Sympathy For Diablo (Breathless Eternity #1) Read online

  Sympathy For Diablo

  Breathless Eternity Series #1

  Copyright © 2015 SE Chardou and Selene Chardou

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN:

  Cover Artist: LJ Anderson (Mayhem Cover Creations)

  Formatted by: Shore Thang Formatting

  Publisher: Midnight Engel Press, LLC

  License Notes:

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Publisher’s Note:

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without express written permission from the publisher. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, resold (as a “used” e-book), stored or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  This book is a work of fiction. People, places, events, and situations are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or historical events, is purely coincidental. All products mentioned are not an endorsement from the Corporations owned said product and are meant only to enhance novel realization. They are not an endorsement from the author either.

  Synopsis

  A dream vacation in the City of Love.

  A highly anticipated concert by Breathless Eternity, one of the biggest and hottest rock bands in the world.

  Backstage passes and a chance for three friends to meet the drop dead Adrien "Diablo" Bissette, the sexy lead singer.

  A sexy rendezvous that leads to unspeakable passion and feelings neither might be able to acknowledge.

  A forced abduction.

  Trapped by a crazed and power-hungry individual bent on revenge. When a coveted wish and an unexpected nightmare collide, there is nothing that can be done to save Sierra Carter.

  Not when no one—not even her two best friends—realize she's missing in the first place.

  WARNING: This is a stand-alone psychological thriller with dark romance, suspense and mystery aspects. Violence, explicit language and adult situations are present throughout the story. This novel is not recommended for adults who have trigger issues regarding abduction, rough play, or can't separate fantasy from reality.

  Published Novels by SE Chardou

  The Breathless Eternity Series (Dark Romance/Psychological Thriller)

  Sympathy For Diablo

  The Ties That Bond Trilogy (Contemporary Romance / Dark Romance / BDSM)

  Killing Time

  Killing Inhibitions

  Killing Me Softly

  Trophy, A Serial Trilogy (Dark Romance/Psychological Thriller)

  Part 1

  Part 2

  Part 3 (January, 2016)

  Dance With The Devil Trilogy (Romantic Suspense/Contemporary Romance)

  Devil’s Prey

  Devil’s Pawn

  Devil’s Play (Winter, 2016)

  Companion Rough Riders MC Novels

  The Assassin (New Adult/Contemporary Romance/Romantic Suspense)

  Published Novels by Selene Chardou

  The Rough Riders MC Series (Romantic Suspense/Contemporary Romance)

  Ride to Temptation (Cillian & Gisela)

  Ride to Chaos (Trey & Kyra)

  Ride to Vengeance (Ronan & Naomi)

  Ride to Love (Winter, 2016)

  The Lovers Duet (New Adult/Romantic Mystery & Suspense/Contemporary Romance)

  Out From Under

  In Too Deep

  Above The Fray (Spring, 2016)

  Scarlet Fever Series (New Adult/Contemporary Romance/Women’s Literature)

  Rock My Heart

  The Will to Love

  One More Night Trilogy (New Adult/Contemporary Romance/Women’s Literature)

  Falling Into Lust

  Falling Into Us

  Falling Into Love

  Love Unexpected Series (Romantic Suspense/Contemporary Romance)

  Love TKO (Torin Duffy’s story)

  Seasons of Love & Lust Series (Published by Limitless Publishing)

  A Summer to Remember

  The Covet Duet (New Adult/Contemporary Romance/Women’s Literature)

  Covet

  DC Affairs (New Adult/Contemporary Romance/Politics)

  Book 1

  Novels by Blanche Hardin

  Break Her Trilogy (Dark Romance/Psychological Suspense)

  Resist

  Predator Trilogy (Dark Romance/Psychological Suspense/Multicultural)

  Predator’s Captive (Winter, 2016)

  Novels & Novellas by Elle Chardou

  Undertow Series (Contemporary Romance / Contemporary Women / New Adult)

  Undertow

  The Atonement Duet (Contemporary Romance / Contemporary Women)

  Atonement, A Novel

  Only Love

  The Vamp Saga (Paranormal Romance / Urban Fantasy)

  Immortal Lair: A Novella (A Prequel to Mortal Death)

  The Hart Family Saga (Paranormal Romance / Urban Fantasy)

  Hart Attack

  Superstar Marriages Novella Series (Contemporary Romance)

  Lara & the City of Angels

  The Supernaturals Novella Series (Paranormal Romance / Urban Fantasy)

  Darkness Rising

  The Dawn of Darkness

  Darkness Awakened

  The Cloak of Darkness

  The Theft of Darkness

  The Plague (Dystopian Romance / Horror)

  Beginnings: Book I

  Synopsis

  Novels By the Author

  Contents

  Dedication

  Playlist

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Epilogue

  About The Author

  Contact The Author

  To all my Ride or Die readers and fans. Sorry to make you wait so long but you know that old saying about not rushing perfection. This also goes out to my friends who have stuck by me through thick and thin, and everyone who has ever supported me. Thank you!

