Cali: Sacrificed (Angels Halo MC Next Gen Book 11) Read online

  Sacrificed

  CALI

  TERRI ANNE BROWNING

  Copyright © Terri Anne Browning/Anna Henson 2022

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of Terri Anne Browning, except as permitted under the US Copyright Act of 1976.

  Sacrificed: Cali

  Angel’s Halo MC Next Gen

  Written by Terri Anne Browning

  All Rights Reserved ©Terri Anne Browning 2022

  Cover Design Haney Hayes www.haneyhayespr.com

  Edited by Lisa Hollett of Silently Correcting Your Grammar

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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

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

  Contents

  The Rocker Universe Timeline Reading Order

  Playlist

  Trigger Warning

  Wait!

  Prologue

  1. Cali

  2. Garret

  3. Cali

  4. Garret

  5. Garret

  6. Cali

  7. Garret

  8. Cali

  9. Garret

  10. Cali

  11. Garret

  12. Cali

  13. Cali

  14. Garret

  15. Cali

  16. Cali

  17. Cali

  18. Garret

  19. Cali

  20. Garret

  21. Cali

  22. Garret

  23. Cali

  24. Garret

  25. Cali

  26. Garret

  27. Cali

  28. Garret

  29. Cali

  30. Garret

  31. Cali

  32. Cali

  33. Garret

  Epilogue

  The Rocker Universe Timeline Reading Order

  Our Broken Love Collection (Alexis/Reese)

  The Rocker Who Holds Me

  The Rocker Who Savors Me

  The Rocker Who Needs Me

  The Rocker Who Loves Me

  The Rocker Who Holds Her

  The Rockers’ Babies

  Angel’s Halo

  Angel’s Halo Entangled

  Angel’s Halo Guardian Angel

  The Rocker Who Wants Me

  The Rocker Who Cherishes Me

  The Rocker Who Shatters Me

  The Rocker Who Hates Me

  Angel’s Halo Reclaimed

  The Rocker Who Betrays Me

  Defying Her Mafioso

  His Mafioso Princess

  Angel’s Halo Atonement

  Angel’s Halo Fallen Angel

  Marrying Her Mafioso

  Angel’s Halo Avenged

  Her Mafioso King

  Angel’s Halo Forever Angel

  Forever Rockers

  Needing Forever Vol 1

  Catching Lucy

  Craving Lucy

  Rocking Kin

  Un-Shattering Lucy

  Needing the Memories

  Tainted Kiss

  Tainted Butterfly

  Forever Lucy

  Tainted Bastard

  Tainted Heartbreak

  Tainted Forever

  Needing Forever Vol 2

  Salvation

  Holding Mia

  Needing Nevaeh

  Off-Limits

  Sweet Agony

  Savoring Mila

  Surviving His Scars

  Loving Violet

  Wanting Shaw

  Needing Arella

  Sacrificed: Sofia

  Sacred Vow

  Her Shelter

  Cherishing Doe

  Heartless Savage

  Sacrificed: Cali

  Cruel Surrender

  Sacrificed: Zariah

  Hating Piper

  Playlist

  “Psycho Crazy” by Halestorm

  “Explosions” by Three Days Grace

  “Waiting on the Sun” by Citizen Soldier

  “Devil Doesn’t Bargain” by Alec Benjamin

  “The Steeple” by Halestorm

  “A Scar is Born” by Three Days Grace

  “Hope It Haunts You” by Citizen Soldier

  “Can Anyone Hear Me Now” by Anthony Mossburg

  “Only Love Can Hurt Like This” by Paloma Faith

  “Hold My Hand” by Lady Gaga

  “Worth the Fight” by No Resolve

  “Good Without” by Mimi Webb

  “Terrible Things” by Halestorm

  “Always Been You” by Jessie Murph

  “Save Your Story” by Citizen Soldier

  “Wrapped Around Your Finger” by Post Malone

  “My Drug” by Anthony Mossburg

  Trigger Warning

  SOME CONTENTS IN THIS BOOK MAY BE TRIGGERING TO SOME READERS.

  Please proceed with caution if you are easily triggered by assault of any nature.

  To avoid triggers, you should avoid the Prologue, as well as Chapters 9-11.

  Wait!

  Have you read Heartless Savage yet?

  If not, either pause and read it now—or risk serious spoilers.

  If you have, then Happy Reading!

  Hugs,

  TAB

  Prologue

  CALI

  Using a headband to keep my long, dark hair back from my face, I stared into my mirror. The LED lights surrounding the rectangular glass showed me a sight I was expecting, but I still hated. The bruise along the left side of my jaw would take some extra contouring to disguise, but I’d become a pro at hiding the proof of what a nightmare my home had turned into.

