeth Reyes
Beast
Elizabeth Reyes
Copyright © 2017 Elizabeth Reyes
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. 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 book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Edited by Theresa Wegand
Cover Design by Amanda Simpson of Pixel Mischief Design
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Bonus Sneak Peek of the Next Story in the Series
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Prologue
Los Algodones
Baja California, Mexico
Age: Twelve
Leonardo
“Auxilio!”
The backhand across Leo’s mother’s face landed with such force she was instantly knocked out.
“Drag her ass into the bedroom,” Rogelio hissed. “I’ll take care of her when I’m done with this.”
Leo felt his eyes nearly bulge out of his head when Rogelio pulled out the glowing red end of the branding rod he’d stuck in his mother’s wood-burning stove. “No!” he cried out, trying in vain to come loose from the tight grip of the man’s goons.
“Hold him still!” Rogelio barked; then that evil smile spread across his face again. The man holding Leo’s left arm with both hands lifted his arm higher for Rogelio. “Yeah, right there,” Rogelio said with a chuckle. “I want this right in the front of your arm so there’s no way you’ll be able to hide it. That oughtta teach that puta mother of yours to fuck with me.”
Squirming in a desperate attempt to pull away from the iron rod coming toward his arm, Leo pleaded, “No, please!”
Leo’s cries were once again in vain, just like when the man and his goons beat him mercilessly earlier for attempting to defend his mother. Without warning, the searing pain had him screaming again until he was coughing and nearly choking. Rogelio laughed as he held it there to Leo’s arm for what felt like an eternity. Leo had never experienced such excruciating pain. The pain he’d felt earlier all over his beaten body was suddenly drowned out. He felt none of it now, only the piercing burn of his arm he thought might fall off.
Finally, the animal pulled it away, but the pain remained. In fact, it seemed to worsen with every breath Leo gasped. The two men at either side of him dropped him and left him writhing and gasping for air between sobs on the floor.
“Keep an eye on him while I take care of one more thing,” the evil man said to the other two men as he undid his belt buckle and reached for the bedroom door.
Any strength Leo ever possessed, had been sucked out of him earlier when he’d tried first to defend his mother then himself. They’d beaten him until he could barely move, all while he listened to his mother’s tortured cries. She’d been forced to watch the beating, since the man had insisted it was all happening because of her fucking disobedience.
Leo was going in and out of consciousness now, and he wondered if he might be dying. Somewhere in the distance, he could hear his mother’s cries again. Instinct had him trying to get to his feet again, despite the blistering pain that seemed to cover every inch of his body. Just as fast, the other men were on him.
Hearing his mother’s cries again in the bedroom gave him a fight he had no idea he could possibly still have in him. But the men were too big—too strong—for him, even if he hadn’t been in so much pain. Still, even though he could barely see—his eyes were nearly swollen shut—he fought with every ounce of strength he could muster. The ringing in his ears was a blessing now. Between that and his own screaming for the bastards to let him go, it made his mother’s anguished cries less deafening—at least to his ears. His heart broke with every one of her screams.
But he could still hear her, and it only made him cry out, even more tormented, for them to spare his mother. Still wrestling with the men and trying in vain to come lose, he continued to fight. “Beat me, assholes! Burn me! But leave her alone!”
One moment he was hysterically fighting for his life and his mother’s, and the next, Leo was sure his heart stopped because everything went black.
One
EIGHTEEN YEARS LATER
East Los Angeles
Allison
Eyeballing the assortment of pastries near the coffee pot in the employee break room at 5th Street, Allison Rico chided herself for skipping breakfast. She’d been running late, but she knew better. It always resulted in her giving into temptation. Rule number one was never leave home hungry.
“No,” she whispered under her breath. “You’ll just wait until you’re done here and then go grab a healthy snack at the juice bar that’ll hold you over until lunchtime.”
She had plenty of tofu chorizo at home leftover from yesterday. Lord knew her sister Lila never touched the stuff. That morning, Allison had been too excited and had changed twice before heading down to 5th Street, the gym Lila worked at, for this interview. She’d hit Lila up weeks ago to ask her boss for this interview on the work-release program they were starting, and finally it was her chance.
