Hi everyone! Thanks for being here!
AND WE'RE BACK! Welcome to the first "novella" aka side-story in the Queens of Chicago series. This plot does not correlate super heavily with the plot of the main stories, but only adds to it. Hence why I'm calling them novellas/side-stories. Therefore, if you're new here - you do not have to the read the previous books to understand what is going on! Although, you may get more out of it if you do :)
I use the term "novella" loosely here because (surprise!) this story ended up being almost 90,000 words... which is technically outside the realm of novella. What can I say? I can't help myself.
I really loved Martina Marino when she popped up in Mira's story and beyond. I knew she had a voice that would be interesting to write. Her and Parker Fallon were sort of a loose formation of a "crackship" for me. I was like..."how random would it be if I put those two together?"
And alas...their story was made.
Martina aka Marty is a good girl who always does what she's told because she doesn't want to cause any waves. However, she's extremely intelligent and as she gains some independence from her overbearing mafia family, she realizes that maybe she isn't such a good girl after all...
Parker Fallon, THIS SIMP. He started off as such a jerk. Anyone who has read Caitlin's story (The Warrior's Gamble) knows. I wondered what it might be like to give him a bit of redemption and maybe we learn that he's not such a jerk after all. Then I ended up loving him as much as all the others!
I'm very excited for you to read this! Thank you for being here and following along with wild, weaving journey that I can't seem to let go of or say goodbye to ;)
As discussed, I have two more novellas aka side-stories planned before I start the second gen series.
If you've been reading the series, I just want to say a big THANK YOU. I mostly write these for fun as an outlet after the stressful 9-5 of my normal days LOL. I never expected others to even read these, so thank you x100000000.
If you're new, WELCOME! I'll list the original five stories below if you're interested in reading those first. Again, not totally necessary though!
Book 1 - The King's Arrangement - Ronan and Mira's story
Book 2 - The Warrior's Gamble - Tristan and Caitlin's story
Book 3 - The Knight's Peace - Sean and Iris's story
Book 4 - The Heart's Match - Nessa and Damien's story
Book 5 - The Shield's Fate - Cal and Viv's story
If you like this series, I'd also suggest reading the Queens of Boston series, starting with The Murphy Rose.
As always, I am open to ideas and suggestions. Your comments give me LIFE.
Again, this book has never seen anyone else's eyes so there may be some oopsies here and there. I also once again only used Google Translate for any translations, so please forgive me if I butchered something.
The timeline of this story spans over 3 years time, starting when Martina goes away to school. I do my best to mark where we are at in time, but if you find it confusing, let me know! Also, if you've read the other books, you'll see some familiar scenes.
I've divided into 3 parts because there are some points where it almost felt like 3 different books/stories, so that's new for my writing if you've been here before! just fyi!
TW: This story does contain explicit sexual content, extreme violence, drinking, trauma, and heavy language. Please note this story is for mature audiences only! Take care of yourself first and foremost.
I've included some images for inspo behind the characters below. (I do not own any of these images!)
Enjoy, friends! :)