Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Dark Ruin (Book 3): Ruined by the Hitman Romance, #3
    Dark Ruin (Book 3): Ruined by the Hitman Romance, #3
    Dark Ruin (Book 3): Ruined by the Hitman Romance, #3
    Ebook101 pages1 hour

    Dark Ruin (Book 3): Ruined by the Hitman Romance, #3

    By Naomi West

    5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    This is book 3 and the finale of the Ruined by the Hitman Romance series! 

    Rule number one in my line of work: no emotions.

    And I'm breaking that in a major way.

    I had a job to do:

    Put a bullet in Vanessa Powers' head.

    From what I'd been told, she deserved every bit of it.

    But what if everything I've been told is a lie?

    The man who hired me says his ex-wife beat their daughter.

    He says it's time for her to die.

    I've never backed out on a job before.

    It's not my place to decide what's right or wrong.

    But as I'm looking down the barrel of my gun at this beautiful, terrified woman, I make a choice.

    This one belongs to me.

    That one decision starts a chain of events that I never could have expected.

    I've gone from hitman to family man in one fell swoop.

    Now, I have a woman and a daughter to protect from the men who once hired me to kill for them.

    But I'll do whatever it takes to keep them safe.

    I may not be a hired killer anymore.

    But I'll always have a bullet to spare for anyone trying to hurt my family.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMBK Hanson Inc.
    Release dateNov 26, 2019
    ISBN9781393525509
    Dark Ruin (Book 3): Ruined by the Hitman Romance, #3
    Author

    Naomi West

    Motorcycle club romance that will blow you away... Naomi West is a best-selling author of motorcycle romance novels that will get your heart pumping and your panties melting. Sign up for her mailing list to receive new release alerts, free giveaways, and much more! Follow this link to join:  http://bit.ly/NaomiWestMailingList

    Read more from Naomi West

    Related to Dark Ruin (Book 3)

    Titles in the series (3)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    Crime Thriller For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The ARRANGEMENT

      Aug 26, 2020

      The ARRANGEMENT
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Ladies Book Club

      Apr 10, 2024

      “Our brains are shaped with the capability to care deeply but also to kill. This deep ambivalence is potentially problematic. A society filled with people who are inherently very compassionate and very violent might prove unstable.”1 1Emile Bruneau,

      25 min read

    • Article

      Begin Again

      Jun 14, 2022

      My grandfather came to live with me. There was nowhere else for him to go. What had happened to all his children? Death, decay, exile—I hardly know. My own parents died of pain. But I must not be too gloomy, at the beginning, or you will leave me, an

      6 min read

    • Article

      Take a Writer Like Him: My Complicated Love Affair with Kingsley Amis

      Aug 24, 2018

      1. As much as I may rack my brain, there are 15 minutes or so in the dark that I can’t account for and that I’ll never get back—15 minutes during which, I have to think, that creep’s hands were touching my body. It’s a weird thing to think about all

      12 min read

    • Article

      Women and Men Made of Them

      Sep 15, 2019

      Mary Ann lived near me in Baton Rouge, then she was in Memphis. She’d told me they could never return. Return to this life, she meant. Her husband, Knox, I’d hated, and he’d been called, of all things, a kind man. People called him good, gentlemanly,

      14 min read

    • Article

      Witness

      Jun 9, 2020

      My sister threw open the door so that it banged against the little console table she kept by the entrance. “Silas,” she said breathlessly, before even removing her coat, “I have to tell you something.” Which was enough to make me feel trapped, as tho

      25 min read

    • Article

      David Sedaris

      Sep 15, 2017

      Our house on Emerald Isle, The Sea Section, is divided down the middle, and has an E beside one front door and a W beside the other. The east side is ruled by Hugh, and the bedroom we share is on the top floor. It opens onto a deck that overlooks the

      12 min read

    • Article

      St. Patrick’s Day

      Apr 10, 2022

      At university, I said I hated Nate Moore. It was an annoying-sibling hate, the kind exclusive to teenagers. I remember once we were in the living room of my and Jen’s townhouse-style dorm in the fall of my sophomore year, drinking Kahlua with coffee.