  Also a shout out to France, where this book predominantly takes place. I miss you all over there and will visit soon!

  #NotAfraid

  #Can’tWaitToGetThereAndStuffMyFace

  “Chains” – Nick Jonas (feat. Jhene Aiko)

  “Wicked Games” – The Weeknd

  “Powerful” – Major Lazer (feat. Ellie Goulding & Tarrus Riley)

  “Hypnotic” �
�� Zella Day

  “The Feeling” – Justin Bieber (feat. Halsey)

  “The Diary of Jane” – Breaking Benjamin

  “Lydia” – Highly Suspect

  “Lost and Alone” – From Ashes To New

  “One For The Road” – Arctic Monkeys

  “Prisoner” – The Weeknd (feat. Lana Del Rey)

  “Control” – Halsey

  “Art Deco” - Lana Del Rey

  “Angel” – The Weeknd

  “Doomed” – Bring Me The Horizon

  “Gravity” – Papa Roach (feat. Maria Brink)

  “Angels Fall” – Breaking Benjamin

  “Burn” – In This Moment

  “Paralyzed” – Failure Anthem

  “Through It All” – From Ashes To New

  “Follow You” – Bring Me The Horizon

  “High” – Zella Day

  “Don’t Need Nobody” – Ellie Goulding

  Listen to Sympathy For Diablo Playlist on Spotify!

  EVERYTHING IN LIFE worth fighting for never comes easy.

  I don’t know who coined that particular phrase but I know that I haven’t been the only one to think of it.

  Or feel it in my bones, under my skin, in my heart, and part my soul.

  That’s how it was for me.

  My tale is not easily told or for the faint of heart but I would never regret what happened between us.

  Diablo and I.

  We were made for each other.

  This is our twisted tale but dreams and nightmares can sometimes forge into the same path and bring the most exhilarating experiences of our lives.

  I wouldn’t change a damn thing about our journey—nothing—for surely what doesn’t kill us will always make us stronger.

  I INTENSELY STUDIED her photos as I sat in a barbershop-style chair waiting for my girl, Josephine—Josie for short—to finish with my hair.

  Although I’d never considered myself a vain man, it was a position I now found myself to be in.

  Cold, ruthless, unforgiving, relentless, cruel, and extremely possessive along with a high dose of passion with enough petrol to fuel a jet plane—yes.

  Vain? Absolutely not.

  However, now that I was a rock star, and the lead singer of the wildly successful band, Breathless Eternity, vanity—unfortunately—became a part of the equation and my personality.

  It wasn’t unheard of for European bands to make it, hell Rammstein had done it, and they only sang in an ugly language, also known as German. However, even though I could coin the most beautiful phrases in French—my native tongue—I preferred the bluntness and ambiguity English provided.

  My success was fought for and hard-won, thanks in part to my manager brother, Damien Bissette, who was as eager to see the band become a success as me, and the rest of the other members were. It was hard fucking work but in the end, it paid off when we heard our first single, “Breathe With Me,” on Octane, a popular satellite hard rock radio station.

  Then, it seemed like everything began to fall into place as we made it to KROQ in L.A., KOMP in Las Vegas, and every other major rock station across the States from Dallas/Fort Worth Area, Houston, Chicago, Miami, Orlando, Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City and every metropolitan area in New Jersey.

  From the U.S. to providences all over Canada that played hard rock music, our song could be heard. Of course the accolades didn’t stop there.

  The ultimate pinnacle of success was when we made the pop stations—though we did fear a Nickelback type of backlash from our core audience that never transpired—and “Breathe With Me” was featured on two of the most hottest stations in the States: Z100 along with KIIS. It was a trickle effect because then the most popular stations in the UK—including Capital FM—began to play our song. When the band and I heard our song on France’s Virgin Radio, we knew we’d made it.

  The life of a rock star can seem extremely exciting but as the lead singer, I found it a lot less exhilarating than my fellow band mates. For me, it was a loss of privacy; and lots of questions about my past I didn’t want to share with anyone.

  It was hard to come from being the son of an outlaw biker President and his old lady to becoming an international rock star. For as long as I could remember, my father was Prez of the first French chapter of Sons of Demons MC—or motorcycle club for uninitiated. Though they were a support club for both the Lucifer’s Saints, and the Nomads of Satan, our mother chapter gave my father complete control over how he ran his club.

