Kingdom (Avenues Ink Series Book 2) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Him

  Her

  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

  Epilogue

  Sneak Peek - Poet

  Acknowledgements

  Playlist

  Copyright © 2017 by A.M. Johnson

  ISBN: 978-1-5323-4176-2

  Except the original material written by the author, all songs, and song titles contained in this book are the property of the respective songwriters and copyright holders. The author concedes to the trademarked status and trademark owners of the products mentioned in this fiction novel and recognizes that they have been used without permission. The use and publication of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead or events is entirely coincidental.

  Editing and Formatting by Elaine York, Allusion Graphics, LLC/Publishing & Book Formatting

  Cover Photo by Green Owl photog

  Cover Model is Steve Gehrke

  Cover Design is Mary Ruth

  “The Painted Prince” by Amanda Johnson All rights Reserved

  To those who cannot find their way past the wall of fire around their hearts… let the flame consume you, and for once, enjoy the burn…

  For Marissa

  They’ll never stifle our magic.

  All that is gold does not glitter,

  Not all those who wander are lost;

  The old that is strong does not wither,

  Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

  From the ashes a fire shall be woken,

  A light from the shadows shall spring;

  Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

  The crownless again shall be king.

  J. R. R. Tolkien

  This story is written a little differently than you might be used to from me. Kelly and Liam’s story is told in the Past (Once Upon a Time) and in Present Day (Once Upon a Present). You will note each Past chapter starts off with either a HIM or a HER portion written in third person POV. These are meant as Chapter enhancers and will not always be consecutive in regards to the timeline.

  I hope you enjoy Kelly and Liam’s journey and that you fall in love along the way.

  Much Love, Amanda~

  Him

  Her

  Chapter One

  Him

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Her

  Chapter Five

  Her

  Chapter Six

  Him

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Her

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Him

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Him

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Him

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Him

  Epilogue

  Sneak Peek - Poet

  Acknowledgements

  Playlist

  The boy’s bicycle tires ran along the gutter, splashing mud and rainwater in their wake. Bits of debris collected on the bottom hem of his worn blue jeans. His smile lasted only a moment, it spread proud and free over his youthful features. He was slowly transforming into something beyond boy, something more than mud and frogs, more than forts and baseballs. The fat of his cheeks had begun to hollow, and moments like this, alone, on his bike, riding in the rain, were becoming few and far between. That perfect smile faded as he pulled into his driveway.

  He hopped off his bike and rested it along the cracked, brown vinyl wall under the carport. The boy exhaled a relieved breath once he realized the time; his father’s car was missing, most likely parked down at Jerry’s Pub. His mother would be inside, making Guinness stew. She always made it whenever the weather turned sour or for the first snow of the year. His stomach grumbled just thinking about it. A gold strand of light warmed his bare arms. He’d forgotten his coat and his shirt was heavy with the storm. He was soaked from head to toe, his dark, almost black hair hung in his eyes as he turned to face the sun. The clouds parted just as he lifted his brown eyes to the sky.

  Just a glimpse of blue. Maybe a pathway to something magical, he mused to himself. He wondered what could be at the end of the never-ending strip of blue that reached across the town. It led his gaze away from the small house, the only home he’d ever known, and some foreign feeling filled his chest. It pulled at the essence of who he was, maybe there was something watching over him like his mother had always said. Maybe he was meant for something more than this threadbare town. He could hear his brothers laughing, most likely reveling in the mud out back, and his smile returned as that feeling, that flight inside his soul disappeared. His baby brother Kieran’s laughter always seemed to rise above everything. Even on the nights when his father and mother fought, nights he could hear his dad’s vicious temper, Kieran seemed oblivious, the luck of still being too young to know better. But, Declan, his middle brother, hearing him laugh, it was a rare gift, and as the heat of the sun spilled across the driveway, that longing turned over to a steadfast weight. An anchor. There wasn’t anything… anyone at the other end of that sky for him… his family was all that would ever matter.

  The young girl smiled into the puddle as the rain evaporated and drained its last remnants into the pothole. She stood just at the end of a long driveway. Her feet were covered in earth and filth as she lost herself inside the reflection. Her dark brown hair was saturated as she pulled it from her eyes to get a better look. The skyline of the city floated behind her in the fog, blending perfectly into the mountainside as she stood still, head down, shivering and remembering what her father had once said, “Use your beauty, girl, because it’s all you’ll ever have.”

  His words had smelled of bourbon, and his body had swayed as if the ground quaked
beneath his very own feet. She remembered feeling a certain heaviness and how it had pressed inside of her chest as he’d spoken. She’d been too young to understand his full meaning, and even now as she struggled to see the beauty in the image before her, the real meaning of his words hid inside the pain she held in her heart. The pain was waiting, waiting for her heart to break apart, waiting for the one man who would split her open and reveal there was light enough to burn it out.