      17 min read

    • Article

      Hell Is A City in Texas

      Jun 14, 2021

      Hell Is A City in Texas
      10 min read

    • Article

      Nothing To Fear

      Jan 26, 2021

      Nothing To Fear
      8 min read

    • Article

      Heavy Heart

      Feb 5, 2022

      Heavy Heart
      6 min read

    • Article

      Quarantine Album

      Sep 8, 2020

      It all started with a very simple request: I asked my mom, when she had time, could she look through old photos to see if there were any of pint-size me decked out for Halloween—primo Instagram content for my show Scream, Queen! (a podcast about scar

      4 min read

    • Article

      My Twin

      Jul 12, 2024

      My Twin
      28 min read

    • Article

      LOVE, Virtually

      Feb 16, 2020

      LOVE, Virtually
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Duplex

      Jun 9, 2020

      I moved to Los Angeles to sing. When was this? August? June? I was twenty-nine, and those were shapeless months, when the days blended together and I refused to pull them apart. My landlord was unusually close to her adult son. His name was Jeffrey,

      21 min read

    • Article

      Proverbs Of A Faceless Time

      Dec 1, 2023

      Proverbs Of A Faceless Time
      9 min read

    • Article

      THE CYBER Saviour

      Feb 10, 2021

      THE CYBER Saviour
      3 min read

    • Article

      ‘Sing to It’: Featured Fiction from Amy Hempel

      Mar 25, 2019

      If she was home at night in her husband’s bed, did he care what she did with her days? The post ‘Sing to It’: Featured Fiction from Amy Hempel appeared first on The Millions.

      7 min read

    • Article

      Nightmare On My Street

      Oct 20, 2022

      Nightmare On My Street
      4 min read

    • Article

      Love & miracles

      Aug 14, 2022

      Delia Ephron, the screen-writer, novelist and wit, was in her apartment in Greenwich Village in New York City when I phoned. She was disappointed we weren’t doing the interview via video. “That’s too bad. I look fabulous.” She is appearing, virtually

      7 min read

    • Article

      We’re All Just Butterflies

      Sep 29, 2020

      We’re All Just Butterflies
      4 min read

    • Article

      Blended

      Aug 6, 2020

      Blended
      10 min read

    • Article

      Pleasure Palace

      Sep 1, 2022

      Pleasure Palace
      15 min read

    • Article

      While I Wasted Time in Prison, My Mom Died of a Broken Heart

      May 22, 2020

      With my hands in cuffs and my chin to my chest, my parole officer asked me, “Do you want to call your mom?” “I can’t—this would kill her,” was all I could say as I sat in the back seat of my P.O.’s car. Life Inside Perspectives from thos

      4 min read

    • Article

      A Twisted Fairy Tale

      Dec 31, 2020

      Hannah Thomas, 33, Northampton Snuggling up to my mum, I wished she could stay with me a little longer. ‘Please read me a story,’ I asked hopefully, trying to suppress a yawn. ‘Sorry, darling,’ she replied. ‘I’ve got work.’ Kissing me on the forehead

      4 min read

    • Article

      All Of Us Here

      Jun 4, 2020

      All Of Us Here
      6 min read

    • Article

      Too BAD

      Aug 30, 2022

      Too BAD
      6 min read

    • Article

      A Nose For Trouble

      Apr 12, 2022

      A Nose For Trouble
      6 min read

    • Article

      Thirteen

      Jan 30, 2020

      Thirteen
      21 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Dark Ruin (Book 3)

    5/5

    3 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Dark Ruin (Book 3) - Naomi West

      Dark Ruin: A Ruined by the Hitman Romance (Book 3)

      By Naomi West

      Rule number one in my line of work: no emotions.

      AND I’M BREAKING THAT in a major way.

      I had a job to do:

      Put a bullet in Vanessa Powers’ head.

      From what I’d been told, she deserved every bit of it.

      But what if everything I’ve been told is a lie?

      The man who hired me says his ex-wife beat their daughter.

      He says it’s time for her to die.

      I’ve never backed out on a job before.

      It’s not my place to decide what’s right or wrong.

      But as I’m looking down the barrel of my gun at this beautiful, terrified woman, I make a choice.

      This one belongs to me.

      That one decision starts a chain of events that I never could have expected.

      I’ve gone from hitman to family man in one fell swoop.

      Now, I have a woman and a daughter to protect from the men who once hired me to kill for them.

