Ruthless King Mice and Men Book 1 (The War of Roses Universe) Lana Sky Also by Lana Sky The Ellie Gray Chronicles Drain Me Chain Me The Complete Ellie Gray Chronicles Beautiful Monsters Crescendo Refrain Mezzo Allegro Club XXX Maxim: Submit Maxim: Obey Maxim: Surrender Maxim: The Complete Trilogy Vadim: Control Vadim: Corrupt Vadim: Conquer Vadim: The Complete Trilogy Savage Fall Duet King’s Men King’s Horses The Complete Savage Fall Duet The War of Roses Universe The War of Roses XV: (Fifteen) VII: (Seven) I: (One) The Complete War of Roses Trilogy Of Mice and Men Ruthless King Queen of Thorns Painted Sin A Touch of Dark A Taste like Sin The Complete Painted Sin Duet Standalones Pretty Perfect Crossed Lines Dragon Triad Duet Moth Flame The Complete Dragon Triad Duet Rockstar Rebels Dirty Lyrics (Newsletter Exclusive) Ruthless King Ruthless King By Lana Sky Copyright © 2020 by Lana Sky All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Acknowledgments Thanks so much to everyone who supported this draft along the way, including the many beta readers who provided encouragement! Please keep in mind that this story includes dark, graphic, and explicit content matter that is not suitable for readers under the age of 18—or for readers who are uncomfortable with the following subject matter: age gap relationships, explicit sex, mentions of sexual abuse, and graphic depictions of violence. Contents 1. Don 2. Don 3. Willow 4. Willow 5. Willow 6. Willow 7. Willow 8. Willow 9. Don 10. Willow 11. Willow 12. Don 13. Willow 14. Don 15. Willow 16. Don 17. Don 18. Don 19. Willow 20. Willow 21. Don 22. Don 23. Don 24. Willow 25. Don 26. Willow A Word from the Author About the Author Also by Lana Sky 1 Don “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t.” ~Hamlet. While I wasn’t the smartest kid in the world, I had one trait most don’t—ambition. Ambitions so grand I envisioned myself one day ruling the world—and I wasn’t satisfied with just imagining it. Sure, the dumb fantasies were no different than what most punks aspire to at that age, but I’d wanted more. More than a kid raised in the streets was entitled to. More than I deserved. Mama called it “dreaming,” thinking too big for my britches but, bless her soul, she was naïve when it came to the way of the world. She never taught me that dreams don’t mean shit in the long run, or that success has a price—desperation. You have to take it. With pain, with blood, by any means necessary, you take what you want. And the easiest way to do that? Through force. Young Donatello learned that violence could garner him whatever he craved. Cars. Booze. Women. But I also learned that there isn’t one damn thing that can’t be ripped away afterward. Despite the odds, I’d gotten my wish once, gaining everything I’d dreamed of and more. The funny thing is, I was so fixated on what I lacked, I didn’t even know it. Greed was the one constant I knew, and I only ever had one goal. Money. To have more of it than God himself, enough to have this entire city in the palm of my hand. I got that wish too—my name was feared, be it Donatello or the various monikers assigned to me by rivals. Il Mostro. The Butcher. That Violent Cunt. Back then, I’d been stupid enough to assume that fear meant something. That fear equaled power. In his own esteem, the old Donatello was a force to be reckoned with—and if that smug little punk could see the man I am now, he’d scoff, unable to recognize himself. A man who scrapes for what he has and appreciates every damn cent. Who knows what it means to be humble. To suffer. To bide his time and keep his fucking mouth shut. This new man ain’t no Butcher, for damn sure. From crook to legitimate businessman. Hell, it sounds like some shitty fairy tale, but reformed or not, a man never forgets his past. If he’s smart, he’ll even learn from it. Now, of all times, I remember a particular piece of advice—coincidentally given to me by the last bastard I ever killed myself. His name didn’t matter; he was some balding, pudgy little asshole who read Hamlet once, and thought that made him a fucking intellectual. Funny, because that “intelligence” didn’t pan out so well for him in the end. I will give him this much, though—he made an impression on me in a way few have. “Though this be madness, there’s a method to it, see. Like Shakespeare?” he’d ranted, right before I’d put a bullet in his skull. The madness was selling me out. The method? Using back-channel deals to frame me for extortion. In his mind, it all made sense. He wasn’t trying to set me up to save his own skin, see? By slithering his way into my inner circle like the lying cunt he was, he was merely doing me a favor by revealing how easy it could be to fuck me over. His betrayal was all for the greater good. Unimpressed by that genius rationale, I’d reacted the only way I knew how back then. Fast-forward almost a decade later, and karma gives me a cruel, new perspective. Finally, I understand just what the dumb son of a bitch was getting at. He wasn’t smart; hell, he wasn’t even trying to be. Logic doesn’t mean shit when you’re desperate; when you have nothing else to fall back on but insanity. In such a mental state, everything starts looking like a good idea—like what I’m doing right now. It’s insane to stand here before two armed guards, holding a gift wrapped by some lady in a store who assured me a woman would “enjoy such a thoughtful present.” She even tied it with a goddamn bow. It’s insane to wear this pathetic
