2020ok  Directory of FREE Online Books and FREE eBooks

Free eBooks > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Theology > General > Brotherly love

Brotherly love

by Mary Martha


Download Book
(Respecting the intellectual property of others is utmost important to us, we make every effort to make sure we only link to legitimate sites, such as those sites owned by authors and publishers. If you have any questions about these links, please contact us.)


link 1



About Book

Book Description
Filled with explosive action, sizzling romance, and real-life police drama, Brotherly Love will entrance readers with the memorable love triangle of two brothers and one woman.

Mason McKenzie, an undercover police detective, is so dedicated to his job and protecting the citizens of Atlanta that he has practically abandoned his family. Unbeknownst to him, his wife, Cherise, and younger brother, Vincent, have ignited a passionate love affair. Overcome with guilt, the pair ends the relationship even though they still possess an undeniable attraction to one another.

Years later, as Mason decides he's ready for a career change, he's asked to participate in a huge drug case. He concludes that one last job won't hurt, and it might allow him to leave at the top of his game. Besides, Mason realizes that if things get too tough and he has to be away for too long, he can always count on his brother to step in and take care of his family while he's undercover. What Mason doesn't realize is that putting Vincent and Cherise back together again could be as dangerous as his assignment -- and tear his family apart once and for all.

Author Darrien Lee takes readers on a roller coaster of emotions as lives, a marriage, and family ties are at stake. Brotherly Love is a book that readers will contemplate long after turning the last page.



Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter One

Mason drove to his office in downtown Atlanta, eager to find out the details of his new assignment. He had finally gotten burnt out of undercover work and was tired of being away from his family. That was why he was determined to make this his last assignment and do something less risky.

As he sat behind the wheel of his car, he reminisced about the times when he went undercover. In the past he had his brother, Vincent, by his side to help take care of his family when he was unavailable. Like him, Vincent had moved up the ranks in law enforcement, but he wanted to go much higher than Mason did. Mason was always appreciative that Vincent never made him feel inferior once he climbed the ladder of success, and it was Vincent who made sure Cherise and Mase were safe while he was away. He cut the grass and did other things around the house when Mason was undercover. Mason missed his brother, who was now a police chief in Texas. After his promotion, Vincent moved away and Cherise hadn't seen him in nearly nine years. However, Mason did find time to visit Vincent when he could, which was rare because of the job's demands.

Vincent's job was the kind that left him little time for himself. They sent e-mails to each other, but those notes lacked the closeness they were accustomed to sharing. Mason still wanted to go on the hunting trip they talked about but never got around to taking. Maybe once this assignment was over, they would make time to come back together as a family. Mason was jarred out of his trance when a car horn blew behind him. He vowed when this assignment was over he was going to take Cherise and the kids to see the Grand Canyon and swing through Texas to visit Vincent. He wanted to put his relationship with Vincent back to where it needed to be, because the children needed to know their uncle. Mase was a lot younger when Vincent moved away, and Janelle wasn't even born. Mason smiled because his mind was made up about visiting Vincent. A good friend is something no one should be without, and he was determined to have his friend and brother back by his side once again.

Mason finally arrived at work and parked his vehicle in the garage. He exited the car and greeted several coworkers as they walked into the building together. Once in the office, he set his belongings down on the desk and picked up his messages. The room was full of activity. Some of the guys in his unit were on the telephone taking tips on suspected drug and other illegal activities. Mason looked over and noticed that no one had made coffee. He put his messages down and took off his jacket.

"I guess you guys expect me to make coffee every damn morning."

"No one makes it like you, Mason," a coworker nicknamed Tank because of his build, announced.

Mason picked up the coffeepots and frowned as he watched Tank stuff a doughnut in his mouth. If you didn't get there when the pastries arrived, you took a chance on not getting any once Tank got to them. Tank was a former NFL linebacker and had been in the unit for seven years. He stood about six feet, six inches tall and weighed close to two hundred-eighty pounds. His size gave a lot of criminals the perception that he wouldn't be able to catch them. They learned real quick that Tank was fast on his feet.

"I'm going to collect money from you guys so we can get a couple of those coffeemakers that you can set on a timer, because I'm not the goddamn maid around here."

"Why are you in such a bad mood this morning?" Rat, nicknamed for his love of cheese, asked as he leaned back in his chair.

"I'm cool, but you guys are trifling when it comes to pitching in around here," Mason mumbled as he filled the coffeepots with water.

Rat walked over to Mason so they could talk in private.

"Is everything okay? I mean, we haven't even started the case and you're already grouchy."

Mason poured the water into the reservoir of the coffeemakers and opened two bags of coffee. He looked over at Rat and sighed. "Nah, man, everything's straight."

Rat picked up a doughnut and bit into it as he watched Mason pour the coffee into the filters. "I hope so, because from what I've heard, this assignment is going to be a mother," Rat commented.

Mason pushed the button and watched as the hot coffee streamed down into the coffee pots. He folded his arms and directed his attention to Rat. "How so?"

"I heard we're going after some heavyweights this time, but that's all I know," Rat said as he picked up another doughnut.