      But I’ll do whatever it takes to keep them safe.

      I may not be a hired killer anymore.

      But I’ll always have a bullet to spare for anyone trying to hurt my family.

      Chapter 1

      Hunter

      When Hunter woke, a dread settled over him as the morning light hit the window, making the curtain seem to glow. He could lose everything today. Or, if luck was on his side, gain it.

      He slid out of bed, trying not to disturb Vanessa. She rolled over and groaned when she found him gone.

      Where are you going? she asked, her voice scratchy.

      I have to get going. We slept late. I need to be at my hotel before Jeremy gets there.

      She sat up and rubbed her hands over her face, then looked at the clock. Oh. It is late.

      She jumped out of bed as he pulled on his pants.

      Can I make you something to eat? she asked.

      I don’t really have time. I’m just going to take a quick shower. He gave her a peck on the cheek before disappearing. It was a quick shower, though part of him said he better enjoy it, because it might be the last hot shower he got for a long time.

      When he stepped out, he smelled coffee and eggs cooking. He shook his head. She really was something, wasn’t she? She was the type of woman who would take care of him every day. He wanted that so badly. And now was the time to go fight for it.

      After he finished dressing, he went to the kitchen to find her. She stood at the counter in her cotton shorts and t-shirt, still rumpled from sleeping. He loved the way her blonde hair was still a little tangled from the night before, when he’d bent her over right there. His dick went hard and he wrapped his arms around her from behind, wishing he had time to bend her over again before he left.

      I made you something, she said. She turned and presented him with a foil-wrapped sandwich. You can take it with you and eat in the car.

      Thank you. He set the sandwich down and gave her a long kiss.

      She followed him to the door and kissed him one last time.

      Oh, and this. She handed him a cardboard cup with a plastic lid. Good luck? I guess. I don’t know what else to say. Be safe. Be careful. I love you.

      I love you. With one more kiss, he closed the door behind him and walked to his car.

      He peeled back the foil and took a bite of his sandwich. Hot egg and cheese melted over his tongue. How could anyone mistreat this woman like Jeremy had? What a monster he must be inside to do the things he’d done.

      The sandwich and coffee were gone by the time he reached his hotel room. Inside, he tucked his guns away. One in his ankle holster, one at the small of his back. Nicholas already had set up a hidden camera and microphone to capture the meeting. And that meant that he either had to make it look like self-defense or there’d be footage of him murdering Jeremy.

      He stood in the middle of the room, facing the door. All he had to do now was wait. Jeremy was usually punctual, and he still had a good twenty minutes before their meeting time.

      His mind wandered back to every moment with Vanessa. Their first meeting, their first kiss, their first time sleeping together. His heart ached for her and Opal. He needed them to be safe and come out of this alive and well. Then he thought of the conversation he’d had with Vanessa not long ago. Maybe there was one more thing he could do.

      He dropped down to his knees and folding his hands. He hadn’t prayed since he was a little boy and it felt strange to be in this position. He didn’t know if anyone was listening or not, but he spoke out quietly into the room, aware of the recording that would capture even this.

      God, if you’re there, I know I haven’t been good, but this isn’t about me. Keep Vanessa and Opal safe today. Help me do whatever I need to do to make things better for them. Even if it means going away and not being with them, I’ll do what I have to do. He stood up, then dropped back down to his knees. Amen. He stood again and paced a few steps.

      In that moment, it felt like all the years of abuse he’d suffered were somehow worth it. As horrible as it had been, what his parents did to him, even how his high school girlfriend lied and tricked him into killing her dad. If none of that had happened, he wouldn’t be in the position to meet Vanessa. He laughed to himself. What in the world would they tell people about their early dating life and how they met? Well, I was hired to kill her, but she was just too gorgeous and amazing, so I turned around and killed her ex instead. No one would ever know their real story, aside from those who already did.

      Knowing that he now had the love of a good woman and the heart of a child gave him the strength he needed to do this. To sacrifice himself for their sake. He felt, for the first time in his life, that he had purpose and direction. He had a reason to exist, a reason to wake up and keep going every day. He had to make their lives safe and happy. No matter what his life looked like to make it happen. And that alone filled his chest with warmth. It gave him the reassurance that everything would be okay somehow, because she loved him. She’d saved

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1