  My gaze flickered to my camera that was positioned to record my makeup tutorials, but I would have to wait until I’d covered the bruise before I could hit record. If I didn’t hide the evidence of Manuel’s latest beating and it got back to my stepfather, the next time my stepbrother got his hands on me would most likely be the last.

  Covering up the injury hurt and was especially hard when I had a little swelling. But it wasn’t the first time I’d had to hide the hate that was inflicted upon me. The beatings had been coming more frequently, each one more brutal than the last. I’d made the mistake of trying to ask for help from Matias, my beloved stepfather, once and quickly learned my lesson.

  My stepfather had slapped Manuel in front of all their men when I confessed that my stepbrother had used me as a human punching bag one night. Matias had left for the States on business directly after, thinking that would be the end of it. He was gone for two weeks.

  Just enough time for me to be able to walk upright again when he returned.

  The house I’d grown up in since my mother married Matias when I was five had slowly become my prison over the years. It had been a gradual process, starting with just slaps when my mom first got sick and Matias was always away with her at the hospital. Then she died, and Matias started hiding his pain at the loss of his wife in work. The slaps had turned into punches, and those punches had become full-on beatings in the past year.

  That was why I’d started the makeup tutorial videos on social media. At first, it was just in hopes of getting a sponsor
or two that would pay me to use their products. But I’d gotten lucky by gaining over two million followers within a few short months. I had nearly a dozen sponsors and my own money coming in.

  Money I planned on using to get as far away from the Ramirez family as soon as I had enough saved to rent an apartment in the States.

  I would miss Matias, but missing him didn’t outweigh the survival instinct screaming at me that I needed to get far away from this place—fast.

  The eye makeup recording I did after my foundation was in place didn’t even need editing, so I posted it before reading through some of the comments on the video I’d posted the day before. I didn’t just do videos of getting ready in the morning. I liked to play around, turn my face into that of one of the celebrities I admired. My love of art had come in handy, and the majority of my following had been accumulated because of my ability to transform myself into nearly anyone.

  There were over three thousand comments on the video from the day before, which would make my sponsors happy. It would have made me smile if my jaw weren’t hurting so badly, despite the anti-inflammatory pain medication I’d taken when I’d first gotten out of bed that morning.

  After flipping through the comments, liking a few as I went, my attention was snagged by the picture of one of the commenters. Hot guys left me messages on my posts and in my DMs all the time, but I’d learned to ignore them for the most part. For one, many of them were a good twenty years older than I was. For another, they usually just wanted me to sext them and send them nudes.

  Typically, I just scrolled on by the guys in the feed, but for some reason, my finger lingered on his picture before clicking on it so I could have a better look. Blond hair cut short and styled in that slightly unkempt way that most guys favored. His green eyes glared into the camera. I traced my index fingernail over his strong jaw and his naturally pouty bottom lip. I had no way of telling how tall he was, but I found myself imagining him towering over my five-four.

  My heart gave a little flutter, and I let myself fantasize that this guy, this Garret Hannigan—if that was his real name—would storm the gates surrounding the Ramirez mansion and sweep me up into his arms. That he would take me away from the nightmare of this dreadful place. He would protect me from Manuel.

  I would be safe.

  Maybe even loved?

  Then my finger accidentally exited out of the blown-up version of his profile picture, and I saw what he’d posted.

  The fantasy I’d been building in my head only moments before turned to smoke, and I felt bile rise into my throat as I read the vile things he was going to do to me. Inhaling slowly, I read the long comment, taking all of it in.

  Garret Hannigan had a reason to hate my stepfamily, if he was to be believed. Matias had sent someone to kill his little sister, a girl who was important to the Vitucci crime family. That name was very familiar to me. I’d heard it many times. When a member of the family would come to Bogotá for business, I would have to stay in my room the entire time they were visiting, but Manuel often ranted about them.

  Mostly about Ryan Vitucci.

  My stepbrother particularly hated Ryan, whom I’d seen pictures of online. It was no wonder Manuel disliked him so much. With just a glance at the young Italian American, it was easy to tell that Ryan was everything Manuel wished he could be. Smart, incredibly handsome, and, above all else, competent.

  Manuel was an idiot. He was Matias’s heir, but my stepfather was already in despair of leaving his life’s work to his son. Everything he’d worked so hard for would be gone before the dirt even settled on his grave if Manuel was left the Ramirez businesses and fortune once Matias died.

  Feeling sick, I started to close my social media app when a notification for a DM popped up. Needing something to take my mind off what I’d just read—even if it was a dick pic from some random guy—I clicked on the message icon.

  Nova: After seeing the comment my idiot, disgusting brother left you, I attempted to beat some sense into him for you and the greater good of the female population. If it doesn’t work, I’ll continue to do so until he pulls his head out of his ass.