  It wasn’t a horrible way to grow up. My father wasn’t the type to cheat on his old lady—my mother—and he didn’t believe in getting into anything illegal . . . at least not on a regular basis. Most of his money was made off a porn company he owned, and strip clubs he owned across France. He made smut videos for a living, but my mother preferred stripping to being immortalized in adult films. Dad usually stayed away from drugs or anything that would get him in trouble with les flics—also known as the cops to most people.

  I had a good life.

  An older brother who looked after me, and the support of a club that would do anything to protect me but they all knew I had no interest in living that kind of life. The kind of battles they fought against the French establishment didn’t interest me in the least bit. I was always attracted to music and the poetry of it. I’d been fascinated since I was a young boy.

  My father understood and when my older brother, Damien, was accepted in HEC Paris despite his questionable background, he’d let him go.

  It only made sense to me that he would want to waste his elite education on disciplining a ragtag bunch of delinquents who’d barely graduated from a local lycée in Versailles—none of us who had any intentions whatsoever of going to university.

  Damien took it all in stride but he did get us on a regular practice schedule and the words to songs flowed out of me and my best friend, Jean-Paul, like water. Other than Damien, Jean-Paul was the only man I’d trust with my life. He was the son of the Sergeant at Arms for SOD, and his old lady who’d come from the French side of the island of St. Martin.

  A chick magnet who could end up bedding almost any woman he wanted, Jean-Paul preferred to use the name Zero in Breathless Eternity. He possessed naturally tanned skin, ice blue eyes, and features from both his parents. He would have been a great catch. Actually he was and would make my younger sister his old lady when he finally decided to settle down.

  Until then, he lived his life to the fullest and had enough fun for the both of us. I didn’t blame him or think his behavior was out of line; forever was a long time to commit yourself to one person.

  I was interested in women but they were not the most important part of my life.

  I’d been in love only once—similar to the way my father felt about another woman in his life before he committed to my mother—though despite our strong emotions, she was the reason why I had a problem trusting the fairer sex. I loved to fuck but all those lovey-dovey complicated emotions weren’t for me. I wasn’t sure if they’d ever be until Damien sent me photos of her with a cryptic email that read:

  She’ll be at the Stade de France concert. I plan to intercept her there. If I can’t make that bitch pay then she’s the next best thing… D

  Damien could be described with a lot of colorful objectives but of the two of us, he was the one who’d always kept his cool. His e-mail bothered me for some reason because I’d never known for him to speak about a woman in such a vulgar manner. What did this woman have to do with his past, and why was he so interested in making her pay?

  For what exactly?

  What could she have possibly done?

  I didn’t recognize her at all but there was something about her that spoke to me even through the simple photographs that should have held no long-standing interest for me. She was beautiful in a no-nonsense way. I innately knew if I asked her whether she thought she was gorgeous, she’d be the type of woman who would sigh, maybe laugh, throw her wavy brown hair out
of her face, and would probably fail to answer the answer the question. Either that or change the subject, thinking of me as gauche for inquiring at all.

  Her eyes—they were catching—just like my brother’s. Where as Damien’s eyes were a startling ice blue with flickers of green surrounding the pupil, hers were hazel with flickers of green surrounding her pupils. They were intriguing, spellbinding, and so much more interesting than my sky blue eyes that changed with my moods but nothing like my brother’s expressive eyes. I’d inherited my mother’s eye color and my father’s blond hair while my brother had a shock of dark brown hair and those gorgeous eyes with alabaster skin that actually could sport a killer tan when he made the effort.

  Though my features could probably be described as Nordic, my father was a full-blooded Alsatian who considered himself French through and through. My mother was an interesting mixture of Norman and Basque. She was the reason for my dreaded nickname—Diablo.

  She was a true free spirit and lived her life on her own terms. She’d only discovered herself again when she met my father but he came with a club and baggage—a son from a previous relationship.

  She’d always accepted Damien as her own, and we grew up as close as two brothers could. Neither our sister, Annalise, nor I would ever consider Damien as anything other than our older brother. There was no talk of half-siblings. We shared fifty percent of the same DNA—as far as our family was concerned, it was all that mattered. We never mentioned his real mother but I always knew it was a subject that was so sensitive and taboo that the mere mention of it might just shatter him into a million pieces. It was easier to leave the subject left alone; unsaid and ignored as if it weren’t a part of his family history.

  Of the two, I knew I was stronger than him but it was easier to pretend he held the upper hand. After all, we were French and the French were all about stubborn pride, side-stepping full responsibility of anything, and keeping up appearances.