  She dipped her toe into the puddle and the ripples disrupted the perfect picture. Her amber eyes distorted, along with her full lips and peach cheeks. She rubbed her palm along her sternum, unaware of why she felt that slight panic. The seed her father had planted was slow growing, and, when the waters stilled again, she frowned as her face reappeared inside the pothole. She thought to herself, chewing on her pink bottom lip, that there had to be more than this.

  She lifted her head as the clouds parted in the sky, and the rays of the sun warmed her shoulders, but were unable to remove the chill that started to bloom within her core. She raised the heel of her palm to her chest again and fought for her breath as she stared at the rundown house she lived in. The old brown sedan sitting in the driveway had rusted this past winter, and she was sure her mother was working extra hours at Pete’s so they could get a new car.

  She dropped her gaze to the puddle again. She didn’t want to work at Pete’s when she grew up. She didn’t want a car that squealed when you turned the key in the ignition. She didn’t want a house with cracked windows and hidden spider nests in its corners. The girl wanted more than a man who drank himself to sleep and used his hands and words to hurt her.

  She considered her reflection again, and her mother’s eyes looked back at her. They were wide and filled with tears. The girl wiped the water from under her eyes, careful to miss the bruise her father had given her that very morning. Even with the slightly purpled hue over her left cheek bone, she could see that maybe she was pretty, that maybe he might have been right just this one time.

  And it was that one thought that finally allowed the seed to tangle its roots into her marrow and sprout its first leaf.

  Once Upon a Time

  Kathleen was my best friend despite the fact she was one of those girls who always spoke with a high-pitched squawk in an attempt to sound cute in front of the boys. Although I’d told her it was a terrible idea, she’d somehow convinced me we just had to get a tattoo. Kathy had told me that she’d heard it was a rite of passage, that all the seniors were doing it. Apparently, it was considered sacrilege to start your senior year at Pioneer Lake High without the customary ink. She’d said that all the kids who supposedly mattered got three wavy lines symbolizing lake water for our school’s “Lakers” theme. What was a Laker anyway? This would be our first year at the notoriously wealthy establishment. We’d originally gone to West High, but they divided the county lines in an attempt to give us “less fortunate kids” a better education.

  A tease at a better life as they dangled an unattainable hope, just out of reach, before sending us back to our stark reality at the end of every day.

  Regardless of my hesitation, or Kathy’s good sense, we found ourselves parked in front of Avenues Ink tattoo shop at ten p.m. on a warm, summer night. I stared at my image in the rearview mirror of Kathy’s car. My eyes swallowed the reflection, and I began to dissect myself like usual. I’d always been the girl who had dreams beyond this small metropolis. The girl whose beauty could change her life if she let it, but as my eyes focused, all I saw in that mirror was the girl who could never escape her drunk father’s hand. My fingers raised to the barely visible bruise across my cheekbone, and I was only able to manage a few blinks before tears began to surface. The shimmering eye make-up I’d applied framed my big brown eyes, and the deep blood red lipstick solidified the illusion. But the filth that lay below the surface wasn’t so easy to hide.

  Kathy noticed my tears. “It’s going to be fine. You look at least nineteen. These guys don’t care, as long as we have money… come on, Kelly, stop gazing at your perfect face and let’s go get our tattoos!”

  Kathy had known me long enough, and knew better than to use a word like perfect, but she’d always used humor to lighten my changing moods. The reality of my home life was mine alone, though at times, when she stared at me, I wondered if she saw the sickness under my flesh. We both came from poverty, but where I came from anger, she came from love. I chose to keep her in the dark for her own safety and to pad my pride.

  I lightly wiped away any stray tears, grateful for waterproof mascara, and said, “If you do it, I’ll do it.”

  Kathleen squealed as usual and I allowed myself to smile. I sucked in a breath, watching my lips part inside the reflection. Perfect. The word sank deep into the hollow of my stomach.

  “Let’s just hope our dazzling, convenience store salaries can afford it.” Kathy joked as she shut off the engine and gave me a wide smile.

  The place was a hive, buzzing with some unknown hum, and the rich smell of leather coated my lungs as I inhaled. I clasped my hands in front of me to mask my shaking fingers as we approached the front desk. A woman with a shaved head and a face that had more piercings than I could count narrowed her eyes at Kathy and me.

  “Are you girls lost?”

  Her voice was a low purr, and every instinct I had clogged my throat with nerves. Kathy, however, threw her shoulders back, pulled her wallet from her back pocket, handed the lady her fake ID and asked, “Do you guys take walk-ins or what?” Her usual, saccharine was gone, and instead, each word was laced with hardcore attitude.