“Sorry about the wait,” Gio said, yanking her out of her thoughts as he walked into the break room. He took a seat across from her at the table where she sat. “Had a few things I needed to get squared away, but I’m all yours now.”
Pushing her glas
ses up, she glanced down at her notebook. “That’s quite alright,” she said, attempting to sound as professional as possible.
Lila had warned her about the man’s amazing green eyes. Still, she hadn’t quite prepared for them. Clearing her throat, she glanced up at him again. “Thank you for doing this for me by the way. I’m not sure if my sister explained, but, since I’m a freshman in my college journalism class, my stories either usually don’t make the final cut or get buried in the back pages of the paper. I’m hoping this will garner enough attention to make a bigger headline.”
“I think it will,” he said with a smile. “There’s been quite a buzz about this, and as you can imagine, many do have concerns and questions about the security issues and such. So, I’m actually glad for this.”
“Exactly,” Allison said with a nod. “And as I told my sister when she expressed her concern about it as well, while I can understand there’d be some apprehension about this, I’m a strong believer that everyone deserves a second chance. I think this is a very positive thing. I’m assuming these are non-violent offenders you’re allowing on this work-release program, right?”
“Right,” Gio said immediately as Allison made notes. “The criteria for the county to even be considered for work release is already stringent enough. They’re basically giving these inmates, who would otherwise be finishing up their time behind bars, the chance to finish it on the outside, living at home while they work at certain establishments willing to take them on. We volunteered to be added to that list. But to us, this is our home. Our families are here often. My wife is here almost every day as is Abel’s and Felix’s. We’re not about to take any chances here, so we reserve the right to add our set of criteria on top of those set by the county.”
“For example?” Allison asked without looking up.
“Well, for starters, the county makes exceptions for violent offenders, if they won’t be working within a certain distance of their victims. We make zero exceptions. If they’re doing time for a violent offense or have ever been convicted of a violent crime, then they’re not eligible for our program. We conduct our own private and extensive background check.”
Good to know.
He followed up to explain that they had very specific criteria for whom they were taking on. “It’s not as selfless as it may seem.” He sat back in his chair. “Sure, we’re all for helping community and those who deserve a second chance and all. But we also have our own special interests in mind as well. They’ll be working here, doing maintenance, cleaning, doing the laundry, even helping out in the juice bar, keeping the back end up to health-code standards. You know, mopping and washing out equipment and stuff. But we’re only accepting those who are interested in training to box.”
Allison glanced up, intrigued. “So, they have to be willing to fight for you?”
“No, just train.” Gio sat up and leaned his elbows on the table. “The prisons and jails have their own recreational programs, and most include boxing. We’ve staked out a few and made note of those we’d be interested in if they were ever eligible. If we see potential and we can train them to sign on as amateur fighters who might eventually turn professional and they’re willing to, then it’s a win-win. They are looking for a new start, and this could be it.”
“Interesting.” Allison made more notes, glad for the two girls who walked into the break room and asked Gio something about their schedules.
It’d give her time to catch up, since her shorthand sucked still. She prided herself on being a professional through and through, and a real journalist had to know shorthand.
One of the girls winced when Allison finally looked up. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were in the middle—”
“That’s fine, Frankie.” Gio smiled. “But Nellie would be the one to ask about the schedule this week.” He motioned to the pastries. “It’s Friday. You know what that means, right?”
“Oh, yeah.” The two girls smiled big, walking toward the pastries. “Donuts and, oh my God, La Favorita pan dulce. My favorite!”
Gio’s frown wasn’t missed as he watched the girls help themselves to the pastries.
Allison’s eyes were instantly back on her notes. Don’t look at the donuts. Don’t think of the donuts. Don’t smell the donuts. Remember how tight your jeans are!
Frankie just had to make a comment about the donuts among the pile of pastries before she could make up her mind about which she was taking, damn it. And, of course, she had to decide out loud between the lemon or raspberry-filled jelly donuts. Only Allison’s favorite! Go away!
Finally alone with Gio again, Allison got back to the subject of the work-release program. He told her more about how they’d be keeping tabs on them. How they used the buddy system and, basically, were given the responsibility of staying with their buddy the whole time they were on the premises. “At any given time, if I ask any of them where their buddy is, they need to know exactly. It gives them each accountability and a sense that they’re trusted to look out for each other. At the same time, it keeps us from having to babysit them every second.”
