▪▪▪▪Francis Patrick “FOCUS” Flanagan Sgt. at Arms for the Royal Bastards NYC/Rotten Apple Chapter▪▪▪▪ I knew immediately Nixx’s tough girl game was an act—New Yorker with a rough edge and a decent size chip on her shoulder—I wasn’t buyin’ that mess at all. She has the eyes of a damn angel and lips that’d make the most religious man wanna lay down with Satan himself. She’d make the Bastards a lot of money. I’d make sure of that. Rattler thought he’d be the one to pull her in, but she was used to guys like him. She hadn’t been around one like me. My mama always said, “You get more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.” I’d be the honey until Nixx was grindin’ on and openin’ all those flies. Boy, did that girl shock the hell outta me. It was like takin’ candy from a baby. Until, she started to like her job too much. I told her she’d be a waitress. I swear on my mama it wasn’t a lie. She did waitress. Then she stripped, escorted, did webcams. Then I took her to L.A. to see what she was made of. That’s when I couldn’t take it anymore. She pushed my buttons too many times—smilin’ and teasin’ while she was with all them other dudes. I wasn’t supposed to fall for any of those girls. Turn ‘em out, keep ‘em high, and make ‘em work those little honey pots until they couldn’t stand—that was my job. Nixx’ s pot never broke or ran dry. For some reason it bugged the ever livin’ piss outta me. Ya know, Eve took the world down by makin’ Adam eat an apple. Either Nixx was the shiniest apple of the bunch or the most rotten apple of ‘em all. ▪▪▪▪Nicolette Barrett/Nixx Barrit▪▪▪▪ I’m Nixx Barrit—it should be Ni-XXX with three fat ‘X’s considering I’m a fancy hooker. Ya know—an escort. Whatever you wanna call it, I do what I do for the all mighty dollar. Cash is king and it all hits the palms of the most royal, rotten hands in the Big Apple. It started when FOCUS and Rattler walked into a diner where I worked. Next thing I knew I was a waitress in their place, The Mounds Bar, at least that’s what the Bastards said I’d be. What a joke! It took about a month, until I was crawlin' around on the middle of the stage. The girls tried to feed me meth and liquor but the biggest drug of all was FOCUS. If you piled all of them on a table they wouldn't compare to the high I got bein' around that psycho Irishman.

Model: Viking Will Newton Photographer: James Critchley Cover designer: Lou Gray/Gray Creations \\DISCLAIMER\\ Crucifix is nothing like FOCUS from Rotten Apple—they are night and day different. This is a romance, albeit a gritty and emotional one. \\There is unfiltered language, uncensored adult situations, and justifiable violence. Although this book is about a nun and would be priest it isn't about bashing the Catholic religion. It does delve into a specific group of Catholics doing very bad things. They knew the kid who would’ve become Father Giovanni. It was time for them to meet Crucifix—the man who would make them confess before administering Last Rites. Holy Mary, Mother of God—even you can’t hear their prayers. They’re damned. We were raised in the orphanage together until they tossed me out on the streets. By then, it was too late to give back the innocence I took from her. It was alotta years later, but somehow she found me. That’s when I became her dirty secret—the president of a 1% club and the nun—hidin’ out away from the eyes of the church. Since that day on the street Gingersnap just keeps comin’ to confess her sins and kneel at my boots, and I’m more than happy to dish out the penance she feels she needs. From the start it’s been unholy communion with us. I was gonna be a priest, and she grew up to become Sister Fiona. We both know it’ll keep happenin’ like it has since we were teenagers. It kicks my heart all over NYC and back, but I keep waitin’ for her to feel sinful enough to show up at my door—she always does. Until the night I sent her away. Until the night I thought she was gonna die because of what I’d taken from her. I guess I’ve been a ba$tard since the day I was born. Now, I’m royalty and the only one who will save her. The only Ba$tard who loves her.

Note from the author: Please be aware that this book contains emotional scenes that are intense and what some might call dark. The themes and H are also dark. He has a very intense and predatorial past that he's grown from. Keep both ends of that spectrum in mind when deciding to read. There is a triad who live the B D S M life 24/7. There is unfiltered adult content, language, and situations. This character's HEA has been begged for and my monster is finally getting it. The first feelings he'll have since childhood are fear, rage, and love. They call me The Bishop. My slaves call me Your Excellency. The Royal Bastards and Malevolent MC call me when they need something taken care of that no one else can or will do. I’m the brother who is always there and asks nothing in return. I'm a psychological sadist with a master's degree who takes care of what I trained specifically for me—Calico and her beautiful submissive mind. Together with Sage, we are her Masters. I am always in control—the alpha. She married him, but I'm the one she's addicted to. It’s been easy. I have no emotions, but she voiced hers. Ever since I haven't been myself. I feel physically ill. When she is threatened it causes a reaction I've never felt before. I call it a sickness. Kash says it's love. I don't buy into that, but I know for sure the threat will be neutralized. No one hurts my Pet and survives. I wear Malevolent MC colors, but I’m basically a Royal Ba\*tard too—Royally Malevolent. The only family I’ve ever considered since the Marines are the men in those two clubs. When someone is foolish enough to come after me and mine, they take it as personally as if I was blood. I'll deal with the sickness when I'm done.