Twisted Obsessions (SIN CITY HEAT SERIES Book 2) Read Free

and left him without a second thought as she ran away with a local street thug who promised to give her the life she’d always wanted – but it would have to be without her brat, as he’d put it. Darrell had never experienced a family life, but Marcus had until it was seemingly taken away from him in an instant. The memories were vague and fuzzy, and it seemed like a lifetime ago, but he remembered….
      “ Run, Markie…! Go baby!”
      Laughing from pure joy and pumping his eight year old legs as fast as they could go, Marcus looked over at his mother who stood cheering him on along with his three year old sister. They were all in the spacious back yard of their home and enjoying a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Marcus and his father were playing football and Marcus was on his way to making the game winning “touchdown”.
      Marcus glanced over his shoulder with a wide grin when he saw he was outrunning his father. His heart raced in his chest as he crossed the makeshift goal line. Spiking the ball, he did the “touchdown dance” his father had taught him then happily jumped up and down, pumping his fists in the air.
     “ That’s my lil man!” Steven Bennett beamed down on his son with pride. He held up his hand for a high five. “Gimme some!”
      Marcus leapt in the air and slapped his father’s palm with his then laughed when his dad gathered him up in a gigantic bear hug. His little sister came toddling over with a toothy smile as she rushed towards the beloved big brother she adored and the father who treated her like a little princess.
      Steven released his son and swept his daughter into his arms. He tossed her into the air, eliciting a spree of excited giggles and screams as she called out for him to throw her up again and again. Marcus’ mother leaned down and planted a series of smattering kisses over Marcus’ face. He groaned with exaggerated protests, but his eyes shone brightly and the smile stayed on his face.
     “ Joy, leave’em alone,” Steven teased. “All that girlie stuff has no place on a man’s football field.”
      Joy Bennett planted a fist on her hip and responded tongue in cheek. “Oh, really? In that case, I’ll keep the kiss I was getting ready to give you to myself.”
      Just as she turned   to flounce away with her head held high, Steven set his daughter down and grabbed his wife by the waist and spun her back around. Joy giggled as he playfully growled and tried to take his kiss . She twisted her head to the side and ended up squealing as loudly as her daughter had. When Steven picked her up and gently tackled her so that she fell down on top of him, Marcus and his sister laughed and joined their parents in the fun until they were all tussling and wresting around on the ground.
      The four of them were the epitome of the perfect American family. Steven Bennett was a young, successful, charismatic doctor. His profession enabled him to provide his family with an upper middle class life and allowed Joy to be a stay at home mom and nurture and raise their two well-adjusted children. Life couldn’t get any better.
      Three days later, the unthinkable happened.
      Steven and Joy were on their way back home from a charity function when a man who’d been drinking at a party sped through a stop sign. His car slammed into the Bennett’s vehicle, instantly killing them. The accident was so horrific, their bodies had to be cut out of the crinkled ball of steel which used to be Steven’s beloved sports car; there was no choice but to have a closed casket at the funeral service.
      Both Joy and Steven had no family other than an elderly aunt several times removed on Steven’s side. Being a spry seventy-two, Aunt Maggie didn’t hesitate to step in and take responsibility for the two devastated children whose world was irrevocably changed. In the blink of an eye, they lost their parents and had to leave the only home they’d ever known to move in with a woman who was a