Mason looked across the room and watched as his unit prepared for their upcoming meeting. Some were on the computer pulling up criminal profiles, while others were mapping out the perpetrators' territory. Seconds later, his commanding officer, nicknamed Domino, called him and the other members of his unit into the conference room so they could go over the details of their assignment. Mason had been a part of the Anti-Crime Unit Task Force for several years, and he enjoyed bringing down the bad guys. He knew in his heart this assignment would be no different, and he was ready to get it over with so he could concentrate on his family.

Cherise walked through the house to make sure everything was locked up before her cab arrived. She glanced at Janelle's calendar on the refrigerator to see when her next social event was scheduled. Eight-year-old Janelle was a serious social butterfly. Cherise had to keep a separate calendar for all the birthday parties, baseball games, slumber parties, etc. that she was involved in. Somewhat of a tomboy, Janelle was always challenging her brother to wrestling matches and other physical activities. And though she had her mother's looks and personality, she also loved wearing her thick, wavy brown hair in a ponytail, mostly because it fit perfectly under her baseball cap that she wore daily. She was a daddy's girl and sought every opportunity to talk to him about improving her baseball skills. She was already on the All-Star team and recently started talking to Mason about playing basketball. Cherise wanted her to do more girlie things, but she didn't try to hold her daughter back from doing what she really enjoyed, which was sports.

Cherise smiled when she saw Mase's picture on the refrigerator. Mason Jr., an aspiring basketball player, was turning fourteen next month. He was already nearly as tall as his dad, standing around six feet, one inch. Everyone called him Mase, and he was quiet and very protective of the women in the family. He looked like his father with the exception of his thick eyelashes, which he had inherited from Cherise. Mase had already filled out in all the right places, especially since he had started lifting weights. His physique gave him the appearance of a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old, which was beginning to attract older girls. Cherise was having a hard time keeping the older girls at arm's length from her young son. She knew that sooner or later she would lose the battle. She'd already gotten Mason to talk to their son about girls and sex because they weren't ready to risk becoming grandparents. Mason happily took him on a relaxing fishing trip to break it down to him. Most of what Mason told him, Mase already knew; however, this gave Mase the opportunity to ask his father questions he knew he wouldn't get a straight answer on from his friends.

Reminiscing about her family made Cherise lose track of time briefly. She took one last sip of her coffee before rinsing her cup out in the sink. As she did so, she couldn't help but worry about Mason and the dangerous job he had. She was trying not to let it get the best of her, but she could feel her stomach quiver. When she first met Mason, she wasn't sure what she was getting herself into by dating a police officer. It didn't take long for her to find out, but by then, she was madly in love with him. Standing at the sink, looking out over their backyard, Cherise remembered it like it was yesterday.

She was coming out of a boutique when Mason ran right into her, knocking her down on the sidewalk. He and another man were chasing someone who had just committed a crime. When Mason realized he had hurt someone, he immediately stopped but told the other man to keep going after the suspect while he attended to her. After helping her up from the sidewalk, he noticed blood running down the side of her head, staining her pink silk blouse; she had deep scrapes on her arms and legs. He quickly took out his handkerchief and applied it to her head wound.

"I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"

"I'm not sure," she answered, clearly dazed.

He spotted a bench in front of the store she had just exited and helped her over to it. People were starting to stare as they walked by, and the manager of the store rushed out to assist him. "Do I need to call the paramedics?" she asked.

Mason removed his handkerchief to inspect her wound and frowned. "No, ma'am, I don't think she needs the paramedics, but if you have a first-aid kit, that would help."

The young woman thought for a minute. "I think we do. I'll be right back," she said.

Within moments she returned and assisted Mason with the gauze and tape. Cherise was getting embarrassed with all of the attention. Onlookers continued to hang around to watch what was going on. Mason picked up on the fact that she was uncomfortable and he turned to the crowd and flashed his badge.

"There's nothing here to see, folks, so move along. We have everything under control."

Cherise looked up at his handsome face as he took control of the situation. "Thank you," she whispered.

"You're welcome. I can't have them putting us on the evening news." He joked to try to keep Cherise calm. The wound was still bleeding, and Mason realized he had injured her worse than he thought.

"You're bleeding. Let me get you to a hospital."

She looked at the handkerchief and examined the small amount of blood on it. "It's not that much blood. I'll be fine."

"No, it's bleeding through the bandages. It looks like you're going to need a few st...

Comments

SEND A COMMENT

PLEASE READ: All comments must be approved before appearing in the thread; time and space constraints prevent all comments from appearing. We will only approve comments that are directly related to the article, use appropriate language and are not attacking the comments of others.

Message (please, no HTML tags. Web addresses will be hyperlinked):

Related Free eBooks

Related Tags

DIGG This story   Save To Google   Save To Windows Live   Save To Del.icio.us   diigo it   Save To blinklist
Save To Furl   Save To Yahoo! My Web 2.0   Save To Blogmarks   Save To Shadows   Save To stumbleupon   Save To Reddit