  For some reason, despite the pain in my jaw, I found myself smiling.

  Me: Don’t worry about it. I get crap like that from guys all the time. I’m not scared of some punk in another country who thinks he can get to my stepdad through me. I have other things to worry about than what some nobody like your brother fantasizes about doing to me. He’s just pissed he doesn’t stand a chance with me.

  After I hit send, I closed the app and stood, trying to forget the feeling I’d first experienced when I saw Garret’s picture. The sickness swirling around in my stomach continued to linger, but not as strongly after Nova’s message.

  Neither of the Hannigan siblings was what I should have been worried about. Not when I opened my bedroom door and found a seething Manuel standing there.

  I opened my mouth to scream when he stepped menacingly over the threshold into my bedroom. But the scream didn’t have time to leave my throat as he pounced on me.

  The smell of his breath hit me in the face as he grabbed me by the back of the head. His fingers twisted and pulled, ripping strands free as he jerked me around by the hold he had on my hair and dragged me from my room.

  “Manuel, let go!” I cried, gripping his wrist in an effort to at least ease the pain of his hold, if not get him to release me. “Please. What did I do? Why are you so angry?”

  “Shut the fuck up, you little whore,” he snarled as he shook my head from side to side while he marched me down the hall to his own bedroom. “Vitucci’s little asshole thinks he can run his mouth? Well, I’ll give him exactly what he wants.”

  I gulped, my gaze racing around the entire room in fear. I’d never been in there before. It was a mess. Empty bottles of beer and liquor littered the floor and the bedside tables. The bed itself was unmade, the sheets looking as if they hadn’t been changed in weeks. He refused to allow Maria or any of the maids inside while he was home, so they had to wait until he left the mansion for more than a day to clean.

  On the desk near the window was a small pile of a white substance with several lines already measured out. I shuddered, not daring to look at my stepbrother’s eyes to see how blown his pupils were. Not only was he drunk, but he was high. That was never a good combination.

  And with Matias not home, I knew this was going to be bad.

  Manuel pushed me forward until I was standing at the end of his bed. Then he tightened his fingers in my hair and shoved me forward, tearing my scalp open as I fell facedown on his bed.

  I cried out in pain and fear, praying someone would come to help me, but I already knew they wouldn’t. No one ever did. There was no one who cared enough, and even if they did, they would only end up worse off than I was.

  Breathing hard, Manuel grabbed one of my arms and pulled me up the bed then flipped me over so I was on my back. He cuffed my wrist to the headboard. I whimpered at how tight the shackles were, but while I was distracted by the pain, he moved down the bed and strapped something around my ankle.

  By the time he had all four of my limbs tied down, he was sweating because I’d tried to fight him. Picking up a pair of huge shears, he stood at the foot of the bed and laughed maniacally down at me.

  “Now, the real fun begins,” he said with an evil grin.

  Cali

  Picking up the tray loaded with a pitcher of beer and two baskets of wings, I was about to turn to walk away from the bartender when someone called my name.

  “Hey, Lis.”

  I shifted my head to find the girl who worked the section beside my own standing a few feet away, leaning her forearms on top of the bar. She was popping gum, with her shorts, like my own that were more like a thong, climbing up her crack and showcasing her ass cheeks. The tops we wore were barely any better. Mine at least covered the majority of my boobs, but she was taller and more well-endowed than me, leaving the undersides of her tits on display as well as
her cleavage. I wore a bra, but my coworker didn’t see the need.

  Since she got about twice as much in tips as I did, I could understand why she went without the bra, but I had reasons for keeping my bra on that had nothing to do with the embarrassment of a possible nip slip.

  “Yeah?” I asked, a little annoyed that she was stopping me from doing my job. Time was money as a waitress. It affected my tips if I took too long to get back to my customers. I wasn’t there to make friends, so I didn’t chitchat with anyone who worked there. Not even my roommate, who was currently on the main stage dancing.

  Kim and I weren’t close. She’d gotten me the job waiting tables at Cherry Bomb Gentlemen’s Club, but that was only because it would help me cover half of our bills. When we were at work, she pretended not to know me. We even left separately each night. Normally because Kim went out with some of the other dancers once their shift was over, and I went home to shower and fall into a coma-like sleep until it was time to get up for work again.

  The other waitress popped another bubble, taking her time answering. “Just thought I’d warn you that tall, blond, and grumpy is back in your section.”

  Goose bumps instantly popped up along my entire body, but I mentally shook myself and shrugged like it didn’t matter to me before continuing on my way. I kept my gaze on the table where the beer and wings belonged, a flirty smile on my face as I walked in my sky-high heels and swayed my hips with each step, something I’d learned early on got me better tips.