Down and Dirty [1]_A Bad Boy Romantic Suspense_Shameless Southern Nights Page 18

  I was alienating people who were trying to be there for me, I was caving to his demands even though they were hurting me, and I was willing to keep doing it if it meant keeping Austin safe. But I was also exhausted from it.

  I was so damn tired of Wesley threatening me and Austin, and now Jeremy as well. I didn’t understand why he couldn’t just leave me alone.

  We didn’t work out.

  We had a child together, sure. Austin would bind us together forever, but Wesley could’ve been a positive part of Austin’s life besides our relationship falling apart. Instead, his own son was terrified of him, and he caused us nothing but grief.

  Austin was the best thing that had ever happened to me and I wouldn’t change having him for anything in the world. Yet, I often wondered why I hadn’t seen Wesley for who he was right from the very beginning.

  Maybe if I had, I could’ve broken things off with him much earlier, made a clean break for both Austin’s well-being and my own. Guilt weighed heavily in the pit of my stomach, getting heavier by the day because of Wesley’s effect on our lives.

  The worst thing was that his poison wasn’t even confined to my life alone anymore. It had a domino effect, spreading to others around me.

  It wasn’t right, and it wasn’t fair. If I wanted to break out of this cycle I was stuck in, I had to break free of this hold he had on me. I just had no idea how to make that happen.

  Marie & Jeremy’s story continues in Down & Dirty #2, available now!

  Click here: Down & Dirty #2

  Acknowledgments

  To our readers - because that’s why we write. JH always thanks her dogs & her hubs because they are her best cheerleaders. Well, that and coffee. Ali is a force of nature & thanks the army behind her with her hubs & three kids.

  We decided to create a series together, and it’s been nothing but fun. A shout out to Yoly Cortez for making magic with this cover and to our editor for holding our feet to the fire. A bow of thanks to our invaluable advance readers. Many, many thanks to Mary W., Charlotte B., Katelyn W. and Ashley B. They keep us in line and clean up the details. There were twice as many this time, but who’s counting?

  xoxo

  Ali & JH

  USA Today Bestselling Author J. H. Croix lives in a small town in the historical farmlands of Maine with her husband and two spoiled dogs. Croix writes steamy contemporary romance with sassy independent women and rugged alpha men who aren't afraid to show some emotion. Her love for quirky small-towns and the characters that inhabit them shines through in her writing. Take a walk on the wild side of romance with her bestselling novels!

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  jhcroix@jhcroix.com

  Ali Parker is a USA Today Best Selling contemporary and new adult romance writer with more than a hundred and thirty books behind her. She loves coffee, watching a great movie and hanging out with her hubs. By hanging out, she means making out. Hanging out is for those little creepy elves at Christmas. No tight green stockings for her.

  She’s an entrepreneur at heart and loves coming up with more ideas than any one person should be allowed to access. She lives in Texas with her hubs and three kiddos and looks forward to traveling the world in a few years. Writing under eleven pen names keeps her busy and allows her to explore all genres and types of writing.

  If you enjoyed her writing style, please check out her other pen names at the pen names link below!

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  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.

  Copyright © 2018 J.H. Croix & Ali Parker

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