“So, they do get free time? As in just time for them to work out on their own?”
“Yeah.” Gio nodded. “Even during their training, we train them as we would all the other trainees. We show them what to do, supervise a bit just to make sure they’ve got it, and then let them finish training on their own. These are men and women who are really trying to get rehabilitated. It all started back in jail. They first had to work hard to prove themselves. Getting here is a great feat and a privilege they know they’re lucky to have. They’re not gonna ruin what they know is a good thing. So, me and the other owners are more than confident that this will work out fine.”
He explained more about their compensation and a few of the other stringent rules. He also said most were good guys. “Some may not look it.” He chuckled. “They’ve had tough lives, and it’s evident on their hardened exteriors, but so far, I’ve met every single one, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how respectful and humble they all are.”
More people walked into the break room, distracting Gio momentarily. Again, Allison took advantage of the distraction to work on her notes. One of the guys approached the table and smiled at Allison with a nod.
“Sorry to interrupt, G. But when you get a moment, can you come to the big training room? Felix is here, and we’re trying to have a quick meeting about what we were talking about the other day.”
“Yeah, I should be done in a few,” Gio said, as the guy grabbed a pan dulce then walked out.
“Actually,” Allison said as she finished up her notes, “I think I have everything I need except . . .” She glanced up at him, meeting his eyes again. “You think it’d be possible for me to interview a few of the guys in the program? I know you said they’re hopeful about turning their lives around. But I think it’d be nice to get an account from them firsthand as to how they feel about the program and what else they plan on doing to rehabilitate themselves, stuff like that.”
“Absolutely. I don’t think I could right now, but—”
“No, I didn’t mean now,” she clarified. “I have to get going anyway. But if we could set it up for later, that’d be great.”
“Sure, just let me know when’s good for you, and I’ll set it up.”
“I will. Oh, and Lila said I could get my membership renewed with you?”
She’d leave out how long ago it’d expired, since one look at her ever-expanding behind was probably clue enough that she hadn’t stepped into the gym in months.
“Just go up to the front desk and let them know you’re her sister. They can renew it for you.”
Allison thanked him then started packing up her backpack. Gio excused himself, but then he just had to add, “And help yourself to some of these.” He shook his head. “Every payday it’s the same thing. Someone decides we need to celebrate and take a break from the healthy lifestyle, even if for only one morning.” He grumbled something els
e as he picked up a maple bar on his way out.
Smiling, Allison nodded as her eyes zoomed onto the jelly donut calling her name. Gio left her alone, and even before she finished zipping up her backpack, she could already feel herself giving into the temptation. The stronger willed side of her reminded herself of her hypothyroidism. It was bad enough she had to be on meds to help speed up her thyroid so it wouldn’t totally kill her metabolism; adding things like jelly donuts to her diet wouldn’t help.
But then her weaker side argued right back. She was going to make a real effort to get her ass back in the gym. One little donut wouldn’t kill her, and she could start working out sooner than she’d planned, now that she’d be renewing her membership.
Exhaling loudly, she gave into temptation and, taking a napkin, reached for the glorious donut. Her mouth was already watering before her lips were even on it. She walked out of the break room, licking the excess jelly from the little hole on the side of the donut. Allison had to refrain from groaning as she bit into it.
Jesus. Why did it have to be so damn good? Maybe because she hadn’t allowed herself to have one of these in forever. She figured deprivation would do that to you. Just like when she gave into that Big Mac after not having one in over a year. It was the best burger she’d ever had.
She slowed down when the jelly dripped out the side of her donut and nearly onto her blouse. She managed to catch it with her tongue then licked the rest off. Feeling like a sloppy, donut-eating pig, she glanced around, hoping no one noticed her orgasmic reaction to the pastry. For a second, she thought no one had; then she saw him.
She could only imagine he was part of the work-release program. He was what Gio described as rough-looking. Though tough would be more accurate in this guy’s case. Dangerous even. He was very tall, bald, with tattoos and bulging muscles as far as the eye could see, only his hardened expression was anything but respectful and humble. His eyes slowly lifted from her body to her lips until they made eye contact and then there it was—that look of utter disgust. She was still licking her lips clean, and his eyes dropped down to them again for a moment before he shook his head and turned away.