  My smile didn’t go unnoticed, and the lady rolled her eyes. “Liam,” she shouted, not taking her eyes off either of us.

  I was surprised anyone could hear her over the noise, but not even a few seconds later the most dangerously handsome man I’d ever seen scowled at me as he came around the partition. I was tall for a girl, five-eight to be exact, and even though he wasn’t towering over me, his broad shoulders demanded attention. His dark brown eyes were framed by thick lashes, his ears and nose were pierced, and the cords of muscle in his arms, though hidden below an incredible amount of ink, moved with a tight precision that made my cheeks warm.

  “Can you take two walk-ins, Liam?”

  I interrupted, “Oh, I’m not sure… I mean I’m still thinking—”

  “Scared, Princess?” he cut me off and his lips pulled into a cocky grin.

  Princess.

  The flutter of butterflies in my stomach almost weakened my voice, but I held my ground. “Not at all. I’m here for a consultation, she’s the one getting ink.”

  Kathy’s eyes widened. “You promised.” Her previous hard edge dissipated as her voice returned to its highest octave.

  “Whatever you say, Prin—”

  I lifted my hand interrupting him. “I think it’s safe to say you don’t know me well enough yet for clichéd pet names.”

  He raised his eyebrows, another smirk toying at the corners of his mouth. “Fair enough.” He pointed to Kathy. “Fill out the forms with Sue, and you…” He showered me with the full weight of his gaze. “Follow me.”

  I liked how his voice was deep enough to command my legs to move without my approval. The cocky smile he had showed his youth as his eyes moved lazily up and then down my body once before he turned and headed deeper into the tattoo shop.

  “I’ll be right there.” Kathy’s smile was outrageous, but nevertheless a giggle escaped my lips as I turned to follow him.

  I walked past three stations, and they all were modeled the same. Liam’s was no different. It was set against a weathered brick wall and had dark brown leather tables. Wooden shelving lined the walls and were littered with supplies. I assumed some of the smaller containers were ink, but I was naïve when it came to this sort of thing. I let my hand trail along the soft, worn leather of the table as I moved closer to the back of his station.

  “How old are you?” he asked, and his breath tickled the back of m
y neck. I jumped at his close proximity. A quiet chuckle lifted my eyes to the full-length mirror on the back wall and those brooding brown eyes found mine in the reflection.

  “I’m old enough.”

  He huffed out a laugh and ran his hand through his dark brown hair. He had it styled into a Mohawk, the sides shaved very short and the top was slicked back and hung just below his neckline. “Old enough?”

  His dismissive tone irked me, even if he could see right through my façade. I turned to face him, but, coming eye to eye with him like this, my inexperience would definitely show, so I dropped my eyes to the table.

  “Kathy and I were supposed to get matching tattoos before school starts, but I’m not sure—”

  “School?”

  I scrambled. “Yeah, at the U.”

  I peeked at him from under my lashes and noticed his lips were set into a firm line.

  “You got ID?” he finally asked.

  “I’m not even sure I’m going through with it.”

  “The hell you aren’t.” Kathy hopped onto the leather table and shot me a wicked grin. “Liam, right?” She held out her hand, but he just stared at it. She exhaled noisily through her light pink lips and pinned me with her eyes. “After I’ve done it, after you’ve seen that one can survive the pain… it’s your turn. I told our friend, Sue, you’ll be up in a bit for paperwork.”

  I was seeing Kathy’s bossy side for the first time tonight, and I wasn’t sure I liked it.

  “Have a seat.” Liam pointed to one of the two small stools in his station.

  I assessed him as I sat down, but he was too hard to read once his smirk was gone. The planes of his face showed no emotion; his eyes had even paled. Cold but still sexy as the muscle in his jaw pulsed once and then again when he nodded his chin at the stool. I obeyed and sat down. He rewarded me with a small smile before Kathy grabbed his attention and started talking placement and needle hygiene.

  The buzz of his machine set my pulse into an unhealthy rhythm once he began his work on Kathy. I started to wonder what the hell I was doing here. A couple of the employees walked by and gave me a smile or a nod. All were dark haired, tattooed, and pierced. Kathleen looked so out of place lying on Liam’s table. Her quintessential alabaster and freckled skin to match her strawberry blonde curls. No amount of make-up would ever hide that she was only seventeen. I’d look just as strange on that worn leather table. My father used to say that I had a face that would take me places, but these days, he was hell bent on destroying whatever beauty he’d seen in the first place. I wondered what he’d think if I came home with a tattoo. My body reacted to the thought before I could control it. Any warmth I’d felt earlier